Weird that the post count for FSD, KSUW, and Dax goes through the roof ITT after some nothingburger story gets reported.
I can see how it looks defensive. It's actually more like shooting fish in a barrel. The Russia hysteria is so absurd that I respond because it's both amusing and aggravating.
Put all the politics and crazy aside, and here are some things which common sense and what scant evidence we have tells me to be true (and probably tells you the same, if you really care to admit it):
1. The Russian government, and probably other governments, attempted to meddle with this election, and has likely made similar attempts with prior elections. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we've done the same (in fact, we know Obama seriously tampered with the recent Israeli election).
2. The meddling did not change the outcome of the election. Hillary lost because of the Trump Backlash and her truly horrible campaign strategy. There is simply no excuse for how she ignored, mismanaged, and lost the Rust Belt states that handed Trump the election. To pretend that Russian fake Facebook news swayed a significant amount of voters is pure fantasy. It's a fantasy that we know Team Clinton actively planned and promoted to a sympathetic media within 24 hours of losing.
3. As the "hacking" claims flamed out, the narrative shifted to "COLUSION." The Trump campaign did not "collude with Russia to steal the election" any more than Hillary did, and probably less. Both campaigns dug for dirt on the other candidate, including foreign sources, and it appears that Hillary and the DNC actually paid former Russian intelligence officers - indirectly through a law firm, Fusion GPS, and a former British spy - for the dubious "intel" that formed the Trump dossier.
4. Mueller has way exceeded his mandate, as even the NYT recently acknowledged. The Manafort indictment has absolutely nothing to do with any COLUSION with Russia during his short several month stint as Trump's campaign chair, and Manafort has just as strong, if not stronger ties to the Podesta Group, with close ties to the Democrats. The fact that Mueller feels the need to start with this indictment, and the Popawhatshisface plea (a guy so unimportant that he wasn't even on anyone's radar until yesterday), should speak volumes.
5. The underlying controversy is manufactured, but that doesn't mean a "cover up" won't harm Trump. I have no doubt that perjury charges and obstruction of justice charges are coming for at least some Trump associates. As Nixon learned, it's the cover up that gets you. People do stupid things when they are scared.
6. But by the same token, this isn't Watergate, and it's not going to become Watergate, because there simply isn't an underlying crime. Liberals will celebrate the coming indictments - but it won't do a thing to prove the underlying thesis of Russian COLUSION. No serious person, including serious liberals, actually believes that thesis - this is all just political theater.
7. While liberals focus on all this beltway political sniping, the coming elections will come down to the strength of the candidates, the strength of the economy, and whether Trump is keeping his campaign promises (or can plausibly point the blame at Congress for the ones he hasn't). Believe it or not, he's actually in pretty good shape for reelection. It's the GOP congressional leadership who should be worried.
