I asked my friends at lunch today if they thought that trump was insane... their view

[NRaleighLiberal]

is that he is simply an entertainer saying exactly what he wants because his mindless followers eat it all up.

We also discussed the election - my view, I told them, is that it was an election theft - a few key states flipped and that was that. Neither of them "could go there" - they said that without hard evidence, they don't think Russia was capable of it and it was Hillary's unpopularity.

And my two friends are Democrats. This is what the country is up against.

[elleng]

1. It's not easy for those not glued to politics to accept the election was stolen.

It's not unreasonable to want to see 'hard evidence.'

[dameatball]

2. CIA and FBI are not evidence to them? Hmmmm. I hope you didn't buy lunch....:)

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. I think they simply can't allow themselves to go there - the implications are too horrible.

My comment to them is that their opinion is actually doing harm. They are pretty unplugged and in their own little bubble - it is sad to see how much they lack empathy for those getting hurt so badly right now.

Friendships are definitely becoming strained...especially when it shows differing values.

[Blue_Roses]

7. I'm right there with ya.

"Friendships are definitely becoming strained...especially when it shows differing values."

[dameatball]

8. I understand. I worked with people that really did not like Trump. But they tended to fill their

lives with kids' activities, sports, fishing, etc.....almost like this whole Trump thing was something they really were not prepared to deal with.

[Blue_Roses]

4. Denial.

I don't understand how people can deny or "not go there" when the evidence is slapping them in the face. I have some friends and family like this also. It's exhausting.

[EndGOPPropaganda]

5. Give them a TPM or MoJo subscription

I’ve been sending skeptical Dem friends a sub to MoJo.

[Ilsa]

6. They need to pay closer attention

and pull their heads out of the sand. Democracy depends on it.

[redstateblues]

9. Unfortunately so far there is no hard evidence that votes were changed

I think at some point that may be discovered. The Jill Stein candidacy is very problematic-I think she was in cahoots with the Russians. If we win the House we will get some answers? As far as Trumps sanity- I think he is an authoritarian savant. He instinctively knows how to appeal to all the bad instincts that are present in a certain segment of the populous. It is scary and sad to see that in our country.

[Hekate]

11. You don't have to "change votes" to sabotage an election. As long as people are allowed to...

...perseverate on those words, they can avoid looking at the reality of voter suppression, ethnically cleansed voter roles, severe gerrymandering, hacked records, and how attitudes were warped by Facebook being used by Russian trolls and bots.

So don't let people get away with shorthand that obscures the truth. It's like saying "collusion" when what happend was "conspiracy."

[tikka]

10. Government agency have not said that the election was affected

Whether this was because they didn't want to admit the election was illegitimate or they didn't have proof at the time is debatable. By calling the election illegitimate, they would have opened a huge constitutional can of worms (which is still the case). Considering outside experts, according to MSM, have said that the Russians won the election for Commander Bonespurs, I would think the government agencies concur and are keeping quiet.