Running With Interference

by Dr. Ellen Brandt


One of the major reasons we've decided to revive our Ellen Impromptu series is to preserve in some more permanent form observations made in the comments streams of discussions at LinkedIn and elsewhere.


We also hope to reach a wider potential audience for such off-the-cuff observations than is possible within a Group made up of any self-limiting constituency, whether that consituency is professional (auditors, broadcasters, rodeo cowboys), avocational (ferret fanciers, baseball card collectors), or political (Give Chatbots the Vote, Barrier Island Secession).


In that spirit, we offer the following Impromptu observation to a post made at some of the GOP groups at LinkedIn.


The poster talked about legal arguments likely to be utilized by participants in the forthcoming Special Counsel's investigation of Team Trump's alleged ties to Russia and alleged Russian interference in our 2016 election.


Lawyers will enjoy arguing what lawyers enjoy arguing about.


But for many in the Republican base, the crux of the situation is really quite easy to recognize. Here is how many of us feel, and what we think sophisticated legal minds - and much of the (hoodwinked as per usual) Official MSM are missing:


The basic fallacy in the Russian interference brouhaha is exceptionally simple - even if so many on-stage in Washington and the Media are missing it completely.


It speaks to a key difference between the current brand of Democratic Party leadership - (who are out of sync with their own Party, historically speaking, as well as with everyone else) - and the vast majority of Republicans, Independents, and remaining sane Democrats.


The question at the heart of it all is: What, exactly, constitutes interference in elections by an outside entity, foreign government or otherwise.


For all of us who are logical and rational, interference in an election means actually getting into vote tallies and changing them - a la recording votes from dead people - or inmates of insane asylums - or restricted felons - or cats, dogs, and pet hamsters (next Voter Rover Smith, age 5 and/or 35, small home behind 46297 Main Street).


You can also interfere, as happens unfortunately often in Third World countries, by illegally closing - or maybe bombing - polling places; overtly threatening voters with machetes, guns, or gasoline cans; or staging mass riots which make everyone so terrified, they'd rather do pretty much anything except vote.


On the other hand, what is not really interference in elections - but which the current crop of Democrats somehow believe constitutes interference - is an outside entity trying to influence a candidate - or her/his financial backers, supporters, potential supporters, or non-supporters - via nonviolent words or deeds.


In actual fact, everyone involved in an election - every political professional, every lobbyist or financial backer, every media outlet, every labor or corporate or student or NGO activist - has among their main functions and goals in a political race to influence everybody they can by their words and their broadcasts and their marches and their films and their . . . . . absolutely everything!


This is not interference. This is Propaganda. This is Realpolitik. This is Politics, period.


Perhaps most important: If the current crop of Democratic Party leadership assumes that the American public and the American electorate - or American candidates - are so naive and stupid and incapable of thinking for themselves, they must be protected from all this nasty verbal or published or broadcast Propaganda, especially if it emanates from a foreign government or foreign media outlets . . . . .


Well, alas! that is what the Elitist Ninnies seem to think. They believe that their fellow Americans - the un-wealthy, un-famous "lower" 99 percent of us - are mentally deficient Sheeple and Deplorables and past-our-due-date Road Kill.


Of course, that's just what they call us to our faces. Behind our backs, we're pretty sure they're pumping hard to have us declared a separate Species.


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