It's not really concern. It's more like paralyzing fear.

I’m not terribly fond of conspiracy theories in general. Foil hats look terrible on me. For the most part, I think conspiracy theories are the versions of events that we wish were true, but, unfortunately, a far less exciting set of circumstances tend to tell the real story. This is exactly why I am so happy that one of the most salacious sources of conspiracy nutjobbery is changing its tune.

News media in general prefer to steer clear of conspiracy stories. They're hard to prove and they open the publication up to libel accusations.

Who would have thought that The National Enquirer would be setting a shining example of journalistic integrity by refusing to publish poppycock concerning our new president? The last thing we need is to get wrapped up in a bogus conspiracy theory about Russia blackmailing Trump into lifting sanctions so Putin and ExxonMobil can start pumping oil out of the Russian Arctic, making everyone involved hundreds of billions of dollars.

Sure, there are stories circulating that Trump has massive conflicts of interest. And, granted, there are many people worried about the potential for Trump to be too in-line with what’s good for Russia. But the integrity of a news organization like the Enquirer is more important than selling tabloids at the grocery store and clicks on their website.This doesn’t mean the Enquirer is avoiding the story of Trump and Russia altogether. Heaven forbid they risk looking like a state-run propaganda tool.

Take a look at the Front Page story from the January 11, 2017 issue. Readers are clearly shown the potential tight rope Trump must walk when dealing with a complex adversary like Putin:

Hmmm… okay well… objectively, that seems like it might be missing some context about the tense relationship Putin’s Russia has had with the United States over the years. It’s nice to know that Trump and Putin are going to be nice to each other and get rid of some bad people, but what about the fact that Putin is also… well… kind of a bad person. I’m sure the ‘Enquirer’ will have another article to balance out the ‘op-ed’ style cover story.

Okay. So there’s no balance there. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. You report on what you can verify. You don’t want to speculate on any potential risks associated with letting Putin get too close to US policy unless you can verify it. That’s what we should want as readers. Integrity. Don’t just throw a story out there without making sure it’s factual. You don’t want to be one of those conspiracy-theory-peddling rags.

Crap…

Yeah… but that story about Cruz’ dad was part of a much bigger story about the JFK assassination, a topic that has yielded mountains of material from conspiracy theorists. Surely we can give the Enquirer a pass for just adding to the pile, right?

Anyway… back to the Trump/Russia thing. Last week, while nearly every news outlet pushed their anti-Trump agenda, the ‘Enquirer’ preferred to play close-to-the-vest on the Trump dossier story. In fact, to this day, they haven’t run a single story discussing the allegations collected by a former British spy. They have, however, published a story refuting one of the claims levied against Trump’s lawyer:

It’s always good to fact check! We should thank our lucky stars that there are still news sources out there that value facts over fiction. While powerful entities threaten to silence these beacons in the night, we rely on the selfless dedication to incorruptibility shown by the good people running publications like the National Enquirer.

Now some may question the Enquirer’s objectivity as a news source since the paper’s parent company, American Media, Inc, is run by an outspoken Trump supporter, but that is just your baseless partisanship talking. You shouldn’t question the legitimacy of the paper’s content simply because David Pecker (yes… that’s his real name) is rumored to be in line for a cushy new job now that Trump is president.

You may be wondering what my point is. What does this all have to do with a Russian conspiracy? I guess the simple answer is that it has less to do with Russia and more to do with how our future president (by the time you read this, current president) operates.

Trump’s penchant for the ‘quid pro quo’ is staggering. Without dipping too many of my toes in the conspiracy swimming pool, Trump probably promised quite a few things to quite a few people to help him get elected. That makes him no different than nearly every elected official in the country.

The difference with Trump, however, is that he may have an extremely powerful tool at his disposal to ensure that his foes tread lightly when challenging him. Essentially, you either take the deal that's offered or you see your name smeared across every grocery store checkout line in the country along side words like exposed, caught, corrupt or criminal.

Perhaps at this point, you're wondering what possible power does a supermarket tabloid, even as one as dedicated to journalistic integrity as the National Enquirer, have to influence your typical, average, everyday American. Oh sure, little old ladies... you know... the ones who fall victim to televangelists and email schemes involving Nigerian princes... those people may be swayed by trashy headlines, but not a series, responsible, taxpaying adult.

Over the past several weeks, we've seen how Trump uses social media to bend the narrative in the direction he prefers. When the story about Russia's involvement in the 2016 election began to swell, Trump didn't move out of the spotlight the way most political figures might. Not only did he tell Dorothy to ignore the man behind the curtain, he called the Scarecrow a liar and he threatened to sue the Tin Man. As for the Cowardly Lion, he just tweeted, "Lion not brave. Sad!"

Up until the intelligence community released their findings on the Russian hacking issue, Trump tried to steer the conversation into an argument about whether or not Russia was involved in the DNC hacking at all. After being forced to admit Russia's involvement, he tried to shift the conversation away from the debate over whether or not the Russian hacking had any impact on the election. All the while, he criticized the US intelligence community as a whole, lashed out at members of congress who wanted further details on Russian meddling, and for good measure, reminded everyone how terrible Hillary Clinton is.

When the story shifted to a place that involved Trump being somehow involved in the Russian plot, the story really couldn't be shifted by Trump anymore. In order for Trump to push the story in a direction he prefers, he needs an enemy. Luckily, John Lewis, democratic congressman from Georgia, took the bold step of saying he worries that the Russian inference of the election creates a question about the legitimacy of Donald Trump's presidency. TARGET ACQUIRED!!

While Trump has received a lot of negative attention for the John Lewis imbroglio, it did effectively move the focus away from the nebulous, but extremely entertaining, "Trump is a secret Russian puppet" story. 

So if Trump has this amazingly power propaganda tool at his disposal why does he need another? If Trump can dispense his venom into the jugular of society at 140 characters per minute, why does he need an "old-school" tabloid, known for breaking stories about Bat Boy? The answer is simple: corroboration. Simply tweeting about your enemies is one thing, having shocking exposes (real or fabricated) staring out from the covers of brightly covered magazines in every grocery store in America is a next-level smear campaign. 

As Trump moves through his first term, he's going to run into more than a few adversaries. In the confirmation process for Trump's cabinet selections, even republicans who promised to fall in line are threatening to put a dent in Trump's facade.

Marco Rubio, ostensibly the deciding vote on Rex Tillerson’s confirmation as Secretary of State, has a difficult decision to make. He can vote against Trump’s first choice or he can fall in line. What Rubio must consider is if defying Trump means that he can look forward for several more years of this: