Friday, March 9, 2018
Character is Everything...
but not if you're a philandering Republican president, then the Evangelical Republican base is happy to look the other way and excuse what they found disgustingly appalling about William Jefferson Clinton's character.
Eugene Robinson at the WaPo:
Eugene Robinson says she beat Trump at his own game: The Daniels affair is of more than just prurient interest: It would appear that Trump may have violated federal campaign law by failing to disclose the payment on his reporting forms. [...]
The personal lawyer of Donald Trump, days before the election, paid $130,000 to apparently buy the silence of a porn star. Said porn star credibly describes an affair she had with the president and the ham-fisted attempts by his lawyer to keep her from talking about it. All of this unquestionably speaks volumes about the president’s character and morals.
Republicans who regarded Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky as the end of civilization as we know it are serenely untroubled. Evangelical Christians who rail against sin and cloak themselves in piety offer nothing but a worldly, almost Gallic shrug. Daniels has taught us much about their character and morals, too.
From The Hill:
A member of President Trump’s evangelical advisory board defended Trump over the controversy surrounding his alleged relationship with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, saying the allegations were “totally irrelevant” to evangelicals who support Trump.
“Evangelicals know they’re not compromising their beliefs in order to support this great president,” Pastor Robert Jeffress said on Fox News Thursday.
“And let’s be clear, evangelicals still believe in the commandment ‘thou shalt not have sex with a porn star.’”
“However, whether this president violated that commandment or not is totally irrelevant to our support of him,” he continued. Jeffress said evangelicals knew they “weren’t voting for an altar boy” when they voted for Trump and maintained they supported Trump for his “policies and strong leadership.”
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3 comments:
Republicans who regarded Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky as the end of civilization as we know it are serenely untroubled.
If one had to choose a single word to define today's Evangelical movement, that word would surely be "hypocrisy". Apparently adultery, like deficits, only matters when a Democrat is in office.
I hope we hammer them with their hypocrisy about Trump until the end of time. They should never be able to get on their moralistic high horses ever again, about anything, and be taken seriously.
Shaw... here's what I'm wondering. Is how someone manages his or her personal life germane to the job of President?
I mean apart from areas of potential blackmail. Really, Ike cheated. Kennedy was a prolific philanderer. Clinton was no schoolboy. And yet all of these guys had fairly successful presidencies. Is character only important because the religious right in the 1980's made it so?
Really, we never cared before as long as stuff stayed out of the public eye.
The big issues for most of America before the right brought up character were always peace and the economy. And in that, we have no new wars that Trump has started, Korea may be settling down, the economy is humming. I think most of America is fairly pleased with the results so far.
But what the left is doing, rightfully so in my opinion is focusing on the folks that for years claimed character was important and asking why now, it's not. That's a legit question in my mind to ask. because they always said it was a legit issue. To now back off and essentially say scoreboard baby, is totally disingenuous.
If the economy continues as it is now and there are no additional wars where Americans are dying, I think it is going to be hard to beat Trump in 2020. Because the Dems will have no issues. Seriously, what will they run on? Making the economy even better? Making life even more peaceful?
Right now the Dems entire strategy seems to be "Not Trump." That'll work in Congress I think, but the presidency? I doubt it.
We can scream all we want about character, but let's not forget we enabled Pres Clinton. Our disapproval is not really because we don't think a cheater can, or should be President, it's because they said before that one couldn't and now they're backing off that claim.
Dave, everything you said is valid. But you left out one very significant thing: The Mueller investigation. It remains to be seen what he's finding out about Trump and what part Russia played in getting him elecgted. That's a bit more disturbing than a president who indulges in extra-marital affairs.
We know that other presidents had affairs, but except for Clinton, we knew that after the fact. Why do the Evangelical Christians have no problem with Trump's infidelities but said that was unacceptable when Clinton dallied with Monica. It's plain and simple hyposrisy, and that, to me, means it's not about BREAKING a commandment, it's about WHO breaks the commandment and which party he or she belongs to, which, of course, shows us that their commitment to their tenets is only situational. Also, IOW, worthless.
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