Vladimir Putin is still targeting us

| 3:00 pm EST February 11, 2019
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And so another presidential election season begins in America. We can all agree we do not want a repeat of 2016. 2016 was a lesson in how not to get the person you support elected. Shall we review what we have learned?

Vladimir Putin’s interest in the outcome hasn’t waned, so a refresher in how he operates seems to be in order. Vlad the Poisoner supports all sides. He supports your candidate and he supports your candidate’s opposition. He doesn’t much care, especially now that his nemesis Hillary Clinton has been removed from the board.

All Vlad wants is division and vitriol in America. He supports vaxxers and antivaxxers. He supports white nationalists and Black Lives Matter. Most of all he supports whatever it is that makes you angry. If you publish a pro-AOC rant that calls her opposition dinosaurs who need to die, he’s happy. If you leave a comment saying AOC is an attention monger who needs to grow up, he is equally happy.

How then do we avoid a repeat of 2016? It’s pretty simple really: We turn down the temperature online. We practice civility and self control. Each one of us has been guilty at some point of taking out our personal frustrations on an online commenter. Let us each step back and consider how useful to our cause that really is.

The foreign-promoted false narratives, anger and division is bound to ratchet up to 11 until Election Day 2020. If American Democrats are capable of learning from recent history, we have an excellent chance of prevailing. If not, we will fail ourselves and our beloved country. As your mother once told you, it costs you nothing to be polite.