Once upon a time there was a robust alternative or independent online community, taking on both Democrats and Republicans and shooting for a better world beyond the paradigm of the party leaders and the large media companies. Then something happened. The son of a super-rich man ran for president on pretense that he was a political outsider and a champion of the common person, breaking the independence of independents themselves.

THE OUTSIDER IS THE DUMBEST TRICK

In 2010, a “grass roots” group called the The Tea Party was going to break the paradigm and work for the people. This group decided to run as Republicans. As it turned out, The Tea Party did not disrupt anything — they moved more toward the reactionary side of Republican ideology. So-called establishment Republicans pretended they were being held hostage by the small group of Tea Party members, caving in to their demands.

In 2016, an “outsider” called Donald Trump tapped into “populism” to “drain the swamp” and work for the people. Donald Trump decided to run as a Republican. As it turned out, Donald Trump disrupted all that he could, not for the benefit of the people, but to turn the apparently “bad” to worse by moving more toward the reactionary side of Republican ideology — both economic and social. So-called establishment Republicans feigned outrage over the antics of Donald Trump, but almost invariably, voted to support his agenda.

DO YOU SEE a rerun here? The outsider who happens to be Republican comes in to save America from the Republican Party then ends up turning the clock of progress back faster and faster. Did you fall for the Tea Party outsider trick? Did you fall for the Trump outsider trick?

ANYONE BUT ESTABLISHMENT HILLARY

Tired and morally outraged by American interference and actions around the world, some independents took a liking to Donald Trump, apparently believing that some of his nastier rhetoric was designed only to win the Republican base, and that by some magic, he was not the tyrannical type that his act indicated. In other words, he was lying to get into office where he would flop over and tell the truth. Did you believe that?

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE TAKES OVER

Russian interference in the 2016 election became the biggest media issue and has remained so for nearly three years now. At first, some were appropriately skeptical of the “narrative,” but time showed that there was plenty of information to indicate Russia interfered in the election, and that Donald Trump cohorts were directly involved with Russians in trying to game the election for Donald Trump.

PARTISAN SPLIT OF INDEPENDENTS

But those independents who were once reasonably skeptical of Russia interference developed a reaction process that “debunked” anything that might support the truth — always with the convenient help of establishment Republican websites. Those independents became more entrenched in protecting their own “no obstruction/no collusion” narrative even while evidence mounted.

Other independents woke up to the increasing available information and came to believe that Russian interference was real because it was real. Partisan lines were drawn between independents, splitting independents into essentially pro-Donald Trump versus anti-Donald Trump camps. Partisans. They became partisans.

WHAT IS A PARTISAN?

A partisan is an adherent to a cause. The definition suggests that having a view point or supporting a leader or cause is not inherently partisan in the negative sense. There should be something more: adherence. An adherent sticks or clings to a leader or a cause even with bad facts or bad analysis.

So, partisans would be those who adhere to a cause like the “no interference” narrative, while realists would be those who adopt or maintain that there was Russian interference based on the fact. As usual, given two opposing views, one is closer to reality than the other.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE AS A WEDGE ISSUE

Mainstream media drones on and on with never ending outrage about Russian interference and former independents like Glenn Greenwald, Jimmy Dore, and others react on queue to deny the “narrative” — thereby playing right into the very paradigm they claim to oppose — distracting from more important issues.

It’s the same thing with any “wedge issue.” Take abortion for example. There are three main arguments about abortion:

• A woman has the right to choose what goes on with her body.
• The life of the unborn should be protected by the law.
• Abortion is a wedge issue and we should talk about something else.

Similarly there are three choices about Russian interference and related claims:

• Russians interfered in the election to help Republicans.
• Russians did not interfere or interference doesn’t matter.
• Russian interference is a wedge issue and we should talk about something else.

Forty-four years out from the Supreme Court decision that guaranteed women’s rights to abortion, we are still driving that wedge to distract us from other issues. Why? Because too many people have refused to take a side or to support their views. The very people afraid of wasting time fighting the “wedge issue” have perpetuated the wedge aspect of the issue by keeping it stalemated — thereby causing their greatest fear to come true. Abortion continues wedging.

The case of Russian interference unlike abortion is not so much based upon endless moral arguments: it is based strictly upon actual ‘hard’ facts available. The first option, Russia interfered, is the correct one. (It is also true that there was “obstruction” and “collusion.”) Those who cannot recognize the truth of Russian interference are the wedges. While they often use the same language as Republican Donald Trump to deny it — no collusion, no obstruction, a hoax, Hillary colluded, etc. — they become reactionary partisans defending Donald Trump against reality. They act effectively as supporters of Donald Trump, all the while claiming they are the ‘true progressives.’ They polarize and partisanize independent media until it sounds just like the standard Republicans versus Democrats. And who does this benefit? It benefits the establishment — divide and conquer.

The failure of so many independent journalists to accept evidence discredits independent sources generally and pushes non-Republicans into the very thing independents fear most — the corporate media. That’s the PSYOP right there. Helping reactionaries. Helping Republicans. Discrediting independents. Disabling independent media.

WEDGE ISSUE HIDES SOMETHING CRITICAL

The 2016 election was stolen. While Russian interference played a role, the biggest chunk of cheating was done by Republicans — voter suppression under the law, voter purging for failure to vote, CrossCheck voter purging, and more. At least 16 million Americans were cut off. Who thinks all of this plus Russian interference did not change the outcome of the election?

Incredibly, the “no interference” independents mostly ignore Republican cheating. In defense of Donald Trump against charges of Russian interference, they take it further and say that Democrats or the mainstream media or the deep state are trying to take down a legitimately elected executive. PSYOP complete.