Political Quotes

“as we know here in Washington, politics is a battlefield as much as it is a debating society. On this battlefield, a new form of political weapon has emerged, one for which the American political system was not well prepared. As Democrats, I can say from our side, we were virtually blind to this weapon in the last election. For my 167th ``Time to Wake Up'' speech, I am here to discuss this new political weapon: systematic fake news. Fake news does not just fall like rain from heaven. In its most dangerous form, fake news is weaponized for effect--usually, political effect. Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia made weaponized fake news a core element of its political manipulation throughout the former Soviet Union and the modern European Union, revving up public ire over rapes that never happened, for instance; planting fake material in politicians' laptops and social media that can then be ``exposed,'' and broadcasting false political propaganda. This phenomenon has been documented in Chairman Graham's recent hearing in our Crime and Terrorism Judiciary Subcommittee, featuring, among other sources, the Center for Strategic and International Studies' ``Kremlin Playbook,'' and it has been documented throughout the proceedings of this year's McCain Institute Sedona Forum. Because of this history of political manipulation, the Putin regime's interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election ought to be a wakeup call for America.…”