Howie Hawkins versus nutters on Russiagate

With Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins scheduled to be in the Metromess Saturday and Helltown Monday, I wanted to talk a bit more about his stance on "Russiagate," using that in the broadest terms possible, and NOT limited to Trump-Putin collusion allegations which I believe ludicrous.

Howie's written in some depth on this issue.

Shorter take? He's more right than wrong by a fair amount.

Longer take? He's enough both right and wrong to need "unpacking" on a couple of issues.

He's very right on the biggest portion of the issue — this is ultimately a duopoly party turf fight. Greens should stay out as much as reasonably possible. (Greens whom I will support should, at the same time, call out conspiracy theories related to this.)

Update, Nov. 2: I correct myself. Actual election meddling is a concern for all American citizens, whether it's Russia meddling in our elections, or the USofA meddling in elections in Russia and elsewhere. (Both have happened, of course.) I "get" where Hawkins is coming from in that some of this sounds like Democrat sour grapes. However, as Russia has meddled in ways that could have benefited both Clinton and Trump, it IS sour grapes. See four paragraphs below.

Beyond that, Howie missed a beat on this issue. He didn't note that, whatever he thinks of Jill Stein's appearance in Russia or talking on RT, that Democrats targeted her as Putin's tool or stooge. He also doesn't note the repeated "Stein vote = Trump vote" claims as part of why to stay out of this hot mess. That's not wrong; it's just that he's kind of incomplete here.

Now, let's go through the rest of the piece in order.

Should Clinton have "crushed" Trump? I don't think so. A number of indicators showed that 2016 was a Republican presidential year. Trump was just the least likely to do well in some ways. The Hillary Clinton margin in the popular vote is probably just about what it should have been, and bad strategery led to her losing the Electoral College.

The Russian election intervention? No, Howie, it wasn't all pro-Trump. Here in Texas, in Helltown, it's alleged that Russian actors peddled a pro-Texas secession Facebook group and at the same time, hawked a pro-Muslim Facebook group. Similar allegations have been made of other 11-dimension chess on this issue across the country. The DNC emails were just one mix of a larger master plan. Don't forget, Howie, that the Russians are also believed to have targeted RNC computers and to have gotten into some older ones.

The RNC reported a mix of successful and unsuccessful hacks against its computers in 2016. GOP Congresscritter Michael McCaul publicly admitted it until the RNC hauled him on the carpet. Comey publicly discussed it.

This can't be emphasized enough. Because the DNC got caught with its cyber-pants down, the RNC saw a chance to make political hay, and then tacitly rode along with things like Seth Rich conspiracy theorizing.

That said, while Howie doesn't address Seth Rich conspiracy theories at the link above, he does believe that Assange and/or Russia hacked the emails and that they were not leaked by Seth Rich. As for the Klansman comment on an interview with Primo Nutbar? We know that Fred Trump was at a Klan rally in Queens and was arrested, though quickly released. Given that he as well as The Donald were parties to HUD's suit over racism in their housing complexes, it may or may not be a legal stretch to call Donald Trump "the son of a Klansman"; it's not a rhetorical stretch. See Vice for more. Also note that Wiki's page on Fred notes that all arrestees, including him, were called "berobed marchers." Reasons for his quick release may have included his general status, slipping some green to cops or other legal officials, etc.

IMO, Howie may have to tackle this in more detail at some point and he needs to be prepared to do so now. Personally, as I'e already said on Twitter, if his nomination drives nutters out of the party, that's a point in his favor. He just needs to think more through this whole issue before commenting again.

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Brains did get one issue spot on. It's just not acceptable to have called Chelsea Manning "Bradley" and "he." If this is a "fogginess" issue, then Howie needs to make sure he's not Joe Biden. If this is a bias issue, then he needs to get up to 21st century humanistic speed.

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Hawkins will be in Dallas and Houston in days ahead, as noted above. Dallas is 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at 2 Guys from Italy, 11637 Webb Chapel Road. In Houston, he'll be at the house of Don and Laura Palmer, 5402 Bent Bough Lane, Sept. 9. I hope and expect to be at his Dallas visit.