Trump-Russia Obsession is Holding Back the Resistance

NPR recently ran a story entitled “Trump Embraces One Of Russia's Favorite Propaganda Tactics — Whataboutism” that—even in the eyes of this anti-Trump agitator—reads as is maddeningly simplistic at best and distractingly harmful at worst. The article argues that “this particular brand of changing the subject is called "whataboutism" — a simple rhetorical tactic heavily used by the Soviet Union and, later, Russia. And its use in Russia helps illustrate how it could be such a useful tool now, in America. As Russian political experts told NPR, it's an attractive tactic for populists allowing them to be vague but appear straight-talking at the same time.” Okay, so two playground bullies who grew up to be leaders of world powers are asshats who employ the age-old magician's trick of distracting you with one hand while the other hand handles the magic trick. This does not prove that Trump colluded Russians any more than it proves that Trump colluded with magicians on hijacking the 2016 election. Furthermore, we should point out that this Whataboutism tactic can—and should be— applied to the Democratic party. After failing in historic fashion to defeat the most unpopular presidential candidate in the history of the United States— a man who was caught bragging on a hot mic that he could grab a woman by the pussy and do whatever he wanted with them because he was rich and famous- the Democrats are all too happy not to take an honest look in the mirror and find out why they failed so historically to resonate with the American people- how they were exposed, by those very emails that Trump asked anyone to leak that they actively suppressed the people’s choice – among Democrats anyway- Bernie Sanders and instead ushered through Hillary Clinton who would not know a personal conviction unless it was wrapped in a triangulation of polling data, wrapped around a rock and thrown through a glass ceiling. Instead, we have a massive- and justified resistance to Trump that is being hijacked by that same Democratic party who is pushing—and pushing hard—what Matt Taibbi called in his recent piece in Rolling Stone, The Putin Derangement Syndrome.