{"id":218566,"date":"2024-03-22T07:45:24","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T11:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=218566"},"modified":"2024-03-22T07:45:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T11:45:22","slug":"election-interference-putins-re-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=218566","title":{"rendered":"<h2>ELECTION INTERFERENCE &#038; PUTIN&#8217;S RE-ELECTION<\/h2>"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Putin\u2019s Re-election, Election Interference: Ukraine style and the \u201c<i>Secret Shadow Campaign that Saved the 2020 Election<\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><!--more-->Renee Parsons<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Despite the continuing chaos at the southern border, the ever-burgeoning Federal bankruptcy waiting for the other shoe to drop and assorted civil disturbances,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>why should the American public care that Vladimir Putin won<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/594396-presidential-elections-options-record-turnout\/?utm_source=Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_campaign=Email\"><span class=\"s2\">re election<\/span><\/a> as President for a fifth term in an 87% landslide and that with 112.3 million votes cast, 74% of the country cast their paper ballots in a record turnout for Putin.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As if an increase in the Ukraine war threatening a WW III scenario would improve US predictions for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Putin ran as an Independent as one of four nominated candidates with voting between March 15 \u2013 March 17.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was the seventh presidential election in Russian Federation history with historic regions of Ukraine which had been in dispute since 2013 were approved for annexation by voter referendum in 2022.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Those participating included the Donetsk and Lugansk People\u2019s Republics (DPR and LPR) as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But of course, it\u2019s all a lie, right.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>There is no way that Russia could have fair and free elections.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Isn\u2019t it a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/05\/06\/1097135961\/the-day-russia-adopted-the-free-market\"><span class=\"s2\">communist country<\/span><\/a>?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Seriously, how is it that the Russians could have a more secure, a higher voter turnout and a more successful election process than the US, the world\u2019s largest and oldest democracy on the planet.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">One principal reason Americans might dismiss the Russian results goes to the heart of accepting the 24-7 narrative spin from a compliant western media that Russia is a long-standing political opponent and an economic competitor, not to mention its adversarial role in Ukraine with NATO acting as its ever-reliable purveyor of US military conflicts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The US has recently confirmed the presence of American troops in Taiwan \u2013 what a surprise!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And yet, at the same time, Congress debates a ridiculously short-sighted $1.2 Trillion budget filled with irrelevant climate trinkets and woke gimmicks, billions of dollars for earmarks that may remain deeply hidden within its 1000 pages including funds for gratuitous military conquests as a gift to the donor class as the need may arise.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In addition, funds were included for children\u2019s trans-surgeries, the wars in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and virtually no funds to stop the invasion of undocumented immigrants.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">To further explore the differences, just prior to the election, Putin\u2019s delivered his annual address to the <a href=\"https:\/\/sputnikglobe.com\/20240229\/watch-full-video-of-putins-state-of-the-nation-address-to-russias-parliament-1117055399.html\"><span class=\"s2\">Russian parliament<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span class=\"s1\">highlighting the significance of the special operation in U<\/span><span class=\"s3\">kraine<\/span><span class=\"s1\">, the need for global security and Russia&#8217;s socio-economic growth while focusing on demographics and technological independence. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">As Putin pledged<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><i>&#8220;Russia will end the war in Ukraine, eradicate Nazism, and achieve all the objectives of the special operation&#8221;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i> warning that a direct clash between NATO and Russia would<i> <\/i>be <i>\u201cone step shy of a full-scale <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=217916\"><span class=\"s2\">World War III<\/span><\/a><i>.\u201d<\/i><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Putin further advised that NATO military personnel were already located in Ukraine and that English and French have been heard on the battlefield.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Long time international observer and former UN Inspector Scott Ritter told <i>Sputnik<\/i> that today\u2019s success in Russia could be attributed to Putin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/sputnikglobe.com\/20240317\/scott-ritter-putins-dedicated-work-added-to-reinvigorated-russia-1117362285.html\"><span class=\"s2\">rise to prominence<\/span><\/a> immediately after the collapse of the USSR and the failure of perestroika in the 1990s. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As the criminal class of oligarchs attempted a takeover, the country struggled for survival as Putin\u2019s \u2018<i>dedicated leadership\u2019<\/i> redefined the nation and its economic system into a free market capitalist state. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">To compare Putin\u2019s annual address to the US SOTU address would be a colossal disappointment since the latter is frequently lacking in sober, objective analysis or factual data and more usually a rah-rah jamboree touting US initiatives with little forethought into domestic consequences or future global implications.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">In his election <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/594396-presidential-elections-options-record-turnout\/?utm_source=Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_campaign=Email\"><span class=\"s5\">victory speech<\/span><\/a>, Putin defined \u201c<i>a warrior is someone who defends the homeland and future\u201d <\/i>and that \u2018<i>we are standing here like comrades in arms.<\/i><\/span> <span class=\"s4\"><i>We have a huge development agenda, and people felt it in their hearts and came to create conditions for the development and strengthening of their Motherland&#8230;\u00a0the results of the election are a guarantee that these tasks will be accomplished and goals will be reached.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0<i>\u201cI dreamed of a strong, independent, sovereign Russia,\u201d<\/i> Putin told the audience, expressing his hope that the results of the vote <i>\u201cwill allow us all, together with the Russian people, to achieve these goals.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\"><i> ***<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">During the campaign, <a href=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/v4k3759-nato-is-on-suicide-watch-after-putin-scores-a-knockout-blow-redacted-with-c.html?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Redacted%2520News\"><span class=\"s2\">election interference<\/span><\/a> responses escalated as Ukraine routinely launched artillery and drone strikes on Russian border regions causing destruction to many critical infrastructure and residential neighborhoods, resulting in numerous civilian casualties.\u00a0 Ukraine conducted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2024\/03\/02\/ukrainian-drone-hits-st-petersburg-appartment-local-russian-media\"><span class=\"s2\">series of drone strikes<\/span><\/a> around St. Petersburg and south to Rostov as its military continued to violate border sovereignty and kill citizens in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/03\/12\/europe\/russia-belgorod-border-ukraine-attack-intl\/index.html\"><span class=\"s2\">Belgorod<\/span><\/a> fifty miles within the Russian border.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Zelensky\u2019s top advisor, Mikliak Podoliak supported an increase in the \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/594548-ukraine-more-strikes-russia\/\"><span class=\"s2\">scale of turmoil<\/span><\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u2019<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> in Russia\u2019s Kursk and Belgorod regions stating that<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<i>Russia could feel what war is<\/i>\u201d and that <i>\u201cOnce they live in bomb shelters, constantly hear sirens and so on, they will [think] differently\u201d<\/i> Podoliak revealed a total lack of understanding of the extent of Russian suffering during WWII. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Podoliak is known for a history of voicing support for Ukraine incursions into Russian territory with estimated losses at 1,500 casualties and dozens of armored vehicles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In addition, US State Department spokesman Matt Miller displayed an unpleasant hostility and total <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HoNM6CJNy7o\"><span class=\"s2\">lack of understanding<\/span><\/a> about Russia\u2019s sovereignty as he also threatened international <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/u-s-takes-action-to-further-disrupt-russian-cyber-activities\/\"><span class=\"s2\">observers<\/span><\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> ***<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s4\">Immediately after the vote, Putin contrasted the US <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/594180-putin-trump-sleepy-joe\/\"><span class=\"s5\">presidential campaign<\/span><\/a> as \u201c<i>increasingly uncivilized<\/i>\u201d adding that \u201c <i>I think it\u2019s obvious to everyone that the American <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/594400-putin-us-elections-democracy\/?utm_source=Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_campaign=Email\"><span class=\"s5\">political system<\/span><\/a><i> cannot claim to be democratic in any sense of the word.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 Referring to the lawfare attacks on Trump, Putin pointed out that political opponents were using the government\u2019s own administrative resources to suppress another presidential candidate in its own election.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201c<i>The whole world is <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/594400-putin-us-elections-democracy\/?utm_source=Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_campaign=Email\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>laughing at<\/i><\/span><\/a><i> what is happening in the US.<\/i>\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><span class=\"s6\"><i>\u201cWe are behaving with more restraint than their opponents in other countries, but this is just a catastrophe, not a democracy \u2013 that\u2019s what it is,\u201d\u00a0<\/i>he said in an interview with journalist Dmitry Kiselyov.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Describing how Trump \u2018<i>reproached me for sympathizing with Biden<\/i>\u201d<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> Putin added<i>, to my surprise, he [Trump] was persecuted because we allegedly supported him as a candidate. Well, it\u2019s complete nonsense.\u201d<\/i><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> ***<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">For those who missed it the first time around, revisiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/secret-history-shadow-campaign-saved-104001185.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Secret History of the Shadow Campaign that Saved the 2020 Election<\/i><\/span><\/a> deserves a methodical re read as it provides painful insights into how thoroughly<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and systematically the Dems out-organized a more lethargic GOP.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The original article ran in Time magazine, February, 2021. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Especially identified were Norm Eisen, a former college bud of Obama\u2019s who became a key organizer in 2020 with the <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/scoop-house-oversight-committee-launches-investigation-into-transition-integrity-project-housed-at-georgetown-law-ahead-of-2024-election\"><span class=\"s2\">Transition Integrity Project<\/span><\/a> which is expected to regroup in anticipation of the 2024 election.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Citing Trump\u2019s alleged assault on democracy, his alleged authoritarian tendencies and other nonsensical accusations for which there is no evidence or experience never stopped the Dems from creating a semi hysterical political narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In addition there were an impressive number of \u2018volunteer\u2019 efforts guided by sophisticated, experienced politicos like Protect Democracy, the Fight Back Table, the Democracy Defense Coalition, back-to-back zoom meetings that coordinated a vast array of \u2018progressive\u2019 501c3 organizations including the Working Families Party, Indivisible and MoveOn. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The piece de resistance was the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights with more than 150 organizations signing a letter to every member of Congress seeking $2 billion in election funding as the CARES Act, passed later that month, doling out $400 million in grants to state election administrators.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Eventually even private philanthropy stepped up with Chan-Zuckerberg Foundation chipping in $300 million in addition to a little noticed joint statement of support between the US Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO on Election Day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In a three-page confidential memo titled \u201c<i>Threats to the 2020 Election<\/i>\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>written by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/01\/13\/pbdd-01-13-2023-00077433\"><span class=\"s2\">Michael Podhorzer<\/span><\/a>, former political director for the AFL-CIO,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>2020 was the beginning of an informal yet potent alliance between left-wing activists and business titans.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was a coalition which originated the allegation that \u2018disinformation\u2019 was rampant among \u2018<i>criminally insensitive\u2019<\/i> Trump supporters which became an essential for the Dems<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>to stifle public awareness of where the country was headed if the Dems \u2018won\u2019 the 2020 election. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They were not \u2018<i>rigging\u2019<\/i> an election; they referred to it as \u201c<i>fortifying<\/i>\u2019 democracy and its suppression was vital to the 2020 election outcome,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The bottom line is that a well-heeled, experienced national network exists which merely needs to turn itself on, to re-gather itself to initiate<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the next phase of their effort to destroy the America beyond recognition.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The unanswered question remains whether the RNC\u2019s current effort to revitalize itself will be sufficient to offset what can be counted on as another exhaustive effort by the Dems to deal a final defeat to Republicans and our Constitutional Republic.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s4\"><i>Renee Parsons\u00a0served on the ACLU\u2019s Florida State Board of Directors and as president of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She has been an elected public official in Colorado, staff in the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, an environmental lobbyist for Friends of the Earth and a staff member of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Putin\u2019s Re-election, Election Interference: Ukraine style and the \u201cSecret Shadow Campaign that Saved the 2020 Election\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=218566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218566\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=218566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=218566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=218566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}