re: CNN pundit - #Walkaway Movement is a ploy by Russians and Republicans

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Walkaway is a complete Russian campaign.

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Even if that’s true, does it diminish the voices of the democrats who have walked away for you?


Let’s say the first 5000 #walkaway twitter posts were all faked by russia or the gop or whomever. In yiur mind, does this hypothetical origin then diminish the decision of former democrats who empathized with it and decided they should, in fact, walk away?

#walkaway is a purely rhetorical argument, and if we are at the point where we are overarchingly dismissing rhetorical argument solely because we don’t like the people making them, then our political system might be in some trouble.

I know several hundred is small by rally standards, but you gotta remember this is DC. Takes some courage to participate in an anti-dem march there. And I know this is a small sample size too, but I’ve got a former dem friend who has latched onto the walkaway narrative fully. When you tell him that he’s only walking away because he was tricked by russians, and not because he seems systematic failure by a political group he use to believe in, it only entrenches him further in believing he made the right decision.



Just a word of advice for the future. When you are discussing political movements in a country with a foundational belief in the value if free speech, you need to dispute what is being said, rather than attack who is saying it. Debate the ideas, not the people. It doesn’t matter whether the walkaway hashtag started in some russian basement, it is resonating deeply with some american voters. Now’s the time to figure out why.