As The Russia Thing Metastasizes

I've never made much of the Russia Thing because it has always struck me as a stupid and very marginal effort -- to the extent it was an effort at all -- to affect the US elections. I'm sure that some of it had a slight effect here and there, but for the most part, it seems to have been more of an exploratory expedition than anything else.

It was mostly a propaganda effort that salted the internet with both real and fake "information" primarily about Clinton and her corruption and nastiness. There were other elements, of course, but dissing Clinton and the "Democrat" Party apparat appeared to be the primary objective along with seeding Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) about the validity of the election itself (on the assumption, of course, that Clinton would win, and therefore the election must have been rigged, right?)

One of the biggest items in the anti-Clinton kit bag was the  absolute certainty that if she won, she would start WWIII by attacking Russia. This would lead to nuclear annihilation, no doubt about it.

Many people still believe it with utter certainty though there has never been the slightest evidence that it is/was true. In fact the evidence points in the opposite direction, and if anybody had critical thinking skills anymore, they'd realize that if Clinton was expected to win by everyone in the wholewide world, then the likelihood of nuclear war with Russia was judged to be slim to none by... nearly everyone. Despite all the certainty of the hoo-hah.

Nevertheless, Russian involvement in spreading  anti-Clinton propaganda and memes should not have been an issue. In other words, so what? The domestic political propaganda industry is quite capable of coming up with endless falsehood, lies, fabrications, and satire about candidates. They are experts at oppo-research, and yes, they'll use or make up anything at all to destroy the other candidate. It's politics, it's the way it's been done in this country for practically ever. Russian or any other foreign participation shouldn't matter.

But apparently we are to launch into a phase where the Russia Thing is to become All Important, as important as Watergate. So they say.

Of course back in the day, Watergate wasn't intrinsically that important at all. The break-in was dastardly and illegal to be sure, but given its political nature, it hardly mattered in the vast eternal scheme, and at first few had much interest in it. It metastasized, however, once it became clear that the White House was intent on covering up the fundamental fact of White House and Presidential involvement. Of course there was also WaPo publisher Katherine Graham's vendetta against Nixon, precisely why we don't know.

That sort of thing seems to be taking place again, and tomorrow's testimony by James Comey is supposed to blow the whole thing "wide open". Expectation managers have put a whole lot on the Comey testimony, and I think they're in for a disappointment.

That aside, however, the permanent government (aka "Deep State") seems to believe that the Russia Thing will lead to the legal removal of Trump from office, whether or not "collusion" took place or is proven. Because, after all, Americans hate Russians, particularly Putin the Devil, right? And legally, it's the hatred of Americans that drives Presidents from office, right?

It's not so much what Trump has done in and out of office that will do him in, oh no. It's the Russia Thing -- and only the Russia Thing and how much hatred for Putin can be whipped up -- that matters.

I'm dismayed.

This won't end well, of course, but in the meantime, the obsession with Russia serves as a distraction from whatever is really going on.

I've said it before, Trump is the apotheosis of the neoLibCon paradigm. It will survive and flourish no matter what happens to Trump and his gang of thieves. The idea that Trump is not one of them, and that Trump will bring it all crashing down is fantasy more than reality. Yes he's a gangster and a conman and a buffoon and a liar and an abuser. Yes? So are most of the members of his class and so are most of those most fully aligned with the neoLibCon paradigm.

Gee.

Getting rid of Trump is getting rid of the Googly-Moogly, the Boogey-Man. Not at all getting rid of what he and his kind represent or want to do.

Basing his removal on the Russia Thing is idiotic. And doing it to enable Pence to ascend to the Throne is sick.

So here we are.

Tomorrow is another day...