If At First You Don’t Succeed, Blame Russia

During the final presidential debate on October 19th, President Elect Donald Trump created a stir when he stated that he wouldn’t necessarily accept the election results. Democratic politicians and political pundits pounced on Trump’s comments as proof that he was not fit to lead the United States. His opponent, Hillary Clinton stated that his refusal to “respect the results of [this] election” was a “direct threat to our democracy”. Fast forward to six weeks after the election and it is the Clinton camp attempting to delegitimize the President Elect.

The Green Party Recount

Hillary Clinton’s team announced that her lawyers would be involved in overseeing the recount effort spearheaded by Jill Stein and the Green Party. Stein claimed this recount was important for election integrity, but admitted that there was no concrete evidence to suggest there was any tampering with the election. Despite only gaining 1% of the vote, Stein raised 7 million dollars through an online campaign to recount the votes in three states where Trump was the Victor. This baseless endeavor failed miserably and Donald Trump actually gained more votes through the process in Wisconsin. With an unsuccessful recount effort behind them, the Democrats are now blaming the Russian government as its new narrative for the Democratic Party’s defeat.

The Russians Did It

There is zero evidence, other than a “secret” CIA report, that that the Russians manipulated or “hacked” the United States presidential election. The most the CIA is alleging is that the Russians possibly hacked into the Democratic National Committee emails and possibly the emails of Clinton Campaign head, John Podesta. There is no indication that the Russians meddled with voting machines or in calculating the vote. The fact that Clinton won the Popular Vote by nearly 3 million ballots, erodes the narrative that Russian influence succeeded in pushing the election in Trump’s favor.

FBI Says Niet

A senior FBI official met with members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in order to give their impressions of the CIA report. The official did not agree with the claims made in the report, calling the remarks ‘ambiguous’. “While lawmakers were seemingly united on the need to present a strong bipartisan response, the FBI and CIA gave lawmakers differing accounts on Russia’s motives, according to The Post,” The Hill reported on Sunday.

From Russia With Love

The phrase “Fake News” is the liberal buzzword of the moment. A hit piece that appeared in the Washington Post, claimed that Russia used paid trolls and “bots” to create and magnify “Fake News” stories that painted Clinton in a poor light. The problem is that the newspaper admitted to not vetting the sources and could not confirm if the “experts” cited were legitimate. In other words, the Washington Post ran a “Fake News” story about “Fake News”.

The Real Story

If the Russians did indeed hack the DNC or John Podesta, isn’t that the real story that should be reported? Is it meaningful if the Obama Administration allowed a breach in our cybersecurity by a foreign entity? The Mainstream media’s slant on Russian Hackgate is the exact reason why confidence in the media is at an all-time low and the public is searching for alternative news outlets.

Instead of doing the difficult work of self-reflection and redirection, the Democrats are acting like petulant toddlers who aren’t allowed to stay up past bedtime. Hillary Clinton lost because she was a terrible candidate; short on policy and mired in negativity. She did not make one campaign stop in Wisconsin; instead choosing to attend fundraisers with her celebrity pals. Clinton neglected many other states that ultimately went to Trump. The Russian Hack scandal was constructed to pacify the pain of electoral defeat, and put off the autopsy that must occur if the Democratic Party is to regroup to win back power.

Article Written By Traci Belmonte