The Russian meddling in U.S. elections was never really about getting specific candidates elected.
I’m sure Putin is happy with the outcome, but it likely an unexpected bonus.
The meddling was an act of cultural warfare designed to weaken the United States influence economically and culturally.
It was always about dividing us.
Throughout the election we heard false, emotionally charged narratives, (amplified online — even here) designed to pit American versus American.
- Dividing Democrats by pushing a misogynistic “Bernie Bros” narrative to both attack Clinton and undermine Sanders.
- Dividing Republicans by pushing deep state conspiracy theories and anti-establishment narratives.
- Deepening distrust of law enforcement while amplifying fear of Black Bloc anarchists.
- Dividing us on race, religion, free speech and free press
- Diving the U.S. from its NATO allies
- Damaging our influence as a leader of the U.N.
- Advocating for a literal wall
It was always about dividing us; and the succeeded.
They are still succeeding.
The Russian agenda to divide the U.S. along cultural, racial, economic and other lines has been a resounding success.
With the perhaps unexpected bonus win for Donald Trump “The Divider in Chief”
Putin has driven wedges into every available crack in the U.S. consciousness.
- the rise of white supremacists
- attacks on free press in the form of charges of “fake news”
- attacks on the definition of free speech and who should be protected and who should not
- xenophobia and hatred toward immigrants
- pretending that kneeling is an attack on veterans
- abandonment of territories across “a really big ocean”
It was always about dividing us.
We are fighting the battle the enemy has chosen for us.
They are winning.
They have turned our greatest strengths into our greatest vulnerabilities.
- They turned the freedom to organize and protest injustice into a test for patriotism
- They turned the freedom of press into a source of mistrust
- They turned freedom of religion into justification for hate.
In the next election, we need to focus on a simple message.
As a nation, we have been attacked; we are losing a battle.
The future of the United States depends upon a simple question:
Who is trying to divide us;
and who is trying to unite us?