If an attractive Russian seduces a politician for the purpose of espionage and influencing policy, their spouse is not going to excuse them because "Oh you chea

If an attractive Russian seduces a politician for the purpose of espionage and influencing policy, their spouse is not going to excuse them because "Oh you cheated on me because of Russian meddling!" Like the marriage in the aforementioned hypothetical, left of center politics is failing worldwide for other reasons, not because of some nefarious social media plot. People are growing fed up with government as an entity, and as a result, they want less government in their lives. Over the past few decades, the practiced manner of a politician became something that was mimicked and parodied worldwide, and popular culture widely regarded the politician as a crook for far too long. Even some of the most charismatic leaders who were beloved worldwide - most recently President Barack Obama, have been wrought with scandals like Snowden's NSA revelations, and the weak and dishonest manner in which the President responded when the activities of the intelligence agencies were exposed. Even during his first term, he made the (perhaps superior) decision to bail out the Wall street banks, and was subsequently betrayed by the various corporations who gave large payouts to top executives. To working class folks, these things are unforgivable especially when they come at the hands of someone you admired, even loved. The trust in government as an idea is so low that all someone has to do is stand up and say "these crooks and rascals have lied to you all your life. They have practiced and poll-tested speeches but I am honest, raw and I speak from the heart. The fake and dishonest media there will tell you that I am a thug and I have said this and that. I am a thug, but I am your thug, give me a chance to show these crooks how it's done". The public will fall in love, because after what so many parts of the world have witnessed from their governments for so long, this kind of talk is like sweet seduction. This kind of post "I read YouTube comments written by bots and the world is going to end because my party lost the last election and they may lose the next one" are disappointing. People can vote for political candidates based on any whimsical or nonsensical reason be it race, religion, "he has a kind face" - whatever they want to. Voting is an individual right. Any attempt to influence a voter - whether it's a bot farm or a person writing an article to stop a bot farm, means only one thing: "I want this person to vote the way I vote". Democracy needs a free market of ideas. No number of botnets are going to convince me to vote for someone who espouses nazism, or worse, communism. If someone else is swayed, it is their right to be, that's okay. Great ideas will win in a free market, bots or no bots. All ideas, no matter how objectionable, should be heard.