Time to move on from impeachment push, conspiracies

We live in a golden age of conspiracy theories.

Historically, most conspiracy theories — far-fetched explanations of events when less sinister explanations are more probable — remained obscure. Notable exceptions — theories about the John F. Kennedy’s assassination and alien landings — were a boon to Hollywood and littleknown authors. Notorious exceptions — Joseph McCarthy’s paranoid pursuit of communists and the idea that witchcraft and sexual abuse permeated 1990s pre-schools — destroyed lives.

More recently, though, conspiracy theories have stepped out of the shadows. Cable television and the internet combine to create a fertile ecosystem for conspiracy theories to be hatched, nurtured and disseminated. Their frequent discussion and the seeming stature of the commentators — media notables, academics, generals, judges, government officials — lend credibility not only to any given theory, but to the notion that we should seriously consider appalling, highly unlikely, yet perversely comforting explanations of cause and effect.

Not surprisingly, conspiracy theories have become a mainstay of our political discourse. Indeed, a primary thesis of both parties is conspiratorial. Democrats contend that our system is rigged by a cabal of billionaires. Republicans warn of a country run by the Deep State.

There are fragments of truth to both assertions — many readers likely just muttered “That’s not a conspiracy theory, that’s true.”

Wealthy people and businesses undoubtedly contribute to candidates and lobby the government to (among other things) enhance the ability to make and keep money. That many politicians, including several Democrat presidential hopefuls, become millionaires while on public payrolls cries out for reform. Still, there are no monthly meetings in a billionaires’ clubhouse to set nefarious strategy.

As to the Deep State, look no further than the impeachment hearings. Many witnesses expressed dismay that President Donald Trump’s approaches to Ukraine contradicted the policies favored by the Inter-agency. The what?

How many people in the Inter-agency can you name? Which did you vote for? What is the Inter-agency’s position on China or Russia? If you wanted to know, how would you find out?

The Inter-agency’s existence does not prove a conspiracy, though it demonstrates the metastasizing nature of bureaucracies.

Accusations of conspiracy theories emanate more from the left than the right. Democrats apply the conspiracy theory label to just about anything Republicans or the Trump administration say or do. Left-leaning

reporters spill a lot of ink on the topic — Google it and see. The political strategy is to stifle debate — “that’s nothing but a conspiracy theory” — and to imply that people holding conservative views wear tin foil hats and refuse fluoridated water.

The irony is that Democrats and many members of the media do not recognize this century’s conspiracy theory whopper — that Trump conspired with Russia in 2016.

The obvious explanation of Trump’s victory was that Hillary Clinton was a weak candidate who ran a poor race and that the media whiffed on the story of a frustrated middle America. Traumatized by the Trump victory, they rejected this simple account. Instead, they embraced the dramatic Russian collusion tale. In psychological terms, this is proportionality bias — extreme events must be explained by extreme causes.

Years of federal government investigation, millions of taxpayer dollars, and endless media coverage were wasted trying to prove a non-existent conspiracy.

Sadly, Democrats are already preparing a new conspiracy storyline for the next election. According to House Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff, “The president’s misconduct cannot be decided at the ballot box for we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won.”

If Democrats want to retake the White House, they should acknowledge the grievous error of Russian collusion accusations, accept the pointlessness of impeachment, and stop preparing defeatist talking points.

Instead they might conspire to find a nominee and policies that appeal beyond hard-left voters.

Many members of the media do not recognize this century’s conspiracy theory whopper — that Trump conspired with Russia in 2016.

Todd Hooper of Greenbrae is a management consultant. He was the GOP candidate for Congress in 2006.