OK, gang, time to move along – other stuff is more important.  That's the logical strategy for the Democratic Party leadership to signal the base that the Russia conspiracy narrative has served its purpose and belongs in the Memory Hole.  You don't want to go farther out on the limb of an unfounded charge dreamed up to explain away the failure of Hillary and her campaign henchpeople to pull off the expected victory.

But such a judicious approach is not the métier of rabble-rouser Thomas Perez, the party chairman.  Into the breach leaped Representative Keith Ellison, the consolation prize-holder of the invented title of "Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee" and the First Muslim Elected to Congress (a pioneer!).

Rush transcript via Grabien:

George, what I want to say is that I've just been on the trail talking to people all over the country. I was just in Oklahoma. And to them, it's like, yeah, this Russia thing, they're very concerned about it. But also the health care debate we're in, repealing Dodd-Frank, the whole piece of it is what people are really focused on. You want to talk about what's the real story as opposed to this week's mess? All this stuff just looks to people like it's crazy. It's chaotic. And I'm going to show up in my congressman's meeting and I'm going to be part of this upsurge of democracy.

 

Sure, the "whole piece of it" is what people are talking about.

Nice pep talk.  I am sure that the remaining sane donors understand your intentions.

When Deputy Chair Keith Ellison is the wise voice of restraint, the party's leader fairly can be labeled as "extreme."