Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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UpstateSCHokie
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Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

Post by UpstateSCHokie »

Basically this is an admission that this has nothing to do with concern over Russia's attempts to hack the election. This is nothing more than an political tactic that apparently is driving some people over the edge of sanity.

This is no different than if congressional Republicans would have kept pushing the Obama birth certificate story & turned it into an investigation.

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Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia
By Alex Roarty

Democrats have a blunt message for colleagues worried the party has become dangerously obsessed with Russia: Get over it.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony Tuesday put Democrats in a familiar position, reacting to news about President Donald Trump and the ongoing investigation into his campaign’s alleged Russia connections. To skeptics, the story is a distraction from bread-and-butter issues that voters actually care about, like the unpopular Republican-backed health care bill, and a sign the party is already over-reaching well before the midterm congressional elections.

But Democratic operatives are arguing that the party has no choice but to launch these attacks. A weekly barrage of breaking news has forced their hand, demanding Democrats seize on an issue some of them now believe has increasing relevance beyond the Beltway anyway.

“Democrats aren’t driving this. Reality is driving it. And occasionally Trump’s Twitter is super-charging it,” said Jesse Ferguson, a veteran Democratic strategist. “But Democrats are along for the ride, and we better not fall asleep.”

Communication with voters, he added, is “about winning the fights that you are confronted with.”

Discussion about the ongoing investigation — and Trump’s handling of it — reached a crescendo last week, when former FBI Director James Comey in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee said the president lied. The hearing, watched by millions, had Democrats crowing that an investigation into whether the president himself obstructed justice could be a political game-changer.

Sessions’ testimony failed to produce similar fireworks. But Democrats eyeing Trump’s approval ratings think the damage has already been done: His numbers hit new lows in a Quinnipiac poll released this month, and the share of Americans who disapprove of his presidency hit a new high Tuesday in Gallup’s daily tracking poll (60 percent).

Trump’s sinking numbers explain why Democrats think focusing on Russia is a good idea, even as Senate Republicans consider controversial health care legislation. Its chances of passage drop, the thinking goes, as the president takes on more water even from something otherwise politically unrelated.

“Why would anyone think that voters would be happy with a health care agenda from a president under FBI investigation for colluding with a foreign hostile power?” Ferguson asked.

Some Democrats also see an unexpected upside in talking about Russia: It gives them a new issue to use against Republicans.

The party could benefit from a fresh approach after years of attacks — many of them unsuccessful — against the GOP’s plans for the budget, Medicare, and Social Security, they say.

“We can't keep campaigning on the same tired messages we've been using since 2010,” said one Democratic strategist, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “In case people haven't noticed, we keep losing."

Critics have charged that everyday people don’t care about the Russia story because it doesn’t affect their personal finances. Because of that, they say Democrats would be much better off focusing on the health care bill.

“The average person is like, ‘OK, what about my life out here today in the country?’” said RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United.

She called the focus on Russia a “strategic error” that Democrats have resorted to because it distracts from their own lack of an agenda.

“It is political fighting that has very little to do with their everyday lives,” said DeMoro, a stalwart liberal advocate who has been openly critical of the Democratic Party.

Other strategists echoed those concerns, arguing that although they think Russia is a damaging issue for the GOP, it’s not yet at the forefront of voters’ concerns.

“A year from now, there’s certainly an open possibility this could be a bipartisan and important concern for voters,” said one Democratic strategist involved with Senate races. “Right now, what we know is there is a plethora of data that the Republican health care agenda is incredibly unpopular with the kinds of voters who compromise crucial elements of the midterm electorate in battleground states.”

But many Democratic strategists see the two issues working in concert.

“Democrats should absolutely continue to press on Russia in Congress and in the national press,” said Josh Schwerin, spokesman for Priorities USA, which has conducted research on the effectiveness of both attacks. “It’s a critical issue for our country and democracy around the world and has helped drive Trump’s numbers down to their current abysmal levels.”

Schwerin added that the two messages can exist in different places, with Democrats talking about the Russia issue in the media while deploying TV ads on health care.

“The wall-to-wall coverage on Russia and Trump’s firing of Comey also makes it even more important for Democrats and progressive allies to be communicating directly with voters about health care and similar issues that impact people’s lives,” he said.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation- ... 88584.html
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“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” ― Voltaire (1694 – 1778)
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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Before this year, I didn't think I could respect the left less. I was wrong.
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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The Dems are grasping for straws, anything to bring down what they perceive as an illegitimate administration. I expect it will backfire on them.
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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133743Hokie wrote:The Dems are grasping for straws, anything to bring down what they perceive as an illegitimate administration. I expect it will backfire on them.
They have truly lost their minds, and don't care how much damage their actions cause to our country.

They now want to impeach over things like Trump's travel ban. Seriously? And they want to charge him with collusion which there is no evidence to support, but they go from accusations to impeachment. Unreal.
Eastin also endorsed impeachment.

“I absolutely support members of Congress drawing up Articles of Impeachment against President Trump,” she said in an email, citing what she said were Trump’s conflicts of interest, his travel ban, his campaign’s collusion with Russia, and his firing of FBI Director James Comey. “We cannot allow one petty man to destroy the democracy that so many have given their lives to defend.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/06/13/g ... -governor/
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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133743Hokie wrote:The Dems are grasping for straws, anything to bring down what they perceive as an illegitimate administration. I expect it will backfire on them.
They don't perceive him as illegitimate, they're trying to create that image. It's part of their Alinsky playbook.
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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Gosh. If only they would have been willing to talk about 150 IRS visits to the WH while targeting conservatives.

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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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awesome guy wrote:Before this year, I didn't think I could respect the left less. I was wrong.
+1
So I put (the dead dog) on her doorstep!
Salute the Marines
Soon we'll have planes that fly 22000 mph
"#PedoPete" = Hunter's name for his dad.
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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awesome guy wrote:
133743Hokie wrote:The Dems are grasping for straws, anything to bring down what they perceive as an illegitimate administration. I expect it will backfire on them.
They don't perceive him as illegitimate, they're trying to create that image. It's part of their Alinsky playbook.
Disagree. They feel the election was Hillary's by proclamation. Outside forces interfered and colluded to elect Trump, who they see as unfit, unworthy and illegitimate. They are looking to take back what they believe is rightfully theirs -- by any means necessary.
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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133743Hokie wrote:
awesome guy wrote:
133743Hokie wrote:The Dems are grasping for straws, anything to bring down what they perceive as an illegitimate administration. I expect it will backfire on them.
They don't perceive him as illegitimate, they're trying to create that image. It's part of their Alinsky playbook.
Disagree. They feel the election was Hillary's by proclamation. Outside forces interfered and colluded to elect Trump, who they see as unfit, unworthy and illegitimate. They are looking to take back what they believe is rightfully theirs -- by any means necessary.
Maybe for the soldiers like Hoof. For the elites, they know Trump won legitimately, they just don't care as creating chaos and undermining him is their goal. It is an academic debate as the underlying problem is the left has no principles except obtaining power.
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

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133743Hokie wrote:The Dems are grasping for straws, anything to bring down what they perceive as an illegitimate administration. I expect it will backfire on them.

I think their objectives are to stall any legislative changes and do what they can to damage Trump. I doubt they think impeachment is possible. Well, maybe some of the dumber ones think it's possible, but leadership knows that impeachment will be perceived as a soft coup attempt.
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Re: Dems rebuff skeptics: We will keep talking about Russia

Post by 133743Hokie »

HokieJoe wrote:
133743Hokie wrote:The Dems are grasping for straws, anything to bring down what they perceive as an illegitimate administration. I expect it will backfire on them.

I think their objectives are to stall any legislative changes and do what they can to damage Trump. I doubt they think impeachment is possible. Well, maybe some of the dumber ones think it's possible, but leadership knows that impeachment will be perceived as a soft coup attempt.
If the democrats regain the house in 2018 it's a certainty that their first order of business will be impeachment, and I have no doubt they will succeed.
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