Ok, so the Russians interfered in our election. I don't have any doubt about this, the American Intelligence community doesn't have any doubt about this, and most of America doesn't have any doubt about this. Quite honestly, I don't think Trump or anyone in the White House has any doubt about this. But, I don't believe it was with any help from the Trump campaign or the Clinton campaign. This is what Putin and the Russians do. They meddle in affairs other than their own.
Putin is former KGB
The KGB (The Committee for State Security) was the Soviet Union's version of the CIA.
There was a mantra, a vision, was that in the KGB you would be held in high regard if you helped to take down the democracy of America. This was their covert goal. Many Russians acknowledge that Putin still holds these convictions. He still thinks he will be held in high regard if he helps to take down the democracy of America.
Now I don't think that Putin is a Soviet, I don't think he wants to recreate the Soviet Union. But I am convinced that he wants to recreate the cold war atmosphere of the United States versus Russia. Us versus them. Putin likes that instability because then he can show to the world that Russia is more than a regional power.
Younger people have forgotten about what situation was like when we were at odds with the Russians.
The bi-polar world is stable to him because it will give him the respect that he thinks he deserves.
This is also one of the reasons Putin depicts himself shirtless on a horse or fighting a bear. By depicting himself as the Russian "James Bond," he can show everyone that he is in power, that he is masculine, and that he is the one who can mess with the United States.
Putin hates Clinton
It is no secret that Putin and Hillary Clinton did not get along. Back in 2014, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton compared Putin's annexation of Crimea in Ukraine to the actions of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. This really put a thorn in Putin's eye.
He took that remark to heart and sought out to make sure that it would be difficult for her to run for President.
He also wanted to make sure that if she became president, that President Hillary Clinton would be held accountable for comparing him to Hitler.
I don't believe that Putin thought that Trump would win, I don't think the Russians are that organized. But they certainly did favor him over Hillary Clinton. The main reasons, I believe for his interference is his distaste for Clinton and his vision that he will be held in high regard in Russia if he proves he can take down American democracy.
I think that we as Americans should be careful in the mid-term election cycle and hope that our intelligence community makes sure that Russia is held accountable. The Trump administration should also stop pushing the "we're innocent" argument in the collusion narrative and start pushing the idea that "Russia did interfere, but not with us."
So, does it matter?
Absolutely.
If Russia thinks they can control the world, they need to think again. I find it very surprising that Democrats and Republicans cannot get along and unify on this issue. Russia needs to be held accountable.
In addition, the top American intelligence officials testified before Congress today saying that they are expecting Russia to do it again in the midterms later this year. Mike Pompeo of the CIA did say that “We do have some capabilities offensively to raise the cost for those who would dare challenge the United States elections.”
We must all come together and work to make sure this doesn't happen again. Or, at the very least, make it much harder for them to influence our elections.
