Dems need to seriously ramp up the rhetoric against Russia.

[coti]

Damned if the Democrats don't know how to label an enemy "the enemy." Make the Russia-publican traitors afraid to be associated with a country our country is effectively at war with.

If there's anything Americans go for, its a good finger-pointing and opportunity to show off our air superiority, cruise missiles and tanks. Obviously the Russia-publicans have been aware of this for many decades. Our candidates should be taking every opportunity to describe how we're going to respond to Russia's attacks on our democracy when they take the Presidency. And that response should be a forceful one.

[ArtTownsend]

1. This can backfire. All evidence I've seen is that Putin's only become more popular in Russia.

Especially since 2014. I genuinely worry we might be playing into his hands in terms of entrenching his power within Russia.

Focus on what Trump and the Republicans have done and are doing above all else.

[coti]

2. Domestic politics aside, they attacked the very foundation of our democracy and there needs to be a

very, very serious response. Ideally, using asymmetric warfare- i.e., our bombs/special ops against their computer hackers. Put some serious fear of consequences in their trolls.

Russia wants to hide and pretend like what they're doing isn't happening, while its in our interest to bring it out into the light.

That said, the politics say we need to do this anyway. Not calling out Russia for what they are comes from the same mentality that says we shouldn't impeach Trump because it's too "divisive"- it's just not wanting the fight.

Welp, what we want or don't want doesn't matter. This is the fight we have, this is the fight we're in. We'd better start acting like it if we want to save what's left of the republic.

[coti]

3. Kick nt

[renate]

4. Rather than trying to persuade trumpists that Russia is bad and a dictatorship...

(because they didn’t get to where they are by means of information and logic, so they won’t get out of it that way)

We should point out that Russia HATES US. Hate is a language Trump’s cult members understand.

We won the Cold War. Their economy is a minuscule fraction of ours. There used to be two superpowers; now there is only one. We won and they lost and Putin hates us for it. Anyone in this country who loves Putin has been duped by an ex-KGB master manipulator who despises us.