Why are Hillary Clinton and her supporters so obsessed with Vladimir Putin? Do they actually believe that Donald Trump is taking orders from the Kremlin? Or has somebody in the Hillary campaign team decided that the Putin meme is a vote winner and given instructions that everybody is to mention it? If it’s the latter, it’s not working. With a week to go to the US presidential election, Clinton is actually behind Trump in the latest polls. Her response? Double down on the Putin theme. Accuse FBI director James Comey of being a Russian agent, and spread unfounded rumours of a connection between Trump and Alfa Bank. It’s all a little desperate.
Both Russia and the US election have generated reams of silly commentary in recent months, and it’s never been sillier than when the two issues have been combined. Take, for instance, an article in today’s Ottawa Citizen entitled ‘What will you do when Trump’s troops invade?’ According to author Madeline Ashby:
Canada is a country worthy of invasion. Canada has abundant resources of fresh water, oil, coal and timber, all of which will be increasingly important as climate change continues its death march across history. … Would President Trump wait for a pipeline? No. Waiting for a safe and legal pipeline takes too much time. Annexations for oil resources are much simpler.
The idea that President Trump would order an invasion of Canada is absurd enough. But for some reason Ashby feels the need to throw in a reference to Putin too. It’s as if there is a directive from Clinton HQ saying that any mention of Trump has to be followed by a mention of the Russian president. Ignoring the inconvenient fact that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was an adviser not to Vladimir Putin but to Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich, Ashby says:
Just ask Ukraine. Given Trump’s connections to Putin via ex-adviser Paul Manafort, and his pro-Kremlin foreign policy positions, it’s not a daring leap of imagination to consider that Trump might put Putin’s tactics to use regarding Canada.
So, let’s get this right. Not only might Trump invade Canada, but if he does so, it’s because Vladimir Putin inspired him. Part of me wants to think that this article is a spoof. But political commentary has become so deranged of late that it is no longer possible to tell what is a joke and what is for real.
IRRUSSIANALITY 
“Political commentary has become so deranged of late that it is no longer possible to tell what is a joke and what is for real.”
^THIS.
I recently halved the number of Russia news outlets I follow, but it’s seeing articles like the one you mentioned that pushes me one inch closer to going cold-turkey on news and just sticking to books (at least for the time being).
Does no one on the HRC campaign team realize that pushing the TrumPutin narrative is not a rational middle to long-term strategy? Do they not realize that if Hillary gets into office, she’ll still have to deal with Russia regardless of how much she’s labeled Putin a tyrant/Hitler/soulless person/thug/evil mastermind/puppetmaster/(insert wicked-sounding adjective here)? Or, you know, that spreading such a narrative (and convincing oneself of it) might restrict Russia policy options and lead one to make unnecessarily belligerent, irresponsible choices?
Does anyone care?
(I care immensely.)
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That’s because publishing lies isn’t punished. Somebody like Henry II would know how to handle these bearers of false witness.
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You blame the Clinton campaign, but doesn’t it look like this neo-mccarthyist movement includes 17 US ‘intelligence’ agencies, prezint Obama, and, well, pretty much everyone else in the democrat-republican establishment…
And the thing about an Alfa Bank server sinisterly pinging a Trump server is absolutely-positively hilarious… Vote Trump, people, please.
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No-no-no! No! As Everybody Knows ™ it’s Canada who wants to invade the USA! Since 1920-30s. True story!
Behold – a plan for “aggressive defense”:
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Well if you want Canada it is currently in the sub-zero range. On the weekend when the clock falls back an hour the Sun will set about 4 PM. There’s a lot of confused Canadians at the moment due to your election. With 320+ million Americans these two represent the best you have to offer the top job?
I am a bit older and getting more cynical by the year. It’s a tradition for the US President to make a few visits to Canada during their term(s). Over the last 16 years only one official visit took place when Obama dropped by to lecture Canadians. Bush Jr. made a visit to the Maritime Provinces to thank the people who took care of 20,000 Americans when the planes were grounded on 9/11. When President Clinton was in office he was here so often people started calling him Bill.
President Putin is very popular world-wide. He did appear on the cover of Time magazine twice as the man of year. Whoever cooked up this election is using his popularity to push a very weird agenda. My question is whether or not this election will drag on longer than the Gore vs Bush one?
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I can’t even read the article by Madeline Ashby in the Ottawa Citizen, Post Media (the parent of the Citizen) reprints every anti-Trump article printed by the NY Times, Washington Post, and Politico. Can you believe she’s labeled as a strategic foresight consultant and novelist . Find her at madelineashby.com or on Twitter @MadelineAshby. What a clown
My point is Canada’s media, other that the CBC – government funded, is a bought and paid for by the same sources as the ones detailed above. If you want truth in news about Canada http://www.therebel.media
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Prof., great analysis. I think you should also have a read of McLean’s editorial “column” that was published a couple of days ago (if you haven’t already done so): http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/the-undoing-of-vladimir-putin/
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The part that’s the most strange to me is that they saw this tactic blow up in the face up the “Remain” group in the UK, yet still pursue it?
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