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They say that they tried to influence the recent election. The only problem is the United States has a long history of influencing elections in other countries. If the United States thinks this is a bad thing then stop doing it to other countries.

karl61 wrote: The only problem is the United States has a long history of influencing elections in other countries. .

Did the US try to help the worst candidate?

karl61 wrote:They say that they tried to influence the recent election..

Russia didn't intervene to help the US. What is the big deal? The big deal is that we now have an idiot in office.

DoubtingThomas wrote: The big deal is that we now have an idiot in office.

I can't find a way to argue with that.
;-)

Doubting Thomas wrote:

"The big deal is that we now have an idiot in office."

You live by the sword, you die by the sword.

The United States needs to stop influencing foreign elections.

Doubting Thomas wrote:

"Did the US try to help the worst candidate?"

Well let's be clear: The United States has helped overthrow democratically elected governments. So you can't assume smug moral superiority as an American.

But as an American, you are just as valid in feeling that Russian influence is a violation of our national sovereignty. I don't want Russians telling me what to think, because they do not care what is best for America.

Here's what it comes down to for me: Democracy is best served by a well-informed public making well informed opinions with good information. Fair to say we are far away from the ideal, but when foreign governments are attempting to muddy the waters, I think we as Americans, regardless of the sins of our government, can complain legitimately about our sovereignty.

This isn't like Radio Free Europe or the BBC. These are stories deliberately made to stoke fear, not tell news.

karl61 wrote:They say that they tried to influence the recent election. The only problem is the United States has a long history of influencing elections in other countries. If the United States thinks this is a bad thing then stop doing it to other countries.

I think this is a fair question. I can think of a couple ways to think about it.

If you believe that the United States is an exceptional country -- that the U.S. has been designated by God to lead the world -- then stuff that helps the U.S. (like interfering in someone else's election) is good. And stuff that hurts America (like another country interfering with our election or dividing our citizenry) is bad.

If you believe that the United States is just another citizen in the world, you can still believe that the U.S. has overseas interests that justify interference in someone else's election. At the same time, you can support the right of other countries to punish their citizens who try to help the U.S. interfere. Buy the same token, the U.S. has the right to punish its own citizens who help other countries try to interfere.

Or, if you believe that the United States is just another citizen in the world and no country should interfere in the politics of another, you can take the position that no country should interfere with elections in another country.

Take your pick.

The elephant in the room here is Trump's ties to Russia, probably in ways that would compromise him. He and his family have relied heavily on Russian money since American banks refused to do business with him. The KGB probably has all kinds of dirt on him, if even half of the stuff in the dossier is accurate. Now we have footage of him in Russia saying he would remove sanctions if elected.

The Electoral College is more to blame than Russia on why we got Trump as President. Our country should have gotten rid of the Electoral College many years ago.

DoubtingThomas wrote:

karl61 wrote: The only problem is the United States has a long history of influencing elections in other countries. .

Did the US try to help the worst candidate?

We helped put puppet dictators in office in other countries because they were U.S. friendly. That is essentially what Russia did, but it worse since it was Russia screwing with our political process.