Dear Vladimir Putin, caucus99percent.com Wants to be Paid
By all accounts, you and your country bought $100,000 of Facebook ads to defeat Hillary Clinton and elect Donald Trump. We feel your money could be better spent supporting our blog.
For one thing, both American political parties vastly outspent you last year. Trump alone spent Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) on Facebook ads not to mention all the time and money he and the GOP used spreading his message online.
Parscale also deployed software to optimize the design and messaging of Trump’s Facebook ads. Describing one such test, the Wall Street Journal reporter Christopher Mims writes that “one day in August, his campaign sprayed ads at Facebook users that led to 100,000 different webpages, each micro-targeted at a different segment of voters.” In total, Trump’s digital team built or generated more than 100,000 distinct pieces of creative content.
Following Trump’s official nomination as the Republican Party presidential candidate in July 2016, Parscale was tasked with building and scaling the campaign’s digital targeting capabilities. One main supplier of Trump’s data was the Republican National Committee. (RNC Chairman Reince Preibus famously invested more than $100 million dollars into the party’s data and infrastructure capabilities since Mitt Romney’s 2012 loss.)
Clearly Trump and the Republicans, as well as Hillary Clinton and the Democrats make your efforts on Facebook look puny and insignificant.
A pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC proudly announced that it will spend $1 million to dig into Facebook, Reddit, Instagram and Twitter to start setting people straight about Hillary Clinton.
The project is called Barrier Breakers, and the money will fund a task force to "push back against attackers" and support those who support Clinton.
And what did it get you in the end? Despite Trump's claims that he would take a less confrontational approach to relations with Russia, since his election his actions have not reflected his campaign promises regarding the use of our military to intimidate your country. Clearly, President Putin, you've been sold a bill of goods by Mr. Trump.
Now caucus99percent.com is no fan of Donald Trump and his foreign policy goals, which, to be fair, are starting to look a lot like the same policies Hillary Clinton advocated when she ran against him. We almost universally oppose US government actions that might lead to inciting a war with any other country, except as a matter of last resort. Considering the US Government's military and intelligence services budget exceeds your nation's spending on defense by at least 1000% (if not much more), we suspect that you might very well share our goals.
So, if you want to spend money influencing American foreign policy to be less militaristic and destabilizing, might we suggest you donate a reasonable sum to our site to spread a message of peaceful coexistence and cooperation as opposed to military confrontation? Something in the range of $100,000, which you clearly wasted on last year's Facebook ads, ought to be a good starting point.
After all, not only do we have an operational website up and running, but we promote our views on other social media platforms, too, including Facebook, Twitter and reddit, as well. With more money available to us, caucus99 could spread our progressive message of a less militaristic US foreign policy while also pushing for lower defense spending by the US government. This would, of course, include advocating for the election of American politicians who support these goals.
Any funds you can send us would go a long way to advancing our mutual interest in a more peaceful world, or at least one in which the United States is less likely to use military force as a first resort rather than diplomacy with respect to how it conducts its foreign relations with other nations.
Please consider a yearly donation of at least $100,000 (though we wouldn't turn down more) at your earliest opportunity. We'd appreciate any donation from you that would help us support the worthy progressive causes we espouse.
Ps. I'm sure some of your advisors might have told you that you should be spending your time and efforts on more Facebook ads and other online platforms. Considering what that strategy has gotten you to date, I believe you can recognize the rare opportunity that supporting a left wing progressive site such as caucus99percent.com represents.
Thanks in advance,
Steven D
The views expressed in this essay are solely those of its author, and do not necessarily represent those of the management and financial supporters of caucus99percent.com or any of its members.
Comments
If Russia were supporting dissident groups in the US...
Sending weapons, money, and advisors...
While simultaneously telling their citizens that the dissidents are freedom fighters, who are ONLY trying to govern themselves...
These facts about Russia would apply.
1: They would Probably be telling the TRUTH. Considering how much use voting does in this country.
2: Would be only doing exactly what the US has been doing around the world in any country that we choose.
3: The equipment would WORK. The point of Russian equipment is to work for the average grunt without much training. NOT to make a profit for contractors.
It's probably why the US invests such huge amounts of money into convincing their citizens that Russia is EVIL INCARNATE.
Russia won't make anybody rich, but could quite possibly make a LOT of 1%ers poor.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I'm living large on Putin money
As a certified Putin Puppet(tm), I can tell you that Kremlin Kash is the best.
I always thought that you were a Russian troll, Ivanovitch
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
So Trump campaigns
On a message of better relations with Russia.
Russia responds with an ad campaign on Facebook encouraging better relations.
And TPTB go ape shit. Like shoving a stick into a hornets nest.
I never realized the threat of peace could draw such vehement opposition.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Oliver Stone interviews about his Putin interviewers.
I just can't get over Bush
the lessor offering up "I looked into his eyes and saw his soul" moment with Putin.
Where was the backlash then?
WTF changed?
We can't just say Bush was a dumbass because that would imply Trump is not.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Bush has been rehabilitated.
A lot of people have decided that he wasn't so bad afterall. Not when he's compared to Trump.
Ellen had him on her show and tweeted out a picture of her hugging him. Sweet picture.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
@earthling1
Just to mention, the two are not mutually exclusive. Especially since both like attacking other people's countries to steal their stuff, stealing their own people's stuff and rights to do it in the first place. And both have Cheney running the Vice Presidency and, I would presume, both Presidents.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/dick-cheney-trump-surrogate-232746
Wall St. wanted either outcome of a Bush/Clinton Presidential race; looks like they and the other Psychopaths and Parasites That Be have managed to recreate pretty much what they wanted in the first place. Something that nobody sane would or could want...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Can we work out a trade?
Putin for Trump?
Nah, they wouldn't go for it.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The DNC should at least think about hiring Putin
@MrWebster
AND he managed to hack the Electoral College!
Damn clever, these Russian Supermen...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
If you don't like the way we run our hate campaigns --
GO BACK TO RUSSIA WHERE YOU OBVIOUSLY CAME FROM!
/snark
"A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy." -- Luigi Mangione
Well done, Steven
This just shows how silly this Russian propaganda is. The fact that after over a year has gone by, there has been no proof that they interfered with the election. Even if they proved that Russia bought ads on Facebook, so what? As you have shown, both parties did the same things as Russia supposedly did. I'm sure that the ads that the RNC bought said something horrible about Hillary, just like the DNC ads said the same things about Trump.
This also neglects that Obama let this happen because he said that he was aware of this. However, he also said that there wasn't any proof that this happened. Gee, if you can't believe him, why would anyone believe Mueller?
The Mueller investigation is not going to show a damn thing about Trump colluding with Russia to win the election.
The Donald Jr. meeting he went to thinking that he would get some information about Hillary's Russian connections isn't illegal as far as I know.
Both the RNC and Hillary's campaign paid the ex British spy Steele to get information about Trump's activities in Russia. This is where the Golden Showers repot came from.
I don't see any investigations into this.
As others have stated, James Clapper is running this disingenuous disinformation campaign. Remember him? He was one of the Obama's administration's head of an intelligence agency who committed perjury during his congressional hearings. But they want people to trust him just because he says so? Pass.
Onwards to fantasy land. Barbra wrote an op-ed about how things would have happened if Herheinous had been elected president.
Funny, right? On the issues that Hillary would have worked for, I have to ask why didn't Obama do any of them?
He actually deported more immigrants than any other president.
He could have passed single payer health care, but he didn't.
He could have passed an infrastructure bill, but he didn't.
I don't think that Hillary would have passed a tax reform bill that would have actually helped mainstream Americans based on Bill's past actions because he was going to be put in charge of economics.
This country was actually the ones who were the aggressors in Ukraine, not Russia, but I'm sure that Hillary would have continued pushing this propaganda. Hey, it worked for Obama.
The fact that Garland isn't on the Supreme Court can be laid at Obama's feet. He was the one who let the republicans block his appointment. Obama could have made him a reces appointment. Sure, he would have only served for 18 months until he had to be confirmed again. But he would have been able to rule on some important cases during those 18 months.
Barbra, I have no idea why you think that Herheinous would have done any of these things since Obama never tried to do it. This is how the democrats roll these days, sorry to tell you this.
But it's a nice fantasy, isn't it? I know how you feel. This are the same things that I thought Obama would do when I voted for him in 2008.
BTW, didn't you pay attention during the previous 8 years when Obama was the president?
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
@snoopydawg
Hey wait, Mad Bomber 'Can't we just drone him?' Fracking Queen Hillary - who sent terrified and dislocated refugee children back to a war-torn country to quite possibly die even before getting there, in order to send a message to their dead-or-alive parents hoping to at least save their kids by sending them to safety - the message evidently one that America is run by virulent psychopaths like herself - was supposed to do what?
We're supposed to believe Her would have been better than Trump in what way - faster and less-drawn-out global extinction of life on the planet? The writer of that needs help... actually, we all do, if in a different sense.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
I find it so amazing that people really see people
the way they do. We are well aware of what Obama did during his tenure, and we know what Hillary has done for her entire political career. The only thing that she did to help women and children was to set up the children's health care. Everything else she did made their lives more difficult. I'm not going to rehash her history because we know it.
I just don't understand why others don't see those two in the same light.
Obama has an 80% approval rating even though he didn't make many of our lives better. So many people say that their lives are worse off since his presidency while the rich got richer. People's insurance premiums went up every year since the ACA was passed, but their wages stayed stagnant.
People were upset with the republicans who were willing to see 28 million lose their health insurance, yet why didn't anyone complain that the ACA left almost that many without insurance altogether? Bush invades Iraq on false pretenses and the whole world protests against it. Obama invades Libya on false pretenses and the world yawns. Explain this to me.
And Herheinous was going to continue what he started.
Sigh
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
@snoopydawg
All that comes to mind at the moment is that saying about how people will believe anything, if their paycheques depend upon it. And all of those troll hirings through the Clinton campaign. And the Clinton enemy lists. And you know the rest...
Building up a great collection of swears as I have a feeling that I'll need a good stockpile shortly.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Projection, if that’s the right word.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Whoa, nice prospectus!
Whoa, nice prospectus!
But can't Putin simply pay off the current political lackeys? After all, a few thousand in political donations can often buy corporations a license to kill from some of these, so perhaps they could be paid off to 'live and let live' as well?
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.