So why are some progressives so quick to believe this paranoid horseshit?
On Saturday, I provided a transcript of a remarkable allegation by a gifted private investigator who has a background not only as a crackerjack reporter about political dirty tricks in both Parties, but formerly as Richard Nixon’s top dirty-trickster himself, and who has recently turned against the Republican Party’s establishment and become a Trump supporter: he hates both Hillary Clinton and the Republican Establishment candidates, because he has become rabid against their shared hypocrisies, which know no Party (and that is certainly true). He said, alleging his inside sources (which he really does have, and which has made him so formidable in the past), that Hillary Clinton worked with George Soros and the son of Peter Lewis, and one unnamed member of Congress, to arrange for black supporters of Bernie Sanders in Chicago and elsewhere, to go violent at Trump rallies, so as to draw public contempt upon both Hillary’s current opponent, Sanders, and her general-election opponent Trump. It’s a brilliant tactic, if it is the real explanation for those incidents, but, shockingly, both Trump and Sanders are playing along with it — even if Hillary’s team aren’t behind it (in which case, they’d both be unprincipled, not merely stupid, for not condemning anyone at any political rally who incites violence at any political rally — which neither of them has yet clearly done).The source, of course, is Roger Stone, the subject of a recent Cannonfire post. Stone is a protege of -- get this -- Roy Cohn.
Can you believe it? An alleged left-winger is actually giving credence to Roy Cohn's intellectual heir, Richard Nixon's chief dirty trickster, and Donald Trump's closest adviser.
Roger Stone tells the world that Huma Abedin attends Muslim Brotherhood cell meetings. Stone hailed Trump's call to ban Muslims as "Brilliant." He freely admitted to being a GOP hit man. In 2008, he founded an anti-Hillary group called CUNT.
He also wrote a much-ballyhooed book devoted to one of the chief disinfo theories of the JFK assassination. (By the way: A little bird tells me that one of the best writers on the assassination will soon offer a full-throated rebuttle to Stone's nonsense. When this piece appears online, I'll inform you.)
Stone has formed a partnership with Robert Morrow, another really, really bad JFK theorist. Spend a little time with these two diseased individuals and you'll spend the rest of the night in a fetal position, sweating and shivering and screaming for antibiotics.
The Amazon.com description of the anti-Clinton book describes Morrow as "a political researcher and alternative historian with expertise on the Clintons, the Bush family, and the JFK assassination." But his expertise regarding the Clintons seems to be more of a sexually-distorted obsession. In a 2014 Facebook post, Morrow wrote, "So do all your sexual fantasies about Hillary Clinton involve 'snuff films?' Probably not good for most of you to answer that question. Probably how Bill fantasizes." In another 2014 Facebook post, he wrote—and, a warning, this is graphic: "Bill Clinton went down on Hillary one time. While he was licking her maggots started coming out of her pussy. Bill with a sickly look on his face looks up and says. "Sarge, I just can't do this anymore." Hillary, without missing a beat, grabs the back of Bill's head and shoves it back onto her snatch and said "WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?!!" In 2013, Morrow posted this on his Facebook page: "Hillary Clinton masturbation fantasy update. 3 HOURS 27 MINUTES 15 SECONDS. What is wrong with me? I am I getting old? Losing the passion? No matter how much I sniff Hillary's panties which I bought off of Ebay, I can NEVER seen to be able to last more than 4 hours choking the chicken while thinking about her." And there's many similar posts, including several targeting Chelsea Clinton, and others containing sleazy attacks on Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and others.This is the sort of person that the supporters of Bernie Sanders now consider credible. Sanders himself is a good man, but BernieLand has become one of the most toxic places on the internet.
Stone's "Hillary diddit" theory. Roger Stone's disingenuous exercises in surrealism do not merit serious attention. Nevertheless, just for jolly, let's take a look at his conspiracy theory of the Trump protests.
The absurdities of Stone's scenario should be obvious. First and foremost: How would Stone know? Why would anyone in a position to learn Hillary's (alleged) dark secrets talk to a weird, canker-brained, credibility-free creature like Roger Stone?
It is to laugh.
My second objection concerns the sheer impracticality of this alleged complot. Take, for example, the strange case of Thomas "I want to be a martyr" Dimassimo, the Sanders-loving twerp who charged at Trump. His history strongly suggests an unhinged mind -- and nobody hires a wacko to pull off a covert op. Nothing links Dimassimo to Clinton. If there was a link, the Secret Service and the FBI would find it: Anyone who attacks a presidential candidate may expect a thorough investigation.
Similar points can be made about the black protesters at Trump rallies. I personally believe that they were foolish to attend: Their presence at those venues was never going to change a single person's vote, so why take a needless risk? Nevertheless, the idea that those protesters attended those events at Clinton's behest is ridiculous.
I've known a few Clinton supporters, but I've yet to meet one willing to be sucker-punched on her behalf. No-one would risk his or her life to participate in a silly political game which never stood any chance of offering any benefit. Hillary Clinton isn't getting one extra vote out of that incident, and anyone who suggests otherwise is a fruitcake.
The risk to life and limb would continue long after rally itself: The protestors are subject to what we now call "doxxing." Vengeful Trump supporters may stalk them where they live, and might even threaten their loved ones.
This danger is quite real. Even right-wing Trump critics now feel constrained to arm themselves.
Yet one can hardly fault Mandel’s feelings of vulnerability. Typical online insults (screenshots of which she provided to The Daily Beast) included “you deserve the oven,” complete with the image of a Domino’s Pizza oven—this from an apparent Trump fan who goes by the Twitter handle @dinguscout.Who would invite that kind of vindictive bloodlust just to please Hillary Clinton? I wouldn't walk into that lions' den for ten million bucks.
Given all of the doxxing (and threats of doxxing) going on these days, and given the involvement of the police and Secret Service, there is no way any protester's link to Hillary could be kept hidden.
If such a link existed, the Trump side would surely find out. Do you really think The Donald would keep quiet about such a thing? No way.
The anti-Trump protestors have mostly been young activists. They're not trained CIA field agents. They're not Special Forces. No one would hire them to act in an undercover capacity, because they could never be counted on to keep their mouths shut.
There is simply no evidence connecting Hillary Clinton to any disruption at any Trump rally. Take, for example, the case of Rakeem Jones, the fellow who got hit by that sucker punch. Is there even a molecule of evidence to back the idea that Jones attended that event at the Clinton's behest? No.
There is no conspiracy here. Shame on Eric Zuesse of Off-Guardian for peddling this crap. (Zuesse is a strong Sanders supporter.) I've cited that online publication approvingly in the past, but I will hesitate to do so in the future. In the past, I've recommended Zuesse's book They're Not Even Close, and I have given respectful attention to his posts. I sure as hell won't make that mistake again.
Believe it or not, Zuesse's horseshit gets shittier: He even manages to bring Bill Ayers into this conspiratorial fantasia!
Is he [Ayers] a participant in an Obama-Clinton operation; and, if so, is it knowingly, or instead only as a sucker who was brought into the operation by Soros or others?This is the kind of incomprehensible babbling one expects to read in the comments section at Infowars.
Once again, as in 2008, the anti-Clinton leftwingers have become indistinguishable from the rightwingers. Roger Stone is, in fact, a Breitbart columnist -- and Zeusse's story was echoed by Newsmax.
Stand back and savor the spectacle: Here we have an alleged progressive, a writer for Smirking Chimp and other lefty sites, crawling into bed with Newsmax and Breitbart.
Disgusting.
What's next? Are jackass pseudolefties going to cite Alex Jones or David Icke as reliable sources of information? Are these sickos going to pick up bullhorns and start screeching about the Freemasons, the Build-a-Burgers and the Illuminati?
I'll say it again: I like Bernie Sanders, but his supporters are human vomit. I've always thought of Bernie Sanders as a smart, sensible, Euro-style socialist. So why is he so attractive to reactionary nutcases, hyper-macho woman-haters, crazy-eyed conspiratards, and other victims of political rabies?
The Trumpian hordes and the Berniebros have become as one.
14 comments:
Oh be real. A few nutbags let their nuts out of the bag and all of a sudden ALL supporters of Sanders are on the side of Trump and Cruz? The world is full of assholes, some of them are lefties. The Berniebros are having their voices amplified by the social media megaphone, but they are a very small portion of Bernie's base.
I voted for Sanders in NC's primary, he will probably lose to Hillary nationwide (for reasons you have fully articulated), then I and all the Sanderistas I know will go to the polls and vote for Clinton.
Off topic - spring is arriving! Trees budding, flowers blooming, peepers peeping, grass greening. Go outside and roll in the grass with your dog.
I think you're right and wrong. The alleged documentation of this "conspiracy" is almost certainly bogus. You've made a convincing case that it is. On the other hand:
Nevertheless, the idea that those protesters attended those events at Clinton's behest is ridiculous.
Moveon.org was involved with organizing the protest. That's no secret. They're Dem Party establishment and therefore Hillary supporters. So it's not like Clinton herself would have had to be micro-managing this. There are groups that want Hillary to succeed and can act in her best interest. Also, we're taking about frigg'n CHICAGO and the President is a Chicago Democrat and the mayor is the President's friend and they're all backing Hillary.
If there was a link, the Secret Service and the FBI would find it: Anyone who attacks a presidential candidate may expect a thorough investigation.
Even if it's Hillary Clinton. Yeah, right.
So the public is presented a "conspiracy" involving dubious characters that nobody in their right mind would take seriously. This conspiracy creates a false lead and diverts people down conspiracy alley when the outlines of what actually happened are easy for anyone to discern.
** Plato **
Stone literally makes my skin crawl. The description of Morrow offering up 'alternative history' sounds like Glenn Beck territory. And yes, the wing-nut memes are strong with the Bernie Brigade, as in money laundering accusations against Bill Clinton and cocaine dealing by both Clintons. This is ancient stuff so there's every reason to believe that Vince Foster memes are just around the corner.
As for Saint Bernard himself, he admitted last night that his rational for running as a Democrat was for media coverage and money. This counters his earlier statement at one of the debates when he proclaimed himself a Democrat, no caveats. The free college for all thingie? He's walked that back, declaring he never said it after insisting a college education was a Right not a Privilege.
However, the truly ugly stuff belongs in the lap of the Bernie Brigade who are just as hateful as the Trumpsters.
May they all fall down!
Peggysue
Plato: "Moveon.org was involved with organizing the protest. That's no secret. They're Dem Party establishment and therefore Hillary supporters."
Moveon has declared for Bernie. BZZZT! Thanks for playing.
(Do we now speak of a Bernie Sanders conspiracy theory? Of course not. Saint Bernie is beyond criticism.)
sillybill: Ah, this is a familiar defense: Minimizing an important problem. "A few nutbags." I heard that a lot in 2008. Remember? Remember how EVERY SITE ON THE INTERNET -- large and small -- was inundated with comments from people calling Hillary a "cunt," threatening her life, accusing her of killing Vince Foster, and so forth?
Yet we were told that only "a few" caused so large a problem. Riiiiiight.
Look, I live with a Sanders supporter, so I know full well that they haven't ALL gone wacky. I myself am a Sanders admirer, even though I have decided not to vote for him. It is nevertheless the case that a dangerous LaRouche-like political cult has grown up around Bernie Sanders. Since that cult bears his name, Bernie bears a responsibility to put things right. To his credit, he has already tried to slap some of the cultists out of their trance. He needs to slap harder.
I agree with your last paragraph. I am not trying to minimize a problem, I thought I was just putting it in perspective. I think the problem is mostly republicans pretending to be 'liberal progressives' in the comment sections just like in '08. Anything they can do to divide the opposition and convince folks not to vote.
Anon, it wasn't Republicans in '08. You forget: I can access the stats, and I know the IPs of those who visit this humble blog. For months, they came from all over -- but the steadiest stream came from one IP in Chicago, Illinois. Axelrod, obviously.
How is it that Joe keeps using the Nader/Gore theme when Clinton did as much damage from her power position as Bush-Cheney did from theirs (leaving aside excellent arguments that with his flock of neolib advisors Gore too, would have gone into Iraq.)
Axelrod...has he had anything to say about Obama's helping Saudi wreak havoc in Yemen while
shucking and jiving on the neocon/lib controversy of whether he and Clinton did enough destabilizing in Syria?
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2016/03/obama-assumes-no-blame-for-us-sponsored.html
I have a question. Since the Republican establishment wants a challenger (not Cruz) to win some sort of contested convention and thus wrestling the nomination from Trump how in the heck do they plan on getting the votes of all of those folks that went to the primaries and voted for Trump? Seriously, Kasich hasn't been able to get anyone outside of Ohio to vote for him. What makes Republicans think he can generate any excitement in the general election? I don't get it. Trump sucks for sure but I think Cruz is completely insane and evil to boot. At this point I think it would be in their best interest to throw all of their support behind Trump. He is a highly flawed candidate who has no business being President but is certainly better than Cruz, Rubio or even Kasich. Maybe they could just decline to nominate someone this year. The country would certainly be better off for it. Personally, I think that party needs to be disbanded since it got hijacked by crazies an libertarians.
Cannon--
I agree, the protestors were not plants. They are individuals who wanted to make a spectacle to prove a point; you don't have to agree with that point to see why they did it.
I ask you to listen to the likes of Killer Mike or Charlamagne Tha God v. Tomy Lahren. Yes, I seriously didn't list any white supporters for a reason. I believe the protestors, minus the portly white guy who asked about food stamps, are indeed black.
Now, you know as well as I do, the supporters at the Sanders rally months back, that disrupted the speech, and chanted black lives matter, were, indeed, plants, or at the very least, independents NOT representing the whole.
I've spoken to an endless stream of Millenials, Gen X's, Gen Y's. And, yes, don't group Y with Mil, they are different. You know what is the common thread? Reasonable conversation about the inward focus this country is seriously lacking right now. They do want to "fix America," but they also pose very reasonable ideas on doing so, not repeating "make it great again." So, yes, Trump and Sanders supporters want the same thing, in two VERY different ways.
Now, lastly, I'll agree that some Sanders supporters have gone rogue, and some anti-Trump supporters are being labeled as Sanders' people. But let's be clear, the masses that fund Bernie, follow him daily, show up to his call banks, are NOT nearly the low-brow you describe above. After 8+ years reading your blog, I'm pretty upset you'd stoop to this level. You're better than that, Joe.
Reality: Hillary is going to end up going against Kasich, and win. We all know Deep State pitted Sanders and Trump against each other to make Hillary look reasonable. And DS isn't going to let Trump run and fuck up their control; they already paid for Hillary, hence running a "moderate" like Kasich, or even Cruz. An illusion is only as good as the audience, no matter the sleight.
Reality: Bashing Sanders supporters doesn't weaken our stance, it strengthens it. If you could disprove his stance on domestic issues, you'd make some headway. Doing so to Trump is horribly easy, and you've been doing a great job showing that (albeit still wish you'd write less about him, more about Syria, Ukraine, Israel). Bagging is just that, and it hurts your rather sterling credibility. Fair?
Trump is obviously the candidate of working/middle class whites. And by and large the majority of working class white females who will stand by their men, and , if Trump hints as only he can that Alpha Euro males do not vote for Hillary, cling to them even more strongly.
Trump-sympathetic Farrakhan's devout male and female legions invited as well.
Anon, you are a great example of how truly gullible the American people have become. A guy who has known extreme wealth from birth, who despite having most failed business ventures still manages to remain a millionaire, is somehow the "candidate of working/middle class whites". I've got a bridge to sell you, very cheap.
To Bernie's supporters, Hillary is a lying war criminal who will soon be in prison. That includes both professional trolls like Bill Curry and Bernie's army of online trolls on every social media site on earth. They haven't affected the race in any way, but they have reminded us that trolls of any political persuasion can be every bit as annoying and obnoxious as Fox.
Wow- you are comical to even give this guy any attention. Do you honestly believe that any Bernie supporter gives a rat's ass what this "investigative historian" has to say? I am proud of the protests. The fact is that the protest was actually quite peaceful in Chicago, but the media won't portray that. That's your conspiracy.
The rally was opposed from the start-online petitions to have it canceled, among other things. As for your Bernie supporter/slash conspiracist-never heard of him until I read your writing on this. Might be good to pull yourself out of the rabbit hole for some perspective on supporters. You seem pretty negative on all of this- I will read you after the campaign. Take care.
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