Moxie, good that you got a thread just for this topic, I really wanted to talk about it with someone with a different view than mine.
Before I get into specifics, I have a general comment that in fact reflects what I don´t like about the current state of affairs, and in my view is far more important than this specific subject. The subject, however, illustrates my point, as I hope you will see.
Most debates about important issues, nowadays, sound more like parallel monologues than actual dialogues. People on both sides tend to repeat themselves, citing the same sources, the same arguments, and never listening to what the other side has to say. At most they try to discredit their sources, or their intellectual references. I am pretty sure you are thinking "hell yeah", while people with opposing views to your are thinking... "hell yeah" too.
I say this living on a country that I would guess is as divided as yours. There are some important differences, but the divide is there, and it is extremely strong. I spent most of my life trying to speak with both sides, because I really cannot line up with neither, and lately I feel that I cannot speak with almost anyone. I wonder how many people in your country feel the same. There is a political war, or better, a lot of political wars going on and some groups just want it to go on, they want the divide because they profit from it, either economically, politically or in whatever crazy sense it is meaningful to them. We give such people what they want when we fail to even talk to each other properly.
Ok, now back to topic. Russia.
I do not think it is a conspiracy theory. I think that it is a wild twist of ordinary facts that play with people´s imagination. I follow some discussions and it sounds like we are talking about 007 stuff, with high tech plots and criminal masterminds laughing in the backstage. However, the actual information (not opinion) that we have on the subject shows what is completely obvious for anyone that does not naively looks at international geo-politics.
Political forces in one state interfere in other sovereign states? all the time.
Political forces and sovereign states use cyber-info, social media and whatever to help their political intentions? all the time.
Trump and Putin where on the same side on this one? Much, much less than the average alliance made by most political forces in the world most developed nations.
The day to day activity of diplomats includes talking to a lot of people, making a lot of connections. Have you ever checked on what the US admittedly did in Ukraine? You have videos of political meetings with members of the US (former) administration with guys who are OPENLY neo-nazi. The US made public statements saying that it (shoud I use "it" to refer to a country? correct me please, no harm intended) expected the government in Ukraine to acquire a more moderate position on a lot of issues...
Do I think the US is the empire of evil because of that? No, I believe they made a mistake, or an extremely cynical calculation, or whatever. The point is that the geo-political game is complex, and all players play it in a hard, self interested way. Nobody follows principles, they use them to justify their actions.
Some news pieces I watched on the way Russians used social media to influence the election made laugh for hours. I mentioned in other thread, one news piece supposedly made sneaking in an office in Moscow with "agents" generating social media content made feel ashamed of simply watching it. For, what, ten years at least political parties, companies, states, you name it, have armies of people doing this. Here in Brazil I can easily spot from which side came most comments on the news website (that´s an disgusting habit I have, to read those comments. It makes me sick all the time). Not the explicit ones, those are obvious, but the ones trying to pretend they are from one "side", when they are from the other. Point is, those are the rules of engagement. Whatever happened on this elections is not outside the curve.
Off course, half of South America grins when hears about the US complaining about foreign influence... it is selfish, I admit, but the irony is there.
You surely noticed that I did not get in too many specifics about this issue. I wanted to keep it in general terms, yes, and a lot of specifics were already discussed in other threads.
Just a comment on the Russian state media... is, it is "state" media, but honestly I do not see the difference to normal media. I could even suspect that they could be more independent than western media, which is completely partisan as well. People dream of media independence... and of course media itself try to feed the idea, but for me it is one of the most naive concepts one can think off. Of course one guy can suddenly follow his conscience and be loyal to a given principle, but this could happen anywhere, not only in the New York Times. Be it in US or in Russia, such a person would be kicked out one way or another. Again, as I put in other threads, the only way I believe a person can be well informed is to follow a lot of different sources, the most direct sources possible (watching live feeds of public sessions on state institutions, etc) and thinking hard by themselves. It takes a monumental effort, and sometimes it does not pay. But the alternative is to consume everything from a few sources, and hope that they don´t fall to the temptation to make you believe what they want you to believe. You are a opinion maker yourself, you know it does not take a conspiracy to twist it. I am sure you are fair, but I would not expect much from the rest of the world.
Because they believe all the anti-russian propaganda from the western media. They also believe the theories about these Russian "agents" or whatever working on "converting " people to "putinism" or whatever. This is BS. I'm talking with russians a lot, i'm playing with russians a lot, i would have been approached i guess by "agents" i spend so much time in the eastern community but nothing like that happened.
He has a full mandate. 306 - 232 in the electoral college is extensive. The popular vote is irrelevant. If it was based on popular voting, the whole electioneering process would have been carried out differently. Trump wouldn't have just concentrated on those swing states. Change the system... you'll change the electioneering and also voting patterns too.