GOP Seems Unconcerned About Russian Attack On 2018 Election. Why?

One of the things that we already knew but was confirmed by Mueller’s indictments yesterday is that the original intention of the Russians in attacking our democratic process was to sow as much division as possible before settling on supporting Donald Trump, primarily due to Putin’s fear and hatred of Hillary Clinton, as the most effective way to accomplish that. And, while Trump is accomplishing Russia’s goals for now, it is important to remember that the primary objective for Russia is to make sure American remains divided and as ineffective as possible in responding to Russian foreign policy objectives.

With that realization in mind, it is certainly quite plausible that Putin could decide that the prospects of a Democratic House of Representatives and potential impeachment proceedings may be even more beneficial for Russian interests that just letting Trump be Trump. Now Putin may decide that incremental gain is not worth the risk or the investment. But it is certainly a real possibility.

Yet Republicans seem entirely unconcerned that the Russian attacks on our democracy apparently continue to this day and, more interestingly, entirely dismissive of the possibility that the GOP itself may be the target in the 2018 election. Remember, James Comey confirmed that the Russians also hacked a disused RNC server containing older emails and some state-level GOP systems as well. Unlike with the Democrats, that stolen data was never released by the Russians so we have no idea of the extent, if any, of the “dirt” that Putin has on certain Republicans.

So, with the very real possibility that they themselves may be the next target for the Russians, you really have to wonder why the Republican party seems unwilling to take any steps to protect our democracy. We all understand why Trump is disinterested, but the Republicans’ inaction seems especially puzzling.

I have previously theorized that perhaps the GOP in general, not just Trump, were aided by Russian efforts far more than we realize. After all, no one expected Trump to actually win the election so Russian interests would have also benefited from a Republican Congress in opposition to a President Hillary Clinton. There is evidence that the hacked DNC emails were used to target down-ballot Democrats in swing districts. Paul Manafort’s best Russian buddy, Oleg Deripaska, funneled over $7 million to various PACs controlled by top GOP Congressional leaders. The FBI is looking into Russian donations to an NRA dark-money PAC that reportedly spent millions supporting Trump and potentially other down-ballot Republicans. And Mueller is reportedly looking into whether the RNC’s data operations overlapped with Russian social media operations. That might also include aiding down-ballot Republicans. Lastly, the administration finally admitted that some state elections systems were compromised by Russian attacks and any interference in those systems to benefit Trump, if it actually occurred, would have also benefited down-ballot Republicans.

Now, some might find it a little more than a coincidence that Republican Committee chairs, the usual funnels for loads of PAC money, are retiring at a furious pace, along with a record number of House Republicans. Perhaps that reflects something more than just a fear of a Democratic wave.

But now that Mueller has finally put the last nail in the coffin of the Trump defense that we can’t really be sure it was the Russians who hacked the election, it might finally be time for the media to actually pin down Republican Congressional leaders, specifically McConnell and Ryan, on why they have made no effort to protect our democracy from Russian attack and if they intend to take any steps to protect the upcoming election. We’ve been waiting for them to answer that question as well as a reason for their continued inaction for well over a year now.