KRUGMAN: "Yes, The Election Was Hacked"

[kpete]

Does anyone really doubt that these factors moved swing-state ballots by at least 1 percent? If they did, they made the difference in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — and therefore handed Mr. Trump the election, even though he received almost three million fewer total votes. Yes, the election was hacked.

...................

So as I said, there were a lot of useful idiots this year, and they made the election hack a success.

Now what? If we’re going to have any hope of redemption, people will have to stop letting themselves be used the way they were in 2016. And the first step is to admit the awful reality of what just happened.

That means not trying to change the subject to campaign strategy, which is a legitimate topic but has no bearing on the question of electoral subversion. It means not making excuses for news coverage that empowered that subversion.

And it means not acting as if this was a normal election whose result gives the winner any kind of a mandate, or indeed any legitimacy beyond the bare legal requirements. It might be more comfortable to pretend that things are O.K., that American democracy isn’t on the edge. But that would be taking useful idiocy to the next level.


MORE!:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/opinion/useful-idiots-galore.html

[uponit7771]

1. Comey, Voter suppression, Russia... !!!!

[DK504]

13. Squirrel!!!!

Look the other way, shiny tidbits!!!

[KamaAina]

15. Squirrel?

"Vladimir and Donald make big trouble for moose and squirrel"?

[Botany]

2. Comey, Cross Check, Russia, and a useless media

This was a coup.

[compsports]

3. Most Americans don't care

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/15/some-very-good-news-for-donald-trump-a-strong-majority-still-say-russia-didnt-matter/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_fix-russiapoll-bulletonly-510am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.c717b3a5054c

[kpete]

4. MORE from Krugman:

… Still, the general picture of a president-elect who owes his position in part to intervention by a foreign power, and shows every sign of being prepared to use U.S. policy to reward that power, is accurate.

But let’s be honest: Mr. Trump is by no means the only useful idiot in this story. As recent reporting by The Times makes clear, bad guys couldn’t have hacked the U.S. election without a lot of help, both from U.S. politicians and from the news media. …

… Now what? If we’re going to have any hope of redemption, people will have to stop letting themselves be used the way they were in 2016. And the first step is to admit the awful reality of what just happened.

That means not trying to change the subject to campaign strategy, which is a legitimate topic but has no bearing on the question of electoral subversion. It means not making excuses for news coverage that empowered that subversion.

And it means not acting as if this was a normal election whose result gives the winner any kind of a mandate, or indeed any legitimacy beyond the bare legal requirements. It might be more comfortable to pretend that things are O.K., that American democracy isn’t on the edge. But that would be taking useful idiocy to the next level.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/opinion/useful-idiots-galore.html

[mcar]

5. They are clueless

Or hypocrites, or both. Many Americans also don't know who the Vice President is and cannot name even one Supreme Court justice.

[Friend or Foe]

6. Sure they can..

Judge Judy! Come on. That was an easy one.

[mcar]

8. She may yet be

[barbtries]

10. i care.

but i need to look forward because it's a done thing, and i plan to resist the end of our democracy as long and as hard as i possibly can.
it sucks of course. who believes the republicans will do jackshit about it? not me

[Skittles]

14. STUPID AMERICANS DON'T CARE

patriots with critical thinking skills VERY MUCH DO CARE

[BainsBane]

7. And it started during the primaries

Let us not forget that. Russia tried to take Clinton down during the primaries.

[world wide wally]

9. The biggest problem is that he doesn't even have a right to lead, let alone a mandate

[Coyotl]

11. Or Florida and Pennsylvania. Switching 40K votes flips the electoral college....surgical precision.

[brer cat]

12. Thank you, Mr. Krugman!

"Useful idiots galore" is well said. Diversion is one of their favorite tools and Krugman will not let them get away with it.

[gulliver]

16. As usual, Krugman with a bullseye.