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Originally posted by Walter Sobchak
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Nobody is saying that the article or the analysts it cites present incontrovertible proof that the DNC “hack” wasn’t a hack at all, but an internal leak. Rather, the article presents evidence and argumentation for why at least entertaining the plausibility of that theory is warranted.
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The DNC, in its petulant little statement, demands that all responsible citizens meekly concur with what “U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded,” even in the absence of tangible evidence. To the contrary, responsible citizens ought to do exactly the opposite. And the fact that it’s left to Trump and his most ardent supporters to raise concerns about the Intelligence Community’s fidelity to truth is a very sad commentary on how far evidentiary standards have sunk, how short the establishment’s memories are, and how easy it is to swindle Sober and Serious elites into joining a collective frenzy — no matter how destructive the potential consequences.
The real reason why the DNC would be so up-in-arms about this story is that it appearing in The Nation means it can’t be immediately dismissed as right-wing agitprop, which is the most convenient way nowadays to discount facts you don’t like. Portray any line of inquiry as “pro-Trump” and it can be summarily discredited without further contemplation by everyone in right-thinking society. The Nation, to its great credit, publishing stories skeptical of the predominant Russia alarmist narrative complicates the ability of partisan DNC apparatchiks to denigrate any countervailing opinion on this topic as somehow inherently Trumpist — and the DNC unsurprisingly takes umbrage.
The DNC also engages in the classic, time-honored tactic of baselessly accusing anyone who presents inconvenient arguments or evidence of being a “conspiracy theorist,” as a means of not addressing their points on the merits.
[...]
The DNC, in its petulant little statement, demands that all responsible citizens meekly concur with what “U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded,” even in the absence of tangible evidence. To the contrary, responsible citizens ought to do exactly the opposite. And the fact that it’s left to Trump and his most ardent supporters to raise concerns about the Intelligence Community’s fidelity to truth is a very sad commentary on how far evidentiary standards have sunk, how short the establishment’s memories are, and how easy it is to swindle Sober and Serious elites into joining a collective frenzy — no matter how destructive the potential consequences.
The real reason why the DNC would be so up-in-arms about this story is that it appearing in The Nation means it can’t be immediately dismissed as right-wing agitprop, which is the most convenient way nowadays to discount facts you don’t like. Portray any line of inquiry as “pro-Trump” and it can be summarily discredited without further contemplation by everyone in right-thinking society. The Nation, to its great credit, publishing stories skeptical of the predominant Russia alarmist narrative complicates the ability of partisan DNC apparatchiks to denigrate any countervailing opinion on this topic as somehow inherently Trumpist — and the DNC unsurprisingly takes umbrage.
The DNC also engages in the classic, time-honored tactic of baselessly accusing anyone who presents inconvenient arguments or evidence of being a “conspiracy theorist,” as a means of not addressing their points on the merits.
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