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Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: Scout26 on December 20, 2018, 12:47:25 PM

Title: Democrats copy Russian Social Media election "meddling" in AL special election
Post by: Scout26 on December 20, 2018, 12:47:25 PM
Funny that.   And it's even a NYT report, but no other media outlets have picked up on it.

 https://www.rt.com/usa/447031-democrats-election-meddling-alabama/

Title: Re: Democrats copy Russian Social Media election "meddling" in AL special election
Post by: TommyGunn on December 20, 2018, 02:38:57 PM
I heard this. 
While I don't like it,  it also WAS NOT the reason why  the democrat contender won the election.

Roy Moore was the reason.  Republicans stayed home.  Moore was a lousy candidates, and the repukes ought to be hanging their sorry heads in shame for ever putting him in the contender's seat then. :mad:
Title: Re: Democrats copy Russian Social Media election "meddling" in AL special election
Post by: slugcatcher on December 20, 2018, 04:49:47 PM
I heard this. 
While I don't like it,  it also WAS NOT the reason why  the democrat contender won the election.

Roy Moore was the reason.  Republicans stayed home.  Moore was a lousy candidates, and the repukes ought to be hanging their sorry heads in shame for ever putting him in the contender's seat then. :mad:

I don't think this affected the outcome either.  I'm surprised the effort was of such a low scale honestly.  I suspect this has been happening for years and probably will get worse as AI improves and people aren't needed to create false narratives.

Why was he a lousy candidate?  I think the allegations cost him the election.  The main thing I remember is that they went away as soon as the election was over.  Didn't the most credible accuser admit to making up the whole thing afterwards? I admit I didn't really keep up with the race as he wasn't running for office in my state.
Title: Re: Democrats copy Russian Social Media election "meddling" in AL special election
Post by: TommyGunn on December 20, 2018, 07:19:38 PM
  .......    Why was he a lousy candidate?  I think the allegations cost him the election.  The main thing I remember is that they went away as soon as the election was over.  Didn't the most credible accuser admit to making up the whole thing afterwards? I admit I didn't really keep up with the race as he wasn't running for office in my state.

I was never able to develop a firm grasp on how credible the charges were.   I sorta got the idea a few were partially credible but some were fake.   There were witnesses who recall the places the accusers said Moore confronted the supposed victims who claim that the accusers' descriptions of the buildings/surroundings were very different than the accusers claimed and other claims  made by accusers were not correct as well.

But Moore was tendentious for other reasons.  He defied the Supreme Court's rulings on gay marriage in a manner  which might have been technically accurate,  but were so far "into the weeds" on the law as to be impossible for a layperson to understand.  He made statements about eligibility for high office, refering to the Constitution, that were  clearly  wrong even to a layperson.
Years ago he brought a granite edifice of the Ten Commandments into his courtroom,  sparking a brouhaha that wound up with him losing the judgeship.  Although I technically thought he was in the right,  it was handled poorly,  and also reflected bad on then Governor "Fob" James.  
There simply HAD to be a candidate without THAT baggage!
Title: Re: Democrats copy Russian Social Media election "meddling" in AL special election
Post by: Pb on December 21, 2018, 10:56:22 AM
Who knows if he was really a serial groper or not?  But he is such a creepy turd it seemed believable.
Title: Re: Democrats copy Russian Social Media election "meddling" in AL special election
Post by: MechAg94 on December 21, 2018, 01:32:18 PM
If I remember right, there was a good R candidate in that race.  The RNC (and Trump I think) supported one guy who had less voter support and did their best to torpedo the better conservative R candidate.  Moore (the 3rd guy) was left with the nomination.  I can't remember all the names and I am just going by what I remember hearing. 

IMO, it goes with National Republicans trying to play political games to get the people they want in D.C. and when it fails, sometimes it fails big.
Title: Re: Democrats copy Russian Social Media election "meddling" in AL special election
Post by: Scout26 on December 21, 2018, 02:47:23 PM
Mo Brooks was the more libertarian candidate,  Luther Strange was the appoint incumbent.  Trump backed Strange in the Primary.

\Primary results:

Republican   Roy Moore                                   164,524   38.9%
Republican   Luther Strange (incumbent)            138,971   32.8%
Republican   Mo Brooks                                     83,287   19.7%

In the runoff:
Republican   Roy Moore                                   262,204   54.6%
Republican   Luther Strange (incumbent)   218,066   45.4%

President Donald Trump supported Moore's opponent Strange during the primary runoff, and almost the whole national Republican establishment wanted Strange to win. Trump's efforts on behalf of Strange included a rally in Alabama, plus tweeting.