Tulsi Gabbard Russian asset!

[Dill]

(10-22-2019, 01:40 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Is it wrong to call her an asset? Assets can be used unwittingly. If Russia makes efforts to use Gabbard to split the Democratic vote, even without her knowing it, she was an asset.

I really don't have a dog in this fight, it was just something I thought of while reading your post.

Yes, assets can be unwitting.   Asset =/= Spy.

I don't have a problem calling Trump a "Russian asset," for example. I think he responds to cues from Putin, is played by him. But I've seen no evidence he is a witting spy. He lacks focus and judgement needed to pull that off. If the Russians elicit information from him through flattery, Trump would not understand that as collusion, but helping a friend, or doing a favor to get a favor.  Other damage he does, dividing the nation, etc. is just icing the cake for the Russians. Valued but not the result of direction.

In Gabbard's case though, the charge is a bit premature.  She says things Russians, Syrians and Trump supporters like (though those are not same things in every case). Russian intel certainly picks up on that, and may even be working their "bots" in her favor as Hillary suggests.  But we don't know for sure if anything yet has effect.  And nothing Gabbard has said (that I've read) suggests she would, could, go 3rd party.

Gabbard seems to me one of the least knowledgeable and least mentally agile of the Dem candidates, so she won't be going far in any case. Hillary's attack may have boosted interest in her more that the impending bots.  Will Gabbard have the poor judgement to lay out her Hillary grievance on Tucker Carlson?