Russia is attempting to influence the midterm elections in the United States in November as well as divide the transatlantic alliance, US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned at a meeting co-hosted by the Atlantic Council in Normandy, France, on June 8.

Coats said Russia had already undertaken an “unprecedented influence campaign to interfere in the US electoral and political process” in 2016. Russia, Coats pointed out, has also meddled in France, Germany, Norway, Spain, and Ukraine. "It is 2018, and we continue to see Russian targeting of American society in ways that could affect our midterm elections," he said.

Coats’ comments are aligned with assessments by the US intelligence community and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who in his previous role as director of the Central Intelligence Agency warned that he expected Russia to attempt to disrupt the midterm elections.

Coats spoke at a meeting jointly hosted by the Atlantic Council, Le Figaro, and the Tocqueville Foundation in Normandy, France.

Coats said Russia had conducted cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns with the intent of “degrading our democratic values and weakening our alliances.”



https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100210714673

to bash the Dem party or Dems running for office go straight to my Iggy List.

Because I have a very low tolerance for such nonsense these days, I have a very long Iggy List. I used to admire some before they went on the list.

Never again.

we lost in 2016 to a buffoon..that is on us.

enabled them.

Voter suppression
Comey bad behavior (twice)
Media bias and giving tons of free publicity to Trump

Etc
Etc
Etc

voters away.

but something happened?

Has her at #6.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/03/23/the-top-15-democratic-presidential-candidates-for-2020-ranked-2/?utm_term=.56dcf86f0fb4

(From late March of this year)

Though some would argue that Bernie isn't a Democrat.

So there is that.

Grumbling on a political blog has very little impact on the real world of politics.

The average Democratic Primary voter has no idea what led to Al Franken resigning, doesn't see him as being "railroaded" and will be making their Presidential choice based on issues they care about, not about politics.

Come on. Her poor judgment and haste on the matter against a fellow Dem will certainly be brought up. And don't forget she also threw Bill Clinton under the bus as well.

And don't tell me the Clintons don't still have influence in the party.

It's sad, I mean how do you screw up royalty on that issue in this time of #me_too?

She managed to do it in her rush to judgment.

After four years of Trump, voters are going to care about whether a candidate can win, and what they're going to do to solve the voters' problems. Not petty squabbles on the internet.

Franken has moved on. Franken's campaign staff has moved on (I know them). I suggest you do the same.

the rules of the site. I was angry that she got involved in the Franken matter but it is over and done with...let it go long ago..wish her only the best...still won't vote for her in a Primary (lack of judgement) but my own Senator Brown said basically the same thing. Sen. Franken is gone...time to move on.

Personally, I think it's OK to be critical here now and then - I mean this is a discussion forum after all. As long as we are always united behind supporting Democrats in elections and aren't "bashing" (a vague term, to be sure).

have nothing to do with that... moderation is up to the powers that be...what I am saying is what you can do and should do are two different things..the party is disparaged on television and other media. There is an impact. We should support Democrats here...not everyone agrees how things should be done. If you want to win,you support Democrats and the party.

In general, we should be supportive of all Democrats and work to get them elected. But if the party is doing something wrong, there's nothing wrong with pointing it out and offering suggestions to fix it so that we can have the biggest blue wave possible in November and in 2020.

different opinions. We need to support the party period.

kind of fixes...because everyone has an opinion.

for stagnation. There can be no progress without self-awareness.

constant criticism...no one wants to belong or vote for a party that its own members claim is no good.

the entire point of "constructive" criticism is make something better! if something is flawed / not working, it doesn't get fixed by being ignored. it gets fixed by recognizing the problem and changing things.

I think it is both foolish and counterproductive to claim that there is nothing wrong with a party that has lost--again I have to say this!--1000 state leg seats, 2/3 of the governorships, the House, the Senate, and now the presidency to the worst, slimiest, stupidest, most immoral, most unqualified and least capable candidate in our history!

Sure there were many factors, and all of them need to be addressed....but ONE of those factors was our party. We are adults. One of the things adults don't do is bang on things and claim nothing that happens to them is in any way their fault. Leave that to tRump.

And the constant barrage of criticism and the implied threat...do what I want or I take my ball and go home is why the GOP is in power as we speak. The Democratic party is a big tent party and has to remain so and not cater to on group or the other.

which is, clearly!, a losing proposition.

Good luck with that.

surprising...we are the big tent party and need to field candidates that can win in red or purple states. There is a feeling that really they 'agree' with us...just need to get a progressive that can present the message, but it is not true. What many refuse to admit is that we live in a center left country. We have never held a majority without moderates. I take no joy in this...I am a liberal. But, we do what we must to win and advance what liberal policy we can.

You know we've done this before, right? You know we put up and elected a bunch of blue dog candidates, 'cause they were the best we thought we could get, right?

And what did we get? Under Obama we got a Heritage Foundation health insurance act that was the most those blue dogs would allow us. A plan so unpopular that it was vulnerable from the start and has only now that it is under attack ticked above 50%.

Tell me, how popular are Social Security and Medicare, in comparison? How much further to the left are they? (answer: a lot) How much easier to defend are they? How much better an issue to run on?

We live in a center left country indeed. Maybe we should pass some center left policies, instead of centrist policies, or even rightist policies. I mean, if we want to win.

the reality...we didn't get single payer but we got the ACA which saved lives. You get what you can, but 100% of nothing is still nothing. The reality is we are going to change hearts and minds in order to get liberals into states like West Virginia. It is not possible now.

Heritage plan gutted Medicaid. Obamacare included a massive expansion of Medicaid.

Heritage plan minimally regulated the insurance industry. Obamacare brought strict federally enforceable regulation and consumer rights.

Heritage plan destroyed Medicare and replaced it with a “voucher”. Obamacare preserved Medicare.

Those are major differences.

There is nothing “the same” about them. It is egregious disinformation to claim otherwise.

It wasn’t perfect but it was a massive improvement over the status quo and it saved people’s lives.



http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/12/the-affordable-care-act-is-not-remotely-similar-to-the-heritage-plan
THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IS NOT REMOTELY SIMILAR TO THE HERITAGE PLAN

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/12/the-aca-v-the-heritage-plan-a-comparison-in-chart-form
THE ACA V. THE HERITAGE PLAN: A COMPARISON IN CHART FORM

"Third Way," "DLC," etc, etc constructive?

I have yet to see any "constructive" criticism on DU. They can claim it is until the cows come home. What it is really about is that they want their own way, these critics.

I don't see it either.

"Why are the Democrats doing...!!11"

As if the media gave equal time to Democrats!

Folks who say those things are just working on the demolition, see...

Or something like that, anyhow.

In the upcoming midterms. Which I think is the endgame for some here. It was done here in 2010. I’m having deja vu.

This is very familiar behavior.

And not true.

To give an example, why is it the strongest, loudest, most articulate and passionate voices against preznit tRump are Republican never-trumpers? Where are the Democrats?

I completely disagree with you, for reasons others have stated in this thread. Nevertheless, by making the statement, and by attracting so much enthusiastic agreement, you've done a real service in crystallizing my understanding of where some people are coming from.

Still, I can't escape the feeling that this doctrine might be applied selectively. For example, the current process for selecting the Democratic Party's national ticket includes some caucuses and some open primaries, as well as some closed primaries. It's quite common on DU to see posts criticizing caucuses and open primaries, and calling for a change. Inasmuch as that change would promote your preferences in the intra-party struggles, might you perhaps exempt such posts from your generalization?

disagree as to what would be best...a party must serve all its members but not cater to any particular group.

There are a lot of posts here on DU demanding an end to open primaries. Is your 'no criticism' edict applicable to those demands?

I am completely against open primaries.

Criticism you disagree with is bad, criticism you agree with is good. We all intuitively feel that way, but we should strive to reflect honestly on our intuitions and consider if they just reflect our biases.

what to do. I think it hurts us and you raise a good point...there will be nothing but criticism...because if we dwell on the negative...it will be criticism all the time...that is what happened in 16. Everyone has a different opinion. I will not sweat what I consider the small stuff and will work on winning the midterms...no desire to rebuild, rebrand or fix the Democratic Party.

except criticism of open primaries.

Yeah, no double-standard there.

... it's divisive and it weakens the party. It causes resentment and distrust. It's not helpful at all. What I'm trying to say is that it's insulting when certain people give themselves permission to attack and smear Democrats and the Democratic party by saying "Oh, I'm allowed... it's just constructive criticism".

And, the "constructive criticism" sure seems to be one sided, doesn't it?

I'm married to social worker who spent her life helping the downtrodden for next to no pay. I know what "care" means.

It's the people who take the stance of "my way or the highway" and don't care about the consequences of that stance that are the problem. One trick ponies (or posters) give themselves away in short order. Any claims by such posters to care about much of anything are suspect at best.

There is a fine line between constructive criticism and bashing. I think most of us--on both sides of that line--are smart enough to know where it is, and to choose where to be.

Same old, same old isn't going to cut it.

And certainly bashing or telling independents who criticize the party to STFU isn't going to get them to the polls.

As Democrats, we've always known the answer is inclusion -- even the inclusion of those with whom we disagree on some issues.

Thank you for the link, though, and welcome to DU.

election...so tell me how running left helps? Accept that we need a big tent...the people we attract won't always be your sort or my sort, but we have no choice. You won't get a liberal candidate in Missouri or West Virginia...I don't like it either. But I like being without any sort of power to stop the GOP monsters less.

Most of the time I don't think it makes sense to talk about conservative or liberal, right or left within the party or among likely D voters.

We have a decent platform, but folks, on the right, left, and center on various issues want to speak to them and about our historic and current positions and STFU will keep them from voting for us.

we should always be promoting our generic beliefs...so I don't find any disagreement with you.

Bashing is not, and should not, be allowed on DU. Constructive criticism is vital.

Attacks on Clinton that were taken up by the Sandernistas didn’t do any damage. Riight.

Look up “useful idiot.”

Constructive criticism aside, losing to Trump is not "on us". There are things that the Democratic Party can do better, and that should always be open for discussion, however, Hillary Clinton lost the electoral college vote by 77,000 votes in 3 contested states where there was known to be both voter suppression and indication of tampering with voting machines. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, as Democratic candidates have done in several recent elections while still losing the election.

The Democratic Party has made some mistakes, but the election of Donald Trump was not the result of Democratic Party missteps. It was the result of several factors that came together to allow the idiot to win by a narrow margin and in illegitimate fashion.

WE lost...and I cried for 3 weeks straight..but yes, it is on us. we lost. and to a lunatic. History books, people. Facts are facts.

Of course hostiles among us, paid and unpaid, are going to be doing what they come here for. How many of the posts supporting the subversion are bots?

COUNTDOWN TO WINNING THIS BATTLE: 148 days.

of many of the news personalities MSNBC, CNN; katie tur, etc.
[I'm somewhat grateful for them because on my gym 30 minute arc machine I can'l help but see fox phonies, suck-ups, co-conspirators, slavish whatevers, psychophants intentional spelling here, . . . ]

you the truth, doesn;t take too big of wedge to do so. We saw how easy the not voting/supporting "the lesser of 2 evils" was rampant in DU and across america...we still have those in our party who believe unless demcratic candidates pass their form of a litmus test, they are not worthy of support. America is and has never been a left-center country BUT a center-left country and must all come together for the one mutual benefit of taking our country back no matter what.....

Last edited Sun Jun 10, 2018, 10:12 AM - Edit history (1)

much difference between the Democrats and repugs, and independents should participate in the Democratic primaries to "transform" the party will split off votes—maybe enough so a repug will win the general election.

Elaborating and exaggerating arguments for and against Beyoncé to foment discord among that group, which reportedly had 3 million hits on that controversy - apparently most participants unaware they were being goaded.
Beyoncé! Imagine the efforts on Bernie, Hillary, and for the dumpster.

we saw the flood in DU....we saw the "news" in facebook. Breeding descent isn't difficult

(sorry)

Trolls, demohaters, maggot humpers...
Fuck off and die.

Get on board or shut up and get the fuck out of the way. That’s my message to that crowd.

and I only vote for democrats.

Second, if we don't unite, drumpf et al will destroy what is left of our democracy and he will become our dumpy drawers dictator for the rest of his rotten life.

Democrats need to elect true blue Democrats to Congress then the WH.

Mostly about what’s on TV or coming out of the Beltway.

The rules prevent us from calling them out even when they are obvious.