Now the fun begins
First off, let's never forget where the Russiagate disaster came from.
New book by 'Shattered' by Clinton insiders reveals that "blame Russia" plan was hatched "within twenty-four hours" of election loss. pic.twitter.com/NDUk90Jp5q
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 11, 2017
This wasn't a "progressive" or "leftist" konspiracy theory.
This ridiculous theory came straight from the centrist, "pragmatic" Clinton-wing of the mainstream Democratic Party establishment.
It's important to make that distinction. Remember all of the times the MSM almost begged the real left to get on-board with this garbage.
NYMag: "It is very strange that the self-styled populist wing of the left is so indifferent to this project."
Atlantic: "If Blumenthal and Greenwald are indignant about Kris Kobach’s efforts to limit Americans’ ability to choose their leaders, they should be indignant about Vladimir Putin’s too."
NYTimes: "But as the investigation led by Robert Mueller closes in on more Trump associates like Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, it seems clear that the Russia story is only going to get bigger. Rather than downplay or deny it, the left should embrace it."
Week: "But the Russiagate story matters, and the left should be paying attention."
The fallout from this catastrophe will reach well into the 2020 election, and the Hillary Dead-Enders deserve all the blame.
Congratulations to Russia-obsessed Democrats for being the single-most valuable contributors to the Donald J. Trump 2020 re-election campaign!
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) March 24, 2019
And in the U.S., the Democrats have clearly shot themselves in the foot. Instead of wasting their time on Russiagate, they could have focused more clearly on issues such as inequality, health care, the opioid epidemic, climate change. They have a chance to run a more meaningful campaign now that Mueller’s done – but the mistake will hang over them just as the Iraq war still hangs over the Republicans.
...On the other hand, it distracted many Americans from the real causes of Hillary Clinton’s defeat and Trump’s victory. Those causes, at the forefront of media attention for a short while after the election, were about the Democrats’ failure to engage certain poor and middle class voters. Russiagate, however, made Putin’s evil trickery the issue. It worked in the short term, but failed in the longer-run – also in both countries.
Russiagate/Hillary Dead-Enders may have bought some time, but now the chickens have come home to roost. Their epic failure in 2016 (after their epic failures in 2010 and 2014), is now free to be examined again, but in the light of the epic failure of Russiagate.
After defending the special counsel’s integrity for more than a year, Dems have little room to challenge his conclusion there was no conspiracy.
The Russiagate/Hillary Dead-Enders are already moving goal posts.
Here's @mtaibbi: "WMD was a pimple compared to Russiagate. The sheer scale of the errors and exaggerations this time around dwarfs the last mess." https://t.co/ebPl0DW9rs
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 23, 2019
You’ve got MSNBC analyst and “Saint Mueller Preserve Us” t-shirt salesman Malcolm Nance starting up a whole new conspiracy theory that Barr has committed the “greatest scandal in history to coverup the greatest scandal in history,” I guess implying that Barr is lying about the contents of a report that will with absolute certainty be viewed and verified by other people. You’ve got some trying to pretend that Russiagaters never cared about Russiagate at all anyway.
Trump is clearly a short-term loser, long-term winner of Russiagate.
However, the biggest winners were the MIC/Intelligence Complex. They used Russiagate to build the tools to control dissenting opinions on social media.
They also managed to rehabilitate neocon warmongers.
On the losing side is the centrist, "pragmatic" Clinton-wing of the mainstream Democratic Party establishment. They blew it yet again, and the progressive grassroots were already unhappy with them. Discredited is a word people should use often.
However, the biggest losers is the MSM. Trust in the news media was mostly gone already.
As Matt Taibbi put it: Russiagate is this generation's WMD.
For the MSM credibility, Russiagate was it's Waterloo.
Comments
Why Russiagate was always stupid
link
If Russia (or any other country) ever decides
to scale up whatever it was that Russia did to sow discord or influence an election, they now know the stooges they should target.
dfarrah
Putin's loss of subtlety?
Rather, Putin has proven himself a masterful broken field runner, capable of multiple achievements of which we know and likely achievements of which we don't know.
1. Handled Donbass revolt without a RussoUkranian War.
2. Defeating ISIS with its Syrian ally (yeah US gets a little credit--very little)
3. Standing off the Ukranian forced entry into the Kerch strait.
4. Conrolling Oleg D. and other oligarchs politically in Russia
5. Milking the ever greedy capitalist pig Hillary Goddam Clinton for 20% of our uranium
6. Keeping wild man Trump from overplaying his transient Syria ambitions (which have now shifted closer to home, e.g., Venezuela)
7. Becoming trading partner with Venezuela
8. Having Merkel suck up to him for Nordstream 2, thus largely defanging NATO by largely controlling EU (Deutschland über alles) energy supplies.
9. Keeping Israel relatively restrained in Syria.
And more, Tovarich.
There is not a western european leader who can outmaneuver him-please enlighten me as to which so-called leader has got the better of a joint deal with Putin.
Yes. REALLY stoopid
There has been nothing remotely amateurish about the Russian handling of this explosion of stupidity that was the Russiagate hoax. Here's the mess Putin inherited from Yeltsin:
▪ The country was deeply in debt to the scum like IMF and World Bank.
▪ The Harvard boys had created such an economic catastrophe that life expectancies were falling, whole industries lay in ruins, the former Russian middle class was reduced to selling heirlooms in the winter cold, their savings had been wiped out, the best and brightest had emigrated. (For what Jeffrey Sachs inflicted on Russia make him a walking advertisement for bringing back crucifixions.)
▪ The oligarchs who had made off with the best Russia had to steal ran off with their loot—mostly to London where the triggered a bubble the real estate speculators love so much.
Add to this list of great headaches, he has had to deal with NATO encirclement, international slander, the Banderite-fascist coup in Ukraine. Of course he had to move on Crimea. The Red Army lost around a half-million folks trying to defend and then retake Sevastopol. Crimea is REALLY important for Russia and so he had to remake economic and foreign policy to deal with the fallout of keeping Crimea Russian.
In the meantime, Russian aerospace is back on its feet. The military fights with pride and professionalism. The things they have been good at they are good at again—figure skating, ballet, etc. Putin is still wildly popular. He has rebuilt relationships with China. He has opened elite schools so Russian education is again world-class. Russia became the world's leading exporter of grains last year—all GMO-free.
The list is nearly endless. And why not. He has at least 40 IQ points any any politician we have in USA and he was given one of those elite educations that the commies could do so well. He is so fluent in German he holds press conferences in Germany in German. He holds 3 hour press conferences for the international media without notes. He has done something that anyone examining the wreckage of 1999 would have never predicted—he has restored pride in a people who not long ago were just drinking themselves to death.
What I find so amazing is his willingness to brush off some of the most amazing slanders and provocations. I was raised around pacifists so am pretty conversant with the dilemmas and contradictions of this practice. I would give Putin a solid B+. Turns out it is pretty easy to be a pacifist when armed with nukes
Or maybe it really is the Orthodox church. I don't know much about those folk beyond the fact they have incredibly ornate churches and their male glee clubs have amazing basses. Reportedly Putin's mother was very devout and baptized him as a baby. Whatever. It's just that under Putin, most of the damage those barbaric Bolsheviks inflicted on this element of Russian culture has been repaired or rebuilt—reported over 40,000 churches were rehabbed.
Yes indeed. What a stupid culture run by a stupid leader. NOT!
they'll never let go
they'll blame us.
I'll never forget Obama's "we tortured some folks" that quickly turned to this
as if it were our fault that we knew it and wanted it stopped.
They'll try to blame us
But their credibility has been so destroyed that I doubt their words will carry much weight.
"round up the usual suspects"
we've known this Russia! thing was stupid
many people believed it, anyway
they'll blame us
many people will believe it, anyway
the psychology is interesting and tells us that humankind is still evolving. Faced with fact on one hand and an "authority" telling them something else, the majority will believe the "authority".
I don't want to think it's true but...isn't it?
Mankind is not evolving
Only technology is. We remain largely the primitive cave dwellers of pre-history. The only improvement is that we cook our food--and our cities.
How I love the sound of schadenfreude!
Of course, it will still be our fault when Trump is re-elected in a landslide.
Ha -
GMTA, all.
Consortium News
has reprinted a piece by Joe Lauria written just before the 2016 election saying the Clinton campaign would try to change the votes of Electoral College electors if she lost based on the assertion that a hostile foreign power had hacked and effected the results of the election.
That wasn't an Ace-in-the-Hole
that was a 'Hail Mary'.
A totally different concept.
When I think of Russiagate
But RUSSIA!!!!!
RussiaGoogle helped flip GOP seats to democrats by changing their algorithms so I think we can expect congressional hearing on this ASAP right?Google flipped seats, shifted millions of votes to Dems in 2018 midterms
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Small addition here.
Yahoo! is and was complicit in this deal too. E.g., Michael Issikoff's propping up the infamous Steele dossier. Yahoo! hardly ever presents articles with a conservative slant, even if they disagree with it.
"Contribution in kind"
to the Democratic Party in essence. There are laws about that. Have to wonder how long before Watchdogs and Republicans snap to that fact.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
exciting ToP reactions!
"The press plays along with AG William Barr's obstruction of justice ploy"
"Daily Beast: Moscow 'in ecstasy' over Barr letter"
"#ReleaseTheFullMuellerReport, don't let Baghdad Bill Barr gaslight the nation"
"Charles P. Pierce: 'William Barr Did What He Was Hired To Do' and 'Thereby Hangs Upcoming Brawl'"
"None of This Makes Any Sense. I'm Calling Bullsh*t."
Please do us a favor
and collect these TOP headlines.
Then put them all together in an essay so that I may "drink their tears".
Good one gjohnsit
It'll make for great commenting when they send their people over here during the election again.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I suppose visiting the looney bin (TOP) is beneficial
to those who test their political sanity by saying how far off the rails TOP goes.
I won't forget.
Damned near every dim presidential hopeful pushed the russia crap.
None are worth my time, money or vote.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
yes. Well, Bernie?
would like to know what he says next
Bernie's going along with the ruse--Cable played excerpt from
one of his rallies [in California] over the weekend.
I don't have the video, but, here's a piece about his reaction,
Apparently, he doesn't think his supporters know that the Russia Ruse is phony. Go figure.
Whoah! Almost missed this--apparently, he's playing to folks who don't realize that DT was cleared (by Mueller's report) of so-called collusion.
Mollie
I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne
[One threat to so-called 'entitlements' is the House Dem Budget Committee Chairperson, who admits that he wants to strike a so-called "Grand Bargain" with Republicans. See C-Span video.]
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
I don't think Gabbard was on-board
I'm curious what Bernie will say, knowing that his supporters never bought in.
You are correct.
Unfortunately she's running as a dim and I will not support her.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Bernie is still pushing it
Again Bernie knows damn well that Trump has been harder on Russian sanctions than Obama was. Obama thought arming Ukraine rebels was too dangerous to risk, but Trump had no problem with it. Trump has been threatening Germany's getting gas from Russia and he's bombed Syria and is trying to overthrow another country that has ties to Russia.
Take your bill and put it where the sun doesn't shine Bernie. Come out and say that Trump isn't Putin's puppet. You can do it.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Why should he stop?
Most americans believe it to be true.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Never Stop Mocking Them
This piercing catchphrase from Caitlyn is spot on. And while we're mocking the press, how about we heap some big kudos for the likes of Matt Taibbi, Michael Tracey, Glenn Greenwald, and a few other journalists who had guts to ask questions in the face of withering condemnation from their peers.
And for those of us here who never swallowed this bullshit story and had to endure the rolling of the eyes from friends and co-workers when we asked for actual forensic evidence, let's give each other a high five for keeping a clear eye and cool head.
It's about the only thing in this criminally pernicious psy-ops campaign that we can "celebrate".
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Matt Taibbi believed Russiagate at first
But after a while he became skeptical, and then finally rejected the whole konspiracy theory about a year ago.
Better late than never, I guess.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
And
Jimmy Dore, and Aaron Mate, and the VIPS - Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, and all the true journalists at Consortium News, and at Global Research, and more...
I think thanking them all by name
Is essay worthy, don't you?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Yes, and
to include statements they've made along the way will help because the dishonest reporting has been so ubiquitous.
Well I would put
Max Blumenthal way up there among the few lefty worthies skeptical from the get-go on Russiagate. Early and consistent critic of the faux scandal. Aaron Maté too. Jimmy Dore. Various writers at consortiumnews.com including Joe Lauria and that ex-CIA guy McGovern. Definitely Prof Stephen Cohen, mostly completely shut out of the MSM cable. Stacey and Greenwald ok. Taibbi, iirc, was more measured in his skepticism. Someone can inform me about DemocracyNow on Russiagate, or whether they offered only very limited skeptical coverage. The Nation magazine offered views from both proponents and dissenters.
On the wrong side of things, more lefty gullible Russiagate buyers who've lost credibility: Thom Hartmann and (iirc) Cenk Uyger. Hartmann was disappointing as, for a while, he offered a semi-regular interviews with skeptic Prof Cohen. Apparently Thom didn't listen, wasn't convinced by the leading American expert on Russia, or maybe Thom has some quiet master backers who gave him his marching orders. Cenk has never struck me as a deep or independent thinker.
TYT's reputation is going to take a big hit
I saw Cenk making the same DNC talking points just last night. I got bored.
Thom I had stopped listening to a while back. He's too arrogant.
Michael Tracey is calling out Cenk pretty hard.
https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1110222153616711681
Cenk is claiming he never believe in collusion during the election. His thesis is that Putin and Russian oligarchs control Trump over money laundering. I think the oligarchs somehow give Trump his marching orders from Putin. Just more unhinged conspiracy without a single ounce of truth except in the belief that if a Russian is involved, it must be a crime.
From 2017
TYT’s Cenk Uygur Smears TYT Journalist Michael Tracey On Air For Being Anti-Russiagate
I agree
and haven't listened to T Hartmann in over a year, Tried to listen today to see what his spin was gonna be. Turned out he is out of town on vacation or some such. Another person I have been wondering about is Julian Assange and if this news will have any effect on his future. Thoughts?
On vacation?
How convenient. Let's see who else is. I can see them needing a few days to get their story straight.
Agree. Was regular caller, until about 8 years
ago. (Listened to him on IE America Network, before Air America came about.)
Unfortunately, Thom became a Dem Party Shill by time he landed in Portland. By the time he landed in D.C., he had become a flat-out parody of himself. (IMO)
Mollie
I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne
[One threat to so-called 'entitlements' is the House Dem Budget Committee Chairperson, who admits that he wants to strike a so-called "Grand Bargain" with Republicans. See C-Span video.]
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Every four years Thom became a dem shill
Was a long time listener and it seemed that every four years he became an ultra dem partisan. But in 2012, it reached just bizarre levels. I stopped listening when he berated a caller for calling Obama a militarist and Thom lectured him that Obama removed troops from Iraq (following Bush's plan) and created peace. The fact was that Obama wanted to keep troops in Iraq but the Iraqi government refused. Before that he knocked Nader for basically egotism for running in 2004.
As an aside, I listened to all the "liberal" vocies I could during the Bush era. They all seemed to just crash and burn. It really started over Obama when they abandoned their principles and supported Obama in his worst policies.
It amazes me sorta that Rush Limburger, the utter piece of shit, could keep an audience while the liberals from that Bush era could not.
Why did they go over the dark side?
IMO TYT and Hartmann and other liberal pundits went over to the dark side to avoid a backlash from their patrons and viewers over Russiagate is one reason. The democratic party base, their audiences, went full Monty on Russiagate and would not hear of any dissent over the issue--they would punish anybody not pushing it. It was what got me banned at TOP. And also, pushing it was profitable.
TYT and in particular really got really unhinged over it. I saw one clip where Cenk went on this homoerotic fantasy rant about who was the bottom between the Trump and Putin and who was doing all the sucking. Both Cenk and his regulars went to my mind full Russian xenophobic where they saw Russians as a totally evil people.
Oh no, not Cenk!
That's the first I'd heard about that.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Yes,
and I want to add to the list of journalists who have been skeptical, some who are conservative, Tucker Carlson at Fox, Jeff Carlson at Epoch Times, and Sundance at Conservative Treehouse.
I don't give them credit for that
They're political hacks who gladly lie about what republicans do.
We will get several months of this and later RUSSIA
Happened to run across this article in the Oregonian online. The title of which is Mueller Report: It’s all over -- or just getting started. Experts on what’s really happening
I looked at the list of "experts", and given the names I know about, all of them were 100% wrong about Russiagate. As Jimmy Dore pointed out in his latest video, the media people will just interview their buddies in a circle jerk convincing themselves that oh yah, anyday soon, Trump is in trouble. This will probably last about six months when finally the "boy who cried wolf syndrome" will kick in big time.
The media will re-focus on an Russia the enemy which Trump is not adequately confronting.
And now, the prezinutt celebrates with his
[EDITED because broken HTML] Russian co-conspirators.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
One news outlet still comes out smelling fresh as a lily:
https://www.theonion.com/mueller-finds-no-evidence-of-trump-russia-consp...
https://politics.theonion.com/william-barr-declares-mueller-investigatio...
https://local.theonion.com/man-who-spent-last-2-years-drawing-pictures-o...
https://politics.theonion.com/compassionate-trump-issues-full-presidenti...
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
I feel like I lose when I win...
That history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself...
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver