It’s very odd — uncanny, even — to watch the Left talk about “traitors” and “patriotism” and such in reference to the alleged Russian hacking in an effort to influence the US elections.
Have I awoken in Crazyland? What is happening here, exactly?
In all my life, I don’t ever recall the Left honoring or caring about patriotism or treason either way. It’s not their typical language or usually even in their sphere of concern. I sometimes have to check to see if I haven’t accidentally strayed onto some loony right-wing sites by accident.
Though I do believe Russian and Russian-affiliated state actors did attempt to influence the election, I strongly doubt it had any determining effect, and if so it was only because Hillary Clinton was such a bad and incredibly weak candidate anyway.
Mostly it seems to me the Dems and the wider Left just cannot and will not take any responsibility at all for the huge cock-up and tragedy they’ve inflicted on our nation and the world. They enabled and supported Clinton — and denigrated anyone who offered a better alternative — so they are just as responsible for Trump as the average Trump voter.
For all that, I blame false prophet sycophants like Kendzior, Krugman and Marcotte (and the entire DNC) who gave us forward path that pointed only backwards, and precluded thus a better future.
That they need a scapegoat like the damn Russian government just makes me even angrier.
Once can believe that HRC is a thoroughly weak candidate (like Gore she won the popular vote but failed at electoral college politics), and the DNC was incompetently & unfairly thumb scaling pressing & STILL be screaming your head off about “traitors & patriotism” at the same time. Calling Kendzior & Marcotte false prophet sycophants implies that more people listen to them and they have more of a platform than they actually do. (I haven’t followed Marcotte in years; and I only came to know of Kendzior a couple of months ago. )
I’m not entirely certain that Bernie would have done better, despite the hypothetical polling match-ups he kept citing. And I liked Sanders better than Clinton.
And yes, it is weird we’re living in a rejected plot for a Tom Clancy novel.
They enabled and supported Clinton — and denigrated anyone who offered a better alternative — so they are just as responsible for Trump as the average Trump voter.
Just as responsible?
By that logic these are the people who are just as responsible for Trump as the average Trump voter:
US citizens who would’ve had an easy time voting who failed to vote in the primaries against Clinton. If one truly believed Clinton was a weak terrible candidate who would lose in a general election to a more catastrophic terrible general candidate, then voting to ensure the worst candidate wasn’t one of the two “real” options presented in the general election was the least involved course of action that person failed to take.
Kendzior and Marcotte (especially Kendzior) have a pretty big reach on the left, though not in the wider culture.
I hold those in the press more responsible for Clinton (and for Trump) than an average voter, because the press as a whole and any individual member thereof has more sway and more say than the average voter.
What annoys me more than any of this though is that the Dems screeching now about the electoral college being bad and unfair would be embracing it wholeheartedly had it tilted towards Clinton.
It’s going to be a long four years — because of Trump and because of ongoing Dem failure to learn anything from any of it.