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Re: Mother, mother, mother - there's too many of you crying.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Moral judgment, particularly in this arena, is too fuzzy to hold any meaningful value.
This Stupid Watergate/Russia Debacle is an ocean away from the sort of thing that compelled Joseph Welch to take a moral stand against Joe McCarthy. It's more just another in long continuum of degraded political acts. Here are just a few recent ones (in no order):
LBJ accusing his opponent of being a pigfucker to win a seat;
Joe Kennedy attempting to steal the vote in Chicago;
Hoover's political use of the FBI;
Nixon's enemies' list;
Watergate;
Iran/Contra;
Allende overthrow;
Propping up stooges (the Shah) to racists/bigots (Saudi Arabia) around the globe;
WMD lie;
Bush's ads about McCain's children in 2000;
Clinton's racist dog whistles about Obama in 2008;
Clinton executing a mentally retarded man to look tough on crime for political purposes;
Holder's war on journalists;
Obama Admin's "interesting" use of the internal rev service;
FL Secretary of State working for Bush interests in 2000 election recount;
Willie Horton;
HRC's "superpredator" nod to the tough on crime bigots;
HRC flipping on the bankruptcy reform act (and just about everything else if it'd get her votes);
Bush's and Obama's expansion of domestic surveillance;
Bailout '08;
The Holder Doctrine
This could go on forever, but the obvious point is, Trump's meeting with Russians is uniquely awful why? It stands apart from the long list of despicable behaviors we've shrugged off as "just politics" in what huge regard?
Look, I understand this is a board of lawyers. Nobody concedes shit, and this will be attacked with a dozen arguments. Russkigate will be distinguished from every conceivable angle.
But step back, take off the advocate hat, put away the lawyer-think for a second and consider - from 10,000 feet, assessed in the context of our deeply corrupted and morally degraded system - isn't this Stupid Watergate more expected, predictable even, than surprising? We've been pushing the envelope (or searching a nadir) for a long time now.
Trump isn't a change agent or a throwback. He's what happens in a situation like the one we've got.
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That's the best you've got?
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“It was fortunate that so few men acted according to moral principle, because it was so easy to get principles wrong, and a determined person acting on mistaken principles could really do some damage." - Larissa MacFarquhar
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