Tell me again why Republicans shot down $250 million in security funds meant to protect the integrity of our midterm elections? Gee, it’s almost like they don’t care about democracy at all.
From The Hill:
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) on Wednesday said Russian hackers had successfully "penetrated" some of Florida's election systems ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
"They have already penetrated certain counties in the state and they now have free rein to move about," Nelson told the Tampa Bay Times.
Nelson said leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee encouraged him and fellow Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) to notify Florida state election supervisors that "the Russians are in their records," according to the report.
Nelson told the news outlet that the state has to act quickly, emphasizing that Russia is trying to undermine faith in the U.S. democratic system.
The specifics of the activity remain unclear, including which counties were targeted and why it is believed to be the work of Russians.
Well, to be fair, at least Rubio is pretending to care:
Last month, Nelson and Rubio sent a joint letter urging state election officials to "take advantage" of the election security resources offered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
"County election boards should not be expected to stand alone against a hostile foreign government," reads the joint letter sent to 67 election supervisors.
"DHS will follow your lead and meet your needs with a tailored set of options. We encourage you in the strongest terms to take advantage of those resources, and to let us know about your experience with DHS and FBI."
Let’s see, the FY18 military budget is projected to be $700 billion. The cost of adequately protecting our democracy is an additional $250 million over what’s already been allocated — or .03 percent of the annual military budget.
Good to see where the GOP’s priorities lie.
Of course, if Russia turned the tables and helped out Democrats this year, I have a feeling GOP senators would start draping congressional pages from the ceiling of the Capitol atrium and beating them like piñatas until they coughed up the cash.
But now? Meh. After all, we still might need to invade Iran because we elected an unstable idiot. You can’t have everything, you know.
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