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First Principles: Why Are You Okay With This?
In another thread, the subject of John Edwards’ affair with Rielle Hunter came up. I said (I’ll admit, rather snarkily), that I suppose Edwards’ big mistake was having an affair with a staffer instead of a pornstar and not paying her hush money. If he had done that, then he would’ve gotten a pass from everybody.
But it does mystify me as to why the revelation of Donald Trump’s affair with a porn star, and then him paying her six figures in hush money a month before the election, is met with shrugs from conservatives.
Let me clarify something, I don’t care about “the media.” That progressives scream about such and such is of no interest to me. What is said on MSNBC is irrelevant to me.
I’ve spent 20 years listening to conservatives talk about Bill Clinton’s womanizing and what it said about his character and him as a man. I heard John Edwards excoriated for his affair with Rielle Hunter for the same reason. I thought they had a point.
What makes Donald Trump different? Why is this met with shrugs from his supporters?
I’ll admit I’m mystified. So I pose this question to the Trump supporters here on Ricochet, many of whom I know to be good and decent people:
State your general principle: What made what John Edwards did wrong but makes Donald Trump only shrug-worthy?
Published in General
To take it a step farther, it is the very skills gained from being a “not stellar” person that makes them so effective in the battle. Schlindler was a liar and a thief and a philanderer; who else could have lied as effectively as he did to save so many lives?
We are not battling saints; it’s not a saint that can defeat them.
I married a saint (if you knew me, you’d not think that is hyperbole. He is literally referred to as “the saint”); I don’t need one as a president. My personal life is full of fine and upstanding people. (For the record, I’ve said the same for many decades and many presidents. My first vote was for Carter; a fine upstanding husband and father. I am still doing penance for that vote.)
Do you know the parable of the scorpion and the frog? During the Clinton impeachment, I kept expecting his support to weaken among the voters but it never did. And all of a sudden it hit me why: the voters knew who he was when they voted for him. Not all of the allegations had come out but enough to know that they weren’t electing a saint. So when he did more of the same, those who voted for him that cared about his philandering and, let’s face it, sexual assaults, said: well, what else would we expect? We didn’t put a choir boy in the White House. The same with me for Trump. I don’t know if the current story is true, but those of us from NY who read the Post had no shortage of graphic detail about his prior marriages and divorces before we elected him. So if it turns out to be true, would I be shocked and feel betrayed. No. I took a big chance on him when I voted for him. I voted for him because I believed to the depths of my soul that we couldn’t survive 4 more years of Obama in the form of Hillary. I wish I had had a better choice, but I didn’t. So continually pointing out to me that he is a liar, bombastic, immature, boorish, and adulterer etc does nothing to change my opinion of him because it already was my opinion of him. I will never defend his adultery, but who among us has only saints for friends, employees or employers? We judge their sins against the totality of the person and our relationship with them. Only we can decide whether their transgressions are so egregious that we reject the entire person.
Yeah … no. America had the opportunity to elect a Boy Scout (how’d that work out for you 2012??). The Boy Scout of which you speak can (will??) be very effective once the swamp is drained.
But not a minute before …
People forget how upset the electorate was with the Democrats–Republicans took the House, the Senate, and the presidency and several governorships.
I will always believe that those very high ObamaCare premium bills that went out in October were responsible for the Republicans’ victories.
People are just sick and tired of status quo politicians. Taxes go up, services go down. It’s just frustrating everyone.
I am pleased with Trump because I got what I wanted most: a second look at the Iran Deal, presidential support for Israel, and a break from my president speaking ill of my country.
And it’s nice not to hear about ISIS victories every day.
Stormy Daniels does rather beat ISIS storming a city, no?
We almost had a Saturday Night Massacre last June, when Trump told White House Counsel Donald McGahn to fire Mueller. McGahn refused to do so, and said that he would resign before he would fire Mueller. Trump backed down.
Vice President Pence may be called on sooner than later.
Yeah … no. “If wishes were horses beggars would ride.”
I look forward to a President Pence. After he’s been elected.
But not a minute before.
We also had Edwards trying to raise Christopher Reeve from the dead in 2004.
No, the Judean People’s Front!
Splitters!
For much of 2016, I went around proclaiming that the only way Trump would win is if Clinton were caught in a three-way with a dead girl and a live boy.
With the proper seasoning, crow is delicious.
Evan McMullin?
Yes, I think this hits it on the head. Edwards presented one face while he was actually another. This is Trump and we knew it up front. Plus I thought it was was Democrats that shoved Edwards under the bus, not Republicans. He couldn’t get his own party to accept his indiscretions, why would Republicans give him a life line?
Now you’re making things up.
New York Times (YMMV) has a piece up, and it’s all over Drudge right now.
Well said.
Seems by your interpretation your standards are the same or less than Trumps.
Yes, and Trump’s standards are not my standards. I don’t like Trump as a person. I wouldn’t drink a beer with him. Trump may be guilty of being a hypocrite. I’m fine with that. But before you accuse him of things, you’ll need more than an article in the NYT. There needs to be evidence before I’ll accept the claim. The NYT along with the entire democrat machine has lied and used the FBI to spread rumors via official documents that have been bald faced lies. It’s as though they made the stories as outrageous as possible because they might not be believed unless it were beyond normal credibility.
Let’s all focus on what’s going on with the law and stop reacting to rumors and unfounded accusations.
Taxes are lower. The penalty for not insuring is removed. The embassy is in Jerusalem. Gorsuch is on the bench. I’m a happy boy and I just don’t care about other nonsense.
Actually I would prefer an enforcement mechanism that requires a candidate for federal office prove that they possess the constitutional qualifications.
Call it, I dunno, “E-verify” or something.
Remember, the “birther” nonsense was started by Hillary and milked by FP Obama.
Yeah, too bad you don’t hear about their defeats every day either. But you can always ask me _ I am actually here working for it.
Really, a real no kidding Saturday Night Massacre? Seriously? Or just an impulse by President Trump (GBUH) to fire a single person? (In this case Mueller).
Jealous. If I were a few years younger, I’d be doing my best to get back out there to help you! It’s a young man’s game. Shoot fast and straight!
Dude, I am old, and while they qual’d me on a 9MM they won’t let me shoot anyone. I just get to do the assessment about what is going on that is bad (or good) and what we need to do about it.
It was a almost a Night of the Long Knives. Bodies everywhere.
Well, it had to be Saturday, because he was already all booked up on Sunday. Massacres are such trouble to plan, trying to make sure you have all the right people together.
I once thought the same way. Today, if President Trump (GBUH) invited me for a meal and a beverage, I would accept. It wouldn’t be over beer (President Trump (GBUH) doesn’t drink), but I would accept the man’s hospitality.
As long as I didn’t have to wear a tie.
Or rather, almost bodies, almost potentially everywhere. Does that make it schroedinger’s massacre?
It would be good if we could hold our politicians to higher standards, but we can’t. We don’t criticize Ted Kennedy for his multiple affairs, but for letting the girl drown while he ran away, but Democrats loved him. JFK was a serial adulterer, we loved him as well, and Johnson abused his power for sex all the time. Then there’s Clinton, but then he raped them as well and likes under age girls as well. Nixon, the most hated Republican until Trump, didn’t do these things, that may be one of the reasons Democrats looked down on his character, and Democrats consider Pence weird for trying to avoid the look of scandal. Reagan and the Bush’s were free of scandal. Now there’s Trump, since the girl was a porn start I don’t think he abused his wealth and power to force himself on her. Among this bunch, and he was a Democrat and a progressive then, he’s almost sterling. Those made uncomfortable by his behavior are Republicans, Democrats point it out and harp on it but the objective is to erode his base. Democrats have no standards.
Ah, I meant socially at a local bar. Of course if it were a public event, that’s different.
I heard it was hard to get a tee time at Mar-a-Lago.
Particularly if you are unwilling to accept the invitation. He would have to call it the “Golden Globes Awards” or something.