Dean Jepson: Russia is a threat to our democracy, and GOP isn’t protecting us

The RNC has been aiding and abetting a foreign adversary. At every level, members have disseminated misinformation to the American people, knowing it was from Russia. The goal of Russia for decades has been to influence policy in the US by whatever means necessary. Just because there are no smoking buildings, doesn’t mean we aren’t still under attack. Putin is gleeful and pressing the boundaries. The voter fraud surveys, circulated among the states, are an example. Russia and their precision bots could surgically manipulate many future elections from city to federal levels in the USA with the private info on those surveys. For Trump supporters, who blame immigrants, changing social norms, the DC swamp, and liberal policies for their perceived state of the nation, ceding this power to Russia is apparently fine. No good can come from a close relationship with Putin. Every US intelligence and security agency knows this. The problems need to be rooted out and consequences administered, so we can move forward. Removing Robert Mueller, or returning Russian spy compounds in the US are hardly solutions. We need country over party. The supposed party of patriotism is sitting on its hands, and our institutions are under siege

This story was originally published July 21, 2017 at 1:11 PM with the headline "Dean Jepson: Russia is a threat to our democracy, and GOP isn’t protecting us."