Sen. James Risch on CNN -- "The Russians TRIED to affect the election, but they failed!"

ARGH!!! I am SO sick of hearing this.

If Hillary Clinton had won, we could say they failed. But their preferred candidate won, so we can't say they failed. Chances are very good that they DID affect the election and succeeded in getting the outcome everyone agrees they wanted.

This is sloppy shorthand for "we can't prove they changed votes by tampering with machinery." It doesn't mean "they didn't change the outcome."

- They sent bots and trolls through social media, comment threads and message boards to spread FALSE stories about Sec. Clinton.
- They hacked the DNC servers and released information to keep unflattering info in the headlines at strategic times.
- They met and coordinated with Trump campaign associates, and may well have pushed the NY FBI office (via Giuliani) to elevate the nonsense promulgated by Breitbart and to exert pressure for Comey to release his late-October letter.

A very few votes, in a very few targeted areas, overrode the popular vote to kick in the electoral college. It was more than close -- she got substantially more votes.

So nobody can say the Russians did not change the results of the election! If she were president, we'd know "they failed." As it is, it seems they succeeded.