Who would Putin want to win in the democratic party nomination?

[Fresh_Start]

I'm not asking about candidates, I'm asking about strategy.

4 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	the candidate best able to assist Putin in diminishing American power and influence
	1 (25%)
	the candidate least able to assist putin in diminishing American power and influence
	0 (0%)
	putin doesn't care one way of the other because the election is already totally fixed
	0 (0%)
	putin wants democracy to succeed and randomly picked a candidate
	0 (0%)
	other
	0 (0%)
	the candidate Putin thinks, Trump is in the best position to defeat.
	3 (75%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Moderateguy]

1. OMFG

Are you trying to justify Putin/Russia helping the Sanders campaign?

[Fresh_Start]

3. no, i'm merely trying to understand what DU thinks Putin's motive is

I did not identify any candidate.

[highplainsdem]

2. You left out the most likely answer: The candidate Putin thinks his puppet Trump can defeat.

Try adding that to your poll and you'll see more responses.

[Fresh_Start]

7. I thought of that, as the election is already fixed so it doesn't matter

but I see your distinction.

[highplainsdem]

9. What do you mean, the election is already fixed?

[Fresh_Start]

11. for example, russia has infiltrated or purchased or has backdoors

into enough voting machines or systems, that he already controls the results of the election which hasn't happened yet

[highplainsdem]

12. That's possible. Especially with the GOP having blocked legislation and funding we needed.

[highplainsdem]

10. Btw, thanks for adding that option to the poll.

[Fresh_Start]

13. you were right, it needed to be there

I'm too in my own head so I clustered it in a way that didn't make sense to you.

[ibegurpard]

4. Other

Putin wants to sow division and has trash-talkers and propaganda slamming everyone... except his puppet already installed in the White House.

[Fresh_Start]

6. i think of that as diminishing american power and influence

because division weakens us.

[relayerbob]

5. Whoever and whatever will cause the most chaos

And it likely isn't one or another, it's many and playing both sides of every coin.

Trump can't play one-carded solitaire, and Putin is playing 12 dimensional chess

[Fresh_Start]

8. if putin wanted to create the most chaos...he would switch sides

rather than be reliably GOP.

switching sides would undermine the minimal amount of predictability which is left.

[relayerbob]

15. You miss my point

He's not on their side. They had the ones most easily bribed and blackmailed.

We don't even know if this story is accurate, or just a false flag/psy-op to fuck with all the campaigns without actually doing anything than telling Sanders some otherwise difficult to corroborate stuff and leaking it to the media.

He doesn't give a crap about a one of us, and would likely sooner nuke us as deal with any of us. But making us tear ourselves apart is cheaper, cleaner and more effective, and gives them a sense of closure to the tearing apart of the Soviet Union.

[Fresh_Start]

17. I'm sorry, I don't think it is that...

GOP supports fossil fuels.
Russia economy is based on fossil fuels.


As goes big oil, so goes russia.

So he is tied to GOP because of common interest.
And that is why it would be even more chaotic if he did something not predictable.

[relayerbob]

19. I don't even think it's common interest

I think he has their leadership over a barrel. Trump, Moscow Mitch, Nunes, Graham, Hannity, Murdoch and others are undoubtedly all tied up to a global payoff ring with Putin holding the dirt on the whole bunch. And they know it. He also supports the NRA, to sow death and destruction and more chaos here. Does it help that we are the world's largest producer of oil? Hell yeah! Now he has more control over the markets with Trump in place. Does he care if we stop doing it? No, that reduces the supply and raises the prices. Win-win for Putin. As long as we don't actually go full-on fix the world with renewables, he gets the cash either way. And as long as he maintains a filibuster voice in the Senate, that doesn't happen. And meanwhile, they send in tweets and posts about how wind power eats the power of the sun, and we'll all freeze, not overheat, and how Greater Idaho, or a broken up California or an independent South will be such a benefit.

Sadly, it's an impressive task. One of those, if only he'd use his power for good instead of evil, kind of things. Putin cares about Russia, and wants us gone, preferably sooner than later.

[Fresh_Start]

20. look at the makeup of the Russian economy...

and then think of the many advantages Russia will reap in a global warming world...

I don't doubt that Putin has their balls in his hands.
But I think the interest started with common goals/needs.
And he created ways to blackmail them.

[relayerbob]

21. Oh absolutely

A warm Russia gives him/them enormous benefits

It may have started with mutual interests, but I suspect he's been playing the long game on this for at least 10 years, probably more. He fed their egos as bait, while pulling in the line slowly but surely. This is KGB shit - Russia always tends to think longer term, especially compared to the US (not as much as China though). I'm sure you are correct with the creating ways to blackmail them, but they were always pretty easy to corrupt, moreso than most Democrats.

[Fresh_Start]

23. russia plays the long game

I'm sure its 20+ years in the making

NRA infiltration started 2001.
Religious right in the 1990s.

That right wing conspiracy was no false flag.

[relayerbob]

24. Sadly, no

[Gothmog]

14. Bernie Sanders briefed by U.S. officials that Russia is trying to help his presidential campaign

Link to tweet

U.S. officials have told Sen. Bernie Sanders that Russia is attempting to help his presidential campaign as part of an effort to interfere with the Democratic contest, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also been informed about the Russian assistance to the Vermont senator, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

It is not clear what form that Russian assistance has taken. U.S. prosecutors found a Russian effort in 2016 to use social media to boost Sanders campaign against Hillary Clinton, part of a broader effort to hurt Clinton, sow dissension in the American electorate and ultimately help elect Donald Trump.

“I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president,” Sanders said in a statement to The Washington Post. “My message to Putin is clear: stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.

[spicysista]

16. I chose one option, but I really think two are likely.

I believe that Putin wants the candidate who will be easiest for his puppet to beat. Also, it is a goal of his to lessen America's international influence. If both of these qualifications are in the same candidate, then all the better.

[Fresh_Start]

18. i didn't see a way to allow people to make multiple choices

I think of Trump as a tactic to diminish America...not as a goal in itself.

[relayerbob]

22. This!

[Gothmog]

25. #BernieKnew

Link to tweet

[AlexSFCA]

26. trump reelection is highly likely

I am mentally preparing myself.

[Fresh_Start]

27. right there with you...

the dread is overwhelming.