If “hypocrisy” works to exonerate people when they’ve done something wrong, then there are a whole lot of small-time drug dealers in jail across this country who would like to understand how it is that a justice system that’s ostensibly concerned with activities that ruin people’s lives somehow managed to collectively avoid putting the entire C-suite at every major bank in prison for a thousand years after the financial crisis.
See “hypocrisy” works as a way to shame others who are talking out of both sides of their mouths. But it doesn’t work as a deflection mechanism when it comes to one’s own guilt.
I can’t, for instance, get caught with a prostitute and then claim that because Eliot Spitzer isn’t in jail, I didn’t actually do anything wrong.
Given that, there are a whole lot of people who are getting really – really – frustrated with tweets like this from Donald Trump:
Let’s just forget about the laundry list of other things wrong with that, and focus on the very simple fact that it doesn’t make one goddamn bit of difference what Hillary Clinton did or didn’t do because we aren’t talking about Hillary Clinton.
This isn’t about Hillary Clinton. It’s about Donald Trump. Just like if I get caught with a prostitute, it’s not about Eliot Spitzer. It’s about me.
And besides that, Trump acts like no one ever talked about Hillary Clinton’s e-mails. It’s like he’s forgotten about the fact that every major newswire on the face of the planet dedicated countless hours of coverage to Clinton and her e-mails.
But again, Hillary Clinton lost. Donald Trump is President. Yet he is continually mystified as to why anyone cares that his associates were in contact with a cast of Russian characters that gets longer every, single, fucking day.
Finally, it’s gotten so absurd at this point that he is literally calling his own son “fake news.” Here, look:
The sources aren’t “unnamed.”
In fact, the “source” has the same name as Trump. Just with a “Jr.” at the end.
So no, the news isn’t “distorting democracy.”
They are in fact reporting on how Trump’s own son literally just published an e-mail chain documenting how he sought to distort democracy.
But you know, you say “covfefe” and I say “covfefe.”
Tomato, tomahto.
People who buy into Trump’s incongruous false equivalency line of bullshit, want to buy into every line of bullshit he sprays along the way. That’s because he’s their man regardless of what sense he makes. In this instance it’s the attack on Hillary Clinton and the media that wins the day the rest about junior gets lost in the shuffle. It’s low level con work. The same kind of con he used on victims in Trump University, Trump Institute, the investors left holding the empty bag at his casinos and the countless others. I recall reading this Newsweek article – one countless that were out there – that details so some of the “small,” breathtaking cons that he would engage in, and I quote:
– Trump regularly cheats at golf, even revising his scorecard after a match to transform defeat into victory, according to two people who have played with him
– He persuaded an elderly couple who ran a Florida antique store to let him “try out” two valuable pieces, then refused to return or pay for them, according to someone close to the Trump family.
– He bought expensive jewelry at Bulgari on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, then colluded with the store to have empty boxes supposedly containing his purchase shipped out of state so he could dodge New York sales tax, court records show.
– His niece and nephew sued him, alleging Trump used his influence over his then-demented father to rewrite his will and cut out his brother’s side of the family. Enraged by the suit, Trump reneged on a family commitment to pay the medical bills for his nephew’s sick baby. (They settled under confidential terms.)
– He showed his willingness to harm others for his personal benefit early in his career. Using those undocumented Polish workers in 1980 for the razing of the Bonwit Teller building, for example, was deemed part of a civil conspiracy to defraud a union pension fund, a federal judge in New York later ruled.
– Another example emerged the following year. Trump purchased an old hotel and adjacent apartment building for redevelopment on Central Park South, one of the toniest streets in Manhattan. A little more than 100 tenants occupied the rent-controlled apartments, but Trump launched a campaign to drive them out, according to court documents filed by city and state officials. He filed a barrage of what the city called “nuisance suits” against the residents. He cut off their heat and hot water. He tried to move homeless people into empty apartments to annoy or even frighten the residents. He decreased security for the building, and over those 18 months, the number of burglaries in the building skyrocketed.Trump scoffed at complaints from residents and the government, publicly disparaging occupants of the apartments as pampered millionaires–a claim he made with no information to back it up. Instead, the court proceedings showed that many of the residents were elderly or middle class. In 1986, with the legal proceedings dragging on, Trump finally abandoned his plans to tear down the apartment building, and the residents were allowed to remain.
There are lots more cons, bigly ones, but what’s the point.
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/10/28/donald-trump-business-busts-victims-511034.html
He has a heart as corrupt and as black as one can have, and all of it was revealed during the run up to election day and the majority of American voters in the relevant states apparently chose him. One can argue that he is merely a mirror of millions and millions of American voters, and today millions and millions of Americans continue to support him. How sad is that?
Trump points to the hypocrisy… It is what the drawing of a parallel is all about. You call it a false equivalency when it doesn’t serve your anti Trump silliness.
You have your own personal version of hypocrisy running through your Trump related “investment” articles.
Typical liberal angst at work.
Look Marty! That guy JEFFNIX answered on behalf of his cult brothers! Apparently he is proud of the trump history…..wonder what his own history looks like? Probably a parallel to his leader, King Assface.
– Murphy
Two things Murphy. As I wrote above:
“That’s because he’s their man regardless of what sense he makes.” Or, nonsense he prattles on with.
Secondly, productive engagement in dialogue is useless, since the merits of any issue involving Trump’s words, behavior or or his taking responsibility for those who act on his behalf is seldom discussed rationally. What they do discuss is fake news, the media to is blame, Hillary got away with worse, that it’s a witch hunt, that no president has ever been treated this way, he’s a victim, and a series of irrelevant, false, and meaningless distractions that Trump and his following have used over and over again. When in a few instances the merits are addressed, you can expect specious retorts. Health care is a perfect example:
Trump promised the best, the greatest, a world class health care plan for all Americans to replace Obamacare. Instead, he’s not participated in any of it, except to say he’s ready to sign the worst legislation addressing healthcare, and when the legislation appears to be failing he simply tells congress to repeal Obamacare leaving millions and millions Americans with zero health care or woefully underinsured. Does that sound like the best, the greatest, a world class health care plan for all Americans to replace Obamacare? Well, have you heard Trump Americans argue in support of this new iteration of the Trumpian health care plan? The 2017 TNHCP = 2017 Trump No Health Care Plan?
people are pot committed.
this is such a spectacular debacle that it’s impossible for his supporters to accept that they could have been so gullible.
it’s much more psychologically challenging than it was for say, Republicans to admit Iraq war was a bad idea and the Bush wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. If you were a Bush supporter you could still admit that and cling to the idea that at the end of the day, Bush at least thought he was right and that when it was all said and done, history would be kinder to him than most people expected (and that would have been the correct assessment btw).
this is completely different. this is all or nothing. you either go down with the ship or you admit (as some Republicans have), that this is absolute lunacy. There’s no middle ground.
“people are pot committed.”
Well, at least in Colorado.
Marty and H, that Newsweek article is absolutely telling as to what a lying corrupt vindictive cheating ass this man has always been, including using all his methods during the campaign – but was published only 22 days before the voting date. By his own behavior, millions more people have now seen and heard about this jackass – and are more informed by what they have seen.
I am suggesting this Newsweek article be republished and updated to report the outcome of the Trump University lawsuit and his $25 million loss and all other “updates” that we know now. Make it more available using newspapers and cable tv news reporters and any other methods to deliver the article. Spread it world-wide. I am willing to donate cash to that cause!
Perhaps follow that action with demands to Congress to take the steps to remove this man from the WH. He certainly seems to be suffering from the same dementia as did his father. Start there. As more lies and corruption is discovered and reported, it will have stronger impact, maybe even a few of his zombies will see the light!
– Murphy
The Trump supporter is lost between faith and reality, our friend Jeff continues to blame “the liberals” for his angst against all the of conservative lies that ruin his life. Sorry, my friend I don’t blame you for all the Trump lies, but I do blame you and the Trump sycophants for believing them.
I frequently read AlterNet and they have several articles in today’s newsletter I enjoyed. This one indicates it was published at Salon and republished at AlterNet, giving credit where due. It is about the Trump supporters.
http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/donald-trump-total-love-god-least-his-supporters-how-does-left-fight?akid=15871.2674998.VI2Lzx&rd=1&src=newsletter1079747&t=9
– Murphy
He never shuts his mouth, which is great! A quick explanation – that “Off and then On the record” interview he gave the Press the other day while on Air Force One, transcript to Press published by the WhiteHouse — a reporter noticed one comment in her notes that was not in the transcript so she has published it. It is in this AlterNet piece (from Salon) about his 30 years relationship with “Russian Gangsters”. Another lie exposed – seems he admits to knowing about that meeting Jr, Manafart (I know) and Kushner had on Jun 9, 2016 that he “never knew about until just recently” …… and not to mention this is a great article, full of Russia connection admissions!
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/donald-trumps-deep-ties-dirty-russian-money-stretch-back-more-30-yearsdonald
– Murphy
What H wrote above is critical to an understanding as to why Trumpians are so attached and cling to their closely held views, opinions and most of all their deeply ingrained perceptions of Trump and what he says and does:
“it’s impossible for his supporters to accept that they could have been so gullible. it’s much more psychologically challenging than it was for say, Republicans to admit Iraq war was a bad idea and the Bush wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.”
The word “impossible,” is not an overstatement for many of his followers. For them, it’s “in for a penny, in for a pound.”
It’s like when a young man meets his girl friend that’s the love of his life. Everything she says, does, believes, and in every way she moves, smells and speaks, she is the greatest, the best, the loveliest, the most beautiful. Nothing, not a single thing that his best friends, or mother, father, and siblings tell him about how she’s a liar and full of crap, how she’s got the worst body odor ever, that she as no manners at the table and eats with her fingers, that she curses like a sailor at sea, that she picks her nose and eats the bugger, and that she really didn’t graduate from high school let alone Wharton’s, is going to change his mind. He’s stuck and so very much attached to his closely held views, opinions and most of all his perceptions of the love of his life and he’ll marry her.
I was right there with you, running along smoothly, until she ate the bugger….
– Murphy : /
We are collectively waiting for the moment, as with Senator McCarthy, that some person of public regard utters the words, paraphrased, ” Sir, have you no decency?”. Until that occurs this charade continues
If we’re going to imagine things, I suppose we’re collectively waiting for the moment that after a two week criminal trial of Trump, a D.C., jury foreman stands up, unfolds the verdict form, and reads aloud the word “guilty,” 32 times, on 32 felony counts. October 12, 2017, wouldn’t be soon enough.