Changes

Author Max Blumenthal, senior editor of ''The Grayzone'', observed:

Author Max Blumenthal, senior editor of ''The Grayzone'', observed:

{{Quotebox|This whole narrative would blow back on [[the left]] and would be used to enforce conformity on issues of war and peace, in support of the former against the latter. When we're seeing that play out in real time, with Hillary Clinton's attacks on Tulsi Gabbard.  It was clear to me as soon as Tulsi Gabbard got into the race that even though she has absolutely no connection to Russia at all, she was going to be smeared this way because this is the McCarthyite venomous poison that Hillary Clinton has brought into the Democratic Party, along with the [[national security]] state figures like [[John Brennan]] and [[James Clapper]]. They have turned principled resistance against Trump and Trumpism into a collection of spooks, dupes, and Cold War cooks, and our worst warnings are being fulfilled.  Tulsi Gabbard has been smeared as a Russian asset. She's been basically accused of committing a crime, that could hold the [[death penalty]], by someone with a multi-million dollar sleaze operation.  Hillary Clinton and her sleaze network, her corporate funded sleaze network which really grew out of her campaign where she just had so much [[Wall Street]] money, and defense industry money....this is their way of destroying an emergent trend in the party, which is somewhat non-partisan. But is also anti-war, which reflects the sentiments of Americans across the country including a lot of the working-class people who are following Trump into the Republican Party.  It was coordinated....<br><br>

{{Quotebox|This whole narrative would blow back on [[the left]] and would be used to enforce conformity on issues of war and peace, in support of the former against the latter. When we're seeing that play out in real time, with Hillary Clinton's attacks on [[Tulsi Gabbard]].  It was clear to me as soon as Tulsi Gabbard got into the race that even though she has absolutely no connection to Russia at all, she was going to be smeared this way because this is the McCarthyite venomous poison that Hillary Clinton has brought into the Democratic Party, along with the [[national security]] state figures like [[John Brennan]] and [[James Clapper]]. They have turned principled resistance against Trump and Trumpism into a collection of spooks, dupes, and Cold War cooks, and our worst warnings are being fulfilled.  Tulsi Gabbard has been smeared as a Russian asset. She's been basically accused of committing a crime, that could hold the [[death penalty]], by someone with a multi-million dollar sleaze operation.  Hillary Clinton and her sleaze network, her corporate funded sleaze network which really grew out of her campaign where she just had so much [[Wall Street]] money, and defense industry money....this is their way of destroying an emergent trend in the party, which is somewhat non-partisan. But is also anti-war, which reflects the sentiments of Americans across the country including a lot of the working-class people who are following Trump into the Republican Party.  It was coordinated....<br><br>

The rhetorical basis for Hillary Clinton smear was established during the past two years when anyone who challenged the imperatives of the national security state in places like [[Syria]] or [[Venezuela]], where the proxy war is playing out between the US and Russia although you know it's not purely a proxy war but it's seen that way in Washington, is accused of echoing [[Kremlin]] [[propaganda]].  And so we saw that narrative weaponized against Tulsi Gabbard after the last debate. I've never seen such a meltdown among you know Beltway and Democratic establishment hacks over a minor protest candidate who's polling at 2%, as the one I saw against Tulsi Gabbard.  Susan Glasser from ''Politico'', who's just the quintessential centrist hack, who's married to Peter Baker - the ''New York Times'' White House correspondent, said that Tulsi Gabbard was echoing Russian and Syrian talking points by condemning regime change wars.  This is something that only the reel cranks of the Republican Party would have said about opponents of the [[Iraq war]].  Now it's coming out of the political center.  Josh Marshall, and founder of ''Talking Points Memo'' which all of the Democratic wonks wake up every morning and read, said "the only thing that Tulsi Gabbard can do is shut the F up."  That was his response to her. It's like this. She inspires this kind of visceral outrage by condemning regime change wars, and one after another they accuse her of echoing Russian talking points. So now championing the cause of peace, withdrawing US troops, withdrawing US bases from a hinterland in northern Syria, it's the Russian agenda. And this is something I've never heard in my lifetime since I was kind of like a sentient being following politics.  But it's something that I read about in books about [[McCarthyism]].  And it really appears to have so infested the mainstream of the Democratic Party that we're going to be living with it for the rest of our lives.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRp7iEVZD6c</ref>}}

The rhetorical basis for Hillary Clinton smear was established during the past two years when anyone who challenged the imperatives of the national security state in places like [[Syria]] or [[Venezuela]], where the proxy war is playing out between the US and Russia although you know it's not purely a proxy war but it's seen that way in Washington, is accused of echoing [[Kremlin]] [[propaganda]].  And so we saw that narrative weaponized against Tulsi Gabbard after the last debate. I've never seen such a meltdown among you know Beltway and Democratic establishment hacks over a minor protest candidate who's polling at 2%, as the one I saw against Tulsi Gabbard.  Susan Glasser from ''Politico'', who's just the quintessential centrist hack, who's married to Peter Baker - the ''New York Times'' White House correspondent, said that Tulsi Gabbard was echoing Russian and Syrian talking points by condemning regime change wars.  This is something that only the reel cranks of the Republican Party would have said about opponents of the [[Iraq war]].  Now it's coming out of the political center.  Josh Marshall, and founder of ''Talking Points Memo'' which all of the Democratic wonks wake up every morning and read, said "the only thing that Tulsi Gabbard can do is shut the F up."  That was his response to her. It's like this. She inspires this kind of visceral outrage by condemning regime change wars, and one after another they accuse her of echoing Russian talking points. So now championing the cause of peace, withdrawing US troops, withdrawing US bases from a hinterland in northern Syria, it's the Russian agenda. And this is something I've never heard in my lifetime since I was kind of like a sentient being following politics.  But it's something that I read about in books about [[McCarthyism]].  And it really appears to have so infested the mainstream of the Democratic Party that we're going to be living with it for the rest of our lives.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRp7iEVZD6c</ref>}}