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Musicmystery -> RE: GOP leaders defy Trump, concerned over Russian election influence (12/13/2016 2:11:05 PM)
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Why would Russia do this?
For starters, since the mid-2000s, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been convinced that the US has an objective to overthrow him. But even short of that, Putin thinks that the US is responsible for political turbulence in his region, namely the fall of pro-Russian governments in Ukraine, and revolutions in Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.
While Russia has had its setbacks, Putin still regards his country as a rightful geopolitical power, and is resentful that the US has carried out an aggressive foreign policy over the last decade and a half—including the invasion of Iraq and the support of rebels in Syria—without consulting him. He thinks that the West is ultimately hypocritical, and presumes that other countries are guilty of the same corruption, vote-rigging, and official lying as riddles Russian officialdom. Hence, Putin is out for revenge. He wants to shake the political systems across the West, and of NATO.
http://qz.com/860706/russian-hacking-and-the-us-election-why-it-matters-what-it-means-and-whats-next/
Now, why Vladimir Trump wouldn't simply denounce it and support an investigation is another interesting question.
How big a threat is Russia, really?
It’s a serious threat. Putin seeks to weaken the US, the EU, and NATO to the degree that they can no longer presume to call the shots without his agreement in international affairs. Since western governments are not ordinarily prepared for such stout challenges to their democracies, they are vulnerable to the weapons of doubt he is employing, mainly creating the impression that there are no indisputable facts, that anything could be true, and that everything is either already compromised, or could be. Since trust is the bedrock of democracy, this threatens social stability across the West.
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