Re: Stop Blaming Outside Forces For Our Ills (4.00 / 4)

Being filled with deep seated self-destructive impulses as I am, I remain a regular reader of Daily Kos. I have to agree, the obsession with Russia is bizarre. Were they involved in some shady stuff? Yes, surely. Were they propping up Trump's early campaign? Yes, surely. Do they have a bunch of annoying trolls hell-bent on destroying any chance of rational online discourse? Yes, but they're one of many.

All that stuff is bad ... but it didn't win the election for Trump. I've yet to see strong evidence to the effect that the various illegal ads actually pushed the needle anywhere -- just because people saw a thing online doesn't mean much, or I'd have a closetful of clothes appropriate for a young Asian woman. Online advertisers remain fundamentally confused about my demographic identity.

Trump rode white racist resentment to victory, and he's stoked the flames of white nationalism ever since. It's convenient to blame it on Russia, but Russia is a third-order factor at best. The real problem is that an electoral majority of America is spiteful and insane. The real problem is that an electoral majority of America thinks a fascist dictatoryship would be great, and will volunteer for death squads in a heartbeat.