Allahpundit:
Via the Weekly Standard, tough spot for Cotton here. He’s clearly eyeing a presidential run down the line and just as clearly positioning himself to coopt some of Trump’s nationalist base when he does. But Cotton’s a hawk in the McCain/Rubio mold and being tough on Russia goes with that particular territory. When forced to choose between ingratiating himself to Trump fans and sticking with his positions on national defense, which would he choose? Watch below and you’ll have your answer.
What about Tucker, though? The reason he and Cotton are discussing Russia and jihadism in the first place is because Carlson’s trying to analogize Moscow’s hacking operations to spying conducted inside the U.S. by American allies like Israel, the UK, and so on. If we tolerate the latter countries running spy rings here because they’re on our side, Carlson wonders, why don’t we tolerate Russia’s hacking since they’re on our side too — against Islamic terrorism, at least? (Never mind that the charge against Russia isn’t merely spying but calculated leaking to try to influence a national election.) If Russia’s sort of like Great Britain, then its DNC and Podesta operations aren’t such a big deal. Maybe Carlson’s just playing devil’s advocate to make for a more interesting interview, as he notes after one response that he agrees with everything Cotton just said before continuing to press him. But it’s hard not to view this in tandem with Hannity’s Strange New Respect for Julian Assange, as part of a broader pro-Russian shift by Fox News aimed at getting its viewers to support Trump’s coming rapprochement with Putin. Trump himself stoked the Strange New Respect this morning:
Julian Assange said "a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta" – why was DNC so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
In 2010, when asked about Bradley/Chelsea Manning leaking to Wikileaks, Trump said, “I think it’s disgraceful, I think there should be like death penalty or something.” Sarah Palin, who once called Assange an “anti-American operative with blood on his hands” who should be pursued with the same urgency as Al Qaeda, took to Facebook to publicly apologize to Assange now that he’s done his duty to America by damaging Democrats. The line has been set among populists: The leaked material hacked from Podesta and the DNC led to a virtuous outcome with Trump’s election, therefore those responsible for it, like Assange, are essentially virtuous and trustworthy too. How this squares with the idea, also advanced by populists, that the hacked material wasn’t the difference between victory and defeat is unclear.
Where does Tucker fit into all of that? When he asked Russian dissident Garry Kasparov yesterday why he should have to send his 19-year-old American son to defend Estonia, was that a devil’s-advocate question to challenge Kasparov or part of a pro-Russian Fox shift? (The answer, of course, is that America willingly made an obligation to Estonia under NATO in the hope that the threat of American military power would avert war between Russia and any European country. It’s worked pretty well so far. And unless your 19-year-old has voluntarily enlisted, he has nothing to worry about. Although Kasparov had a good answer too.)
That’s NOT why she apologized.
She said what Assange said about NOT leaking anything to get American operatives killed was why she apologized.
She had been wrong about him.
Don’t forget, someone, a NON-STATE actor, took the Podesta emails.
They told THE TRUTH about Hillary and the DNC players and strategies.
That’s why Hillary lost.
Not because her easily hackable bathroom private server which led to an Iranian scientist’s death for being a double agent.
His death took place after hacking but BEFORE Wikileaks published anything about him.
Assange was very careful in his wording during that interview, so, think about what he said about the DNC (Podesta) emails:
He said he was the ONLY person who knew where he got those emails from.
How can that be true?
Because the other person, who got him all those emails, is now DEAD.
Probably that person WAS Seth Rich.
And he’s dead.
Shot three times in the back on a public street but not robbed.
Seth backed Bernie and worked at DNC where he learned of that org’s treatment of Bernie by Hillary’s backers there.
He was a whistleblower, but not a Russian.
No Russia is not our friend, Russia is doing this for Russia, instability in Syria isn’t good for business, chucking the EU into instability is not good for business. He has no intention of letting another major shipping port to export NG and crude fall into Terrorist hands cuts deep into profits paying off these low IQ, never keep their word blood thirsty cultists.
Once the USA stops arming and training them they will be easy to defeat, sharing the cost for wiping out the “rebels” isn’t a bad deal, we are kinda deep in debt, having another ME country where Christians are allowed to live and the 2 factions of the death cult are made to behave. Yes the Christians in Syria back Assad, after what Obama let happen in Iraq they have no hope the rebels will allow them to live. They stayed in Syria feeling protected, those that got on the boats were chucked overboard so little choice to run to Europe.