Republicans spent years demanding Hunter Biden's laptop, shooting up pizza places, and harassing trans people. Yet shrug at Epstein and Trump.
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.”
If we're doing quotes, this Sartre one is good:
Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
Basically they often know they're being absurd, but they don't care. They use language for power and effect, not truth.
That's more fascism than conservatism. But the two terms are used interchangeably enough these days that your statement holds. Modern day American conservatives don't wish to conserve anything. They wish to promote fascism.
Fascism is just conservatism with the addition of hyper-nationalism and the blaming of minorities for all of society's problems.
But the core belief, that some groups are inherently better than others, is exactly the same.
They’d like to conserve the power imbalance currently in favor of white men and wealthy people.
Eh, that's more limited to the vocal minority. Unfortunately, that vocal minority is being supported by the quiet majority.
There are some reasonable conservatives in Congress that aren't big Trumpers, but they don't get the spotlight.
Trump just moved it to another level.
He is the In-group and everyone else is the Out-group all depending on how big of a shit he took in his diaper, how sweet the diet coke in his cup is, who the last he spoke to pointed him towards commenting at, and how many uppers he shoved down his throat with his big Mac.
Obama was a national disgrace after he demeaned the office of the President. He'd put his feet on the Oval Office desk; he'd failed to properly salute his Marine guard; he wore a tan suit.
Trump restored dignity to the office by simulating oral sex at a campaign rally.*
*edit = To those who are sending comments pointing out other transgressions, I know I probably missed the one that offended you the most.
Talking about Trump is like talking about an anime that's been running for fifty seasons; if yopu talk about the hero fighting a dragon you have to specify which one.
Even better, they bitched and moaned about Epstein and Clinton (and probably still do). Trump is a special boy.
Clinton flew on Epstein's plane or whatever.
Trump bragged about being best friends with Epstein and the kind of girls that Epstein always had around.
The hypocritical double standard of MAGA voters couldn't be more blatant if it was intentional.
Clinton should absolutely be investigated and the book thrown at him if he's guilty, though. Same as Trump.
It is intentional. Saying "Nuh uh! You!" Prevents any actual discussion about their own actions because people get distracted and baited into a defensive stance. It's pretty silly that a toddler's defense is an effective federal political strategy.
The hypocritical double standard of MAGA voters couldn't be more blatant if it was intentional.
It is intentional. It's always projection to poison the well.
I have Republican acquaintances who still make fucking Clinton/Lewinksi jokes. I'm not sure they've ever even heard of Epstein.
To suggest Republicans only argue in bad faith is to suggest that water is transparent.
Republicans hearing you mention "trans-parents"
Frantic sounds of stirring up as much muck in water as possible
Quick, everyone shit in your water bottle to own the libs!
Flint, Michigan has some questions...
Water isnt transparent if you define transparent as "incapable of transmitting light so that objects or images can be seen as if there were no intervening material"
Water also isn't a liquid if I randomly change the definition of liquid
and it is if you don't... this is why you aren't invited to parties.
Yesterday I watched some lady hand-wave away Trump's actions by saying "we're all sinners, and trump deserves our forgiveness just like we deserve Jesus' forgiveness". I mean, first of all, none of us deserve Jesus forgiveness. That's a core teaching in Christianity. The entire meaning of grace is that it's given regardless of worthiness. Secondly, what kind of wack-ass logic is that? She thinks trump is the better choice because of his crimes, since it makes him more human. I'm sorry, what? Then she went on to rant about how illegal aliens are destroying the country. So, I guess only rich assholes get the grace treatment, and poor immigrants get the stick.
You're looking for rationality when no such thing is present.
Yeah I'm aware. I expect ridiculous arguments from these people, but sometimes it still makes me shake my head.
Yesterday I watched some lady hand-wave away Trump’s actions by saying “we’re all sinners, and trump deserves our forgiveness just like we deserve Jesus’ forgiveness”.
A couple of weeks ago I watched fucking John Fetterman make essentially the same argument, saying that we shouldn't harp on Trump's status as a convicted felon because Democrats are supposed to be "the party of forgiveness and redemption". It's hard to watch (some, not all) Democrat leaders falling over themselves in their attempts to give away political advantage.
What I hear when prominent Democrats say that is "we cannot let the precedent of leaders being held accountable be established".
We can be the party of rehabilitative justice, but we don’t start with fascists. We start with common folk who fucked up and want to change and make things right. Presidents shouldn’t receive special treatment when they commit crimes, for the worse or the better.
Okay so by her logic, why isn't Harris and all the democrats deserving of forgiveness? Jesus forgave all. And Jesus also said Love your enemies.
Because it's not actual logic. It's just weak excuses that they try to fit within their limited comprehension.
Elon wants to be taken back to the island
That’s what made the whole idiotic “pizzagate” and “Q” thing especially staggeringly stupid - Trump was cast as a selfless hero working desperately to save society. In real life, obviously, he’s an intensely selfish narcissistic dickbag. Of all the ridiculous claims involved in that, Trump being a noble savior is the least believable.
It’s like the chuckleheads writing this timeline spent a billion dollars on marketing consultants and focus groups to pick out the worst possible casting for “morally superior savior, plus secret genius subverting tyranny.”
he’s an intensely selfish narcissistic dickbag
I really don't understand what people like about him. I mean, most politicians are narcissists, but Trump takes it to an entirely new level. I thought we collectively hated politicians, but somehow people seem to like Trump?
It boggles the mind...
If Epstein died during the Biden administration, Biden would have been blamed, and if there were pictures of them together, and creepy video of Biden talking about Epstein's preference for young girls, it would have been the only thing Republicans would discuss for years. But when it's Trump - they are silent.
They have always been hypocrites, assholes and cheaters.
Imagine if 9/11 happened during Obama's term and he just sat there with a stupid look on his face reading books to children, the right would have lost its shit.
And there is sworn, corroborated testimony of a woman who had to pleasured Biden when she was a teenager while wearing a white glove there probably would have been riots in front of the white house.
They ARE still talking about Biden. The whole hair sniffing thing that went around. One of them brought that up the other day...Dude...you know Biden isn't in the race anymore right?
Because they will attack at every weakness democracy has to destroy it. They are not moralists, they're invaders.
For them to be invaders they would have to be from somewhere else. These are home grown domestic terrorists spawned from our society and late-stage capitalism.
They are invaders in the sense they've invaded the minds of our friends and families with their fascist ideas.
You want hypocrisy? Wait until you see the 180° flip on mail-in voting after this election. They’ve been telling us for five years that mail-in ballots are all fraudulent. Now that Democrats are telling women they can use in-person voting to undermine their husbands, I guarantee they will push to make mail-in voting far easier and shut down more polling places.
3D chess my ass.
Jeez, Men getting upset at their wife being allowed to vote anonymously... What wimps.
Lol. In my very conservative state (UT), it's incredibly easy to do mail voting, and I would be surprised if it doesn't count for the majority of votes this election.
Some details about this election and 2020 election (updated as of this morning):
Elections staff across Utah have processed nearly 829,000 ballots as of Monday morning, according to Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson.
That’s 46.2% of the ballots mailed to Utah’s 1.8 million registered voters, she said in a post on X.
Early voter turnout was higher in 2020, Henderson added — about 54.1% of voters had returned ballots the Friday before that election.
And from 2020 election:
So almost as many people have voted early this election as voted for the winner in 2020. So there's a good chance we'll cross the 50% threshold again this election if we get another 4%-ish to drop off their ballots today. I imagine a number will drop them off at polling places tomorrow as well instead of actually going into the booth to vote, but I don't think those count for the statistics here.
So at least in my very red state, mail voting is super popular. I have actually never voted in person, every vote has been by mail or early voting. It's super nice.
I always appreciate stats, so point taken. That said, Utah isn’t a major swing state where we expect these efforts to take place.
Republicans have been trying to minimize the blue shift in swing states by rejecting as many mail-in ballots as possible for a variety of reasons.
In the 2020 presidential contest, Pennsylvania election officials rejected more than 34,000 mail ballots. In a tight 2024 election in the most coveted swing state, even a fraction of that many rejections could spell the difference between victory and defeat — not just in the presidential race, but also in any number of others.
What’s true in Pennsylvania is true, to varying degrees, in other battleground states. Michigan rejected more than 20,000 mail ballots in 2020 and even more in 2022; Arizona turned down 7,700; Nevada 5,600; and Wisconsin about 3,000.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/us/election-mail-in-ballot-rejection.html
And they want to reject provisional ballots…
And military ballots …
If the advantage shifts because of women voting in private, I believe we will see Republicans take effort to make in-person voting more difficult.
If you recognize it for what it is, why are you on that right-wing cesspool of an app?
He’s a pretty popular moderate-left YouTuber/podcaster/talking-head. It’s part of the job.
Gets worse without dissenting voices, that's why 'safe space' is such a double-edged sword.
It's an entirely captured medium. The best you'll ever be is the Alan Colmes to CatTurd's Sean Hannity.
Has the audio actually been made available?
A clip can be found here
Hmm paywall for me. Thanks though I'll find it somewhere
It's mind boggling how quickly the GOP became the Fake Party of Fakeness. Almost any claim they make, you can look up and easily find it's bullshit. It's like Trump said, "I love the uneducated!" The party thrives on ignorance now. The main force driving them is young men without college who are angry that they don't have more power. The party's message is just plant your feet on the ground and insist you're right until the other side throws up its hands and gives in, like the low self esteem gf who sticks with you no matter what because she's too dumb to realize she has options. Problem is, Americans know they have options now - and like the saying goes, We Won't Go Back. I'm really looking forward to this week.
how quickly
Hate to break it to you, but those conservatives spent decades transforming the Republican party into what it is today. It would be unfair to dismiss their years of focus on indoctrinating and cultivating hate and fear.
Barry Goldwater, 1964
"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are NOT using their religious clout with WISDOM. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are?... I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of "conservatism."
"you're opinion is garbage" vs "shoot her in the face"
I was at a brewery a few months back when Biden was giving an announcement, this was before he dropped out of the race. I was mildly enjoying myself until some guy came in with his wife and just went off on Biden, and specifically orbited around "hunter needs him to stay in office so he can stay out of jail". Dude was wearing an FOP shirt so he's obviously an expert on knowing when felons should or shouldn't be in jail...
It's more projection. Trump needs to win so he can stay out of jail. Probably the only reason he's running at all.
I bet another big reason is that he can hold rallies and get his narcissistic high. Has to be awesome for a narcissist to hold events where people are there just to hear him ramble.
mfw it was actually about primate dominance hierarchies and not any kind of code of morality all along.
Okay hear me out.
He was a White Hat Pedophile. Working the system from the inside.
I don't want pedophiles working anything from the inside...
They went almost for like 4 years about that laptop.
Well, the FBI did their best to cover it up, which is very suspicious.
No no no, it only counts when "Others" do it, our own sins are "forgivable" for we are special, if we weren't we wouldn't be us.
Conservatives often want an in-group, that is protected by law, but is not bound by it; and an out-group, not protected by law, but bound by it. Get ready for this to get way worse in case of a Trump victory, alongside with crackpot dictators starting a dick measurement contest of who can ban the most harmless things in the shortest amount of time.
Well . . . yeah
Typical Government of Putin shit. Did anyone listen to recordings provided by Wolfe?
The concept of Alpha and Beta males comes from a poorly run study on wolf behavior. The author has admitted their conclusions were false. It's a fake idea with nothing behind it. If you want to be taken seriously and engage with others you should remove terms like "beta cuck" from your brain and see the world in a different light. It brings to mind a scrawny, basement-dwelling 4chan kid. Certainly not an "Alpha".
I operate a hiking group..
People who are leaders, and people who pretend to be are completely different
When shit hits the fan, the ones who pretend become immediately obvious. Because you can't shit talk your way when real leadership is needed
And sorry, but I'm my experience, the heavily right wing in our group are generally what cause these issues in the first place. And people most concerned with who are alphas, or who are beta "cucks" are never alpha
Awwww does someone need a hug?
Is it me? I could use one if you're passing them out <3
Nothing came out that proved anything, lol. "Hundreds of hours of audio but I won't share any of it even though the election is right around the corner", huh?
Please.
Still waiting on that n-word tape, and the pee tape, and so on, by the way.
Trump has said and done enough stupid shit without people like this making up random bullshit and never producing the evidence they pretend to have, while idiots like the OOP run with it.
Right? It's not like there was a tape of Epstein saying Trump and he were best friends for 10 years. Right? Even if there was, it could be fake. Even if it's not fake, it doesn't matter right? It's not like Trump supporters keeps calling dems pedophile and claim that the Truth about Epstein is hidden, right? Even if they did, the real problem is Bill Clinton right? Right?
Fact is, if these hundreds of hours of incriminating audio existed, and especially in the possession of an opponent, they'd have been released already, because there is every reason to do so and no reason not to.
That's all there is to it.
Not that it even really matters. To say there is no shortage of genuine, provable bad/immoral action taken by the man is a colossal understatement. We don't NEED to latch on to bullshit like this that's obviously just trying to make headlines. Hammer home the shit that CAN'T be plausibly denied.
I swear, if this dipshit actually wins this election, after everything that's happened...
But no, let's all pretend he was sucking an invisible dick on stage instead, let's spend a lot of time on that. It's like you WANT to lose.
So frustrating.
I don't know what the deal with the pee tape was. The problem with Trump isn't that he likes watersports. The problem is that he's a far-right wannabe dictator.
Like, sure, it would be the source of endless jokes, but I doubt it would change anyone's vote.
but I doubt it would change anyone’s vote.
The hypocrisy is annoying. A non Democrat has something mildly spicy and it's all pearl clutching and condemnations. A republican assaults a woman and it's "oh well she had it coming"
The right wing seems to have "in group" as the primary condition for judgement. Everything else is secondary. That is a horrible moral framework.
I think this is the source of the story. It's from James Truman's and Michael Wolff's podcast Fire and Fury. You may remember Michael from his media appearances after writing his book by the same name about the beginning of the Trump administration.
I haven't listened to it, but no one has yet linked to it in these comments.
Thanks for actually producing something substantial.
Of course, the fact remains that there is already more than enough 100% confirmed stuff to nail him on. Unfortunately the hyper-short attention span of most people today means they usually care more about how new a thing is, than how severe it is.
Lol certainly don't mention that Bill Clinton was on that plane either, or else you'll see the Lemmy version of the literal same effect, even though neither that man nor his wife are running for office and criticizing them is valid and protected speech. I am currently being told in another thread that Clinton's abuse of power and thus sexual abuse of Monica Lewinsky is "just as bad" as the consensual cheating relationship Newt engaged in at the time. Even though no, one involved abuse of power and one didn't.
No one in this country is willing to be honest or have a backbone. It's pathetic. How about we don't stump for rapists at all, no matter their political affiliation.
I know that conservatives like to go "if you go after trump for being a pedophile, then what about Clinton?"
And EVERY SINGLE LEFTY goes "okay".
Like, what a bizarre world where one side of the isle ignores pedophilia if it's their idol doing it, and the other has a blanket "no pedophile" policy.
Who do you think is leftwing? Democrats? Like status quo Dems? Like the 2016 presidential candidate Hilary Clinton, who is STILL MARRIED to Bill Clinton? The Clinton's who funded the DNC in 2016 in exchange for explicit support by the party during the primary? This is something ALL lefties are comfortable acknowledging and talking about and we definitely want "girls girl" Hilary Clinton to be in office as a rapist apologist?
Like exactly WHO on the left is bringing up these topics when saying how unacceptable the Clinton's are in tbe party? What established politician? Or is it journalists and actual leftists and progressives?
That's like saying establishment Dems care about Citizens United, or stopping officials from holding stocks, or the Panama Papers. It's the wealthy versus the people and always has been.
Bill Clinton absolutely should be investigated and by no means should he be president again after that information came out. He also happens to be ineligible for life because of having held two terms, but I and many democratic voters would prefer to hear that he’s being investigated.
The difference between him and trump though, is trump is running for president.
We can call out Trump's crimes without ignoring everyone else's. It absolutely disgusts me to read the interference ya'll are running for literal rapists. And that you think it's acceptable because "Trump is running for office," is insane. No.
Trump is running for president, yeah, but Clinton was actually the president when this happened. The court cases are literally ongoing.
Ahhh...the "Look...CLINTON" defense...I haven't heard that one in a couple months. Yes...Bill was a dipshit womanizer, he also hasn't been relevant in a decade.
Yeah I think Clinton's current victims actually find these crimes quite relevant today.
Diddy hasn't really been relevant in a decade, neither was Cosby, should we just ignore them too? Video of Cassie being beaten was forever ago, who cares? Cassie doesn't need justice, right? The American public don't deserve to know what's been going on either, which btw is tbe entire moral basis for journalism and the idea of integrity.
Maybe if you were victim centered with crimes, you could see why it's concerning there are so many horrible rapists in politics.
And I voted for Kamala. I actually think as a woman and a prosecutor who was exposed to these crimes, she is a great candidate for office with a lot of potential.
Objection: Relevance.
Sustained: deat cat.
? You don't see how it's relevant to current victims and current politics?
This is getting wild with a 2 day old thread. I'm going to lock it.
Edit: It might not be troll baiting but rather some passionate takes. I took down the comments regardless if they were negative or not so it could settle down. Relax, you've probably already voted.