@zaryia said:
Sorry, I was MOSTLY replying to the TC @Damedius (conveniently MIA) not you. I just wanted to make sure you and MJK knew what the real figures were. His title was extremely mis-leading, and the youtube title was a downright lie. They spent several millions to "try" to influence the election through interference/meddling, not just $4700. I mostly wanted to just fact check and/or clarify this specific position. But you also have to understand several conservatives at several sites, including this one, denied interference even happened at all for years. I have no clue why the GOP and Conservatives are constantly lying or mis-leading about this particular issue.
And I agree on what most of what you said. But, advertisements and trolls reaching 100s of millions of people (especially in SWING STATES, as they targeted) and the DNC Hacks (which reached millions) probably did at least have SOME effect. And in an election that close, it gets pretty important.The thing is, like you alluded to, we will never know if it was enough to actually change the outcome of the election. It could have been meaningless or it could have just barely swayed enough swing States. My guess is It probably didn't make or break the election, but it's still super bad and has to be stopped.
But the fact that they did try to interfere was a big no-no. I completely agree, we can't let it just slide or downplay the facts (like some in the GOP and conservative such as the TC are doing).
I think you are ignoring the Elephant in the room when it comes to interfering with the US government. If you really care about election interference.
http://fortune.com/2016/03/21/aipac-israel-lobby-election-2016/
This week, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee will hold its annual policy conference, and attendees will be hearing from some of the biggest names in politics. Every remaining presidential nominee except for Bernie Sanders will address the crowd, as will Vice President Joe Biden, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Essentially, anyone who wields power or wants to wield power in Washington will be there.
AIPAC and the “Israel Lobby” in general—a loosely connected group of lobbyists, politicians, and Political Action Committees dedicated to strengthening America’s connection with the Jewish state and advocating for support of Israel in international relations—can be a bit of a political land mine. When criticizing the actions and policies of the State of Israel, it is easy to step into territory that many would deem anti-Semitic.
But it is impossible to ignore the fact that AIPAC, the biggest, most powerful group in the Israel Lobby, has got serious juice when it comes to Washington politicking. The group has one of the most sophisticated lobbying efforts around, including a highly professional set of lobbyists on the Hill who know how to get congressman to vote their way when it comes to issues affecting Israel. They also have representatives throughout the country who can lobby congressman from their home districts.
In 2015, a total of $4,189,000 was spent on Pro-Israel lobbying. AIPAC accounted for $3,388,700 of that.
It is important to note that AIPAC does not directly contribute to candidates, nor does it give money to PACs supporting candidates. They don’t explicitly endorse candidates for the presidency or for lower offices. What they can do, though, is use their influence to get their donors to give to candidates and PACs that will be favorable to Israel and to AIPAC.
Already in the 2016 campaign cycle, $7,168,396 has been donated to federal campaigns by Pro-Israel individuals and PACs, according to data from Open Secrets. In the 2012 cycle, a total of $15,102,201 was donated to such groups.
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