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When the President's Behavior Is Reprehensible
Townhall ^ | 08/23/2018 | Laura Hollis

Posted on 08/23/2018 12:10:57 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

The news about the president is shocking. Behavior that would get most people fired has taken place, and something must be done. Are we, as a nation, not up in arms when a president:

--Is repeatedly and humiliatingly unfaithful to his wife?

--Engages in sexually exploitative conduct with young women working for him?

--Is credibly accused of sexual misconduct by more than one woman?

--Uses racial slurs to describe African-Americans, in the crudest possible terms?

--Lies to the American public repeatedly?

--Spies on journalists and denies them access to the White House?

--Interferes with investigations into foreign nationals suspected of illegal activity?

--Cozies up to hostile nations?

--Issues executive orders of questionable legality -- and then brags about it?

--Refers to political opponents as “enemies”?

--Insults large swaths of the American public?

Aren’t you appalled? Are you ready to call your congressional representatives and demand impeachment?

That’s unfortunate, because it’s too late.

All of the behavior described above was engaged in by presidents who have already left office -- oh, and all Democrats, by the way.

Former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was unfaithful to Eleanor Roosevelt. (A New York Times article about FDR’s long-term affair with Lucy Mercer waxes nostalgic about the days of “an obliging press and retinues of discreet enablers” that enabled presidents to keep their dalliances private. Make of that what you will.) Former President John F. Kennedy’s infidelity to his wife, Jackie Kennedy, was pathological. (His father, Joseph Kennedy, apparently enjoyed a liaison with actress Gloria Swanson. Ew.) And not much need be said about former President Bill Clinton.

CARTOONS | AF BRANCO VIEW CARTOON Ditto for sexually exploitative conduct. Mimi Alford wrote a book about her affair with JFK when she was a 19-year-old White House intern. (Kennedy’s behavior was not only that of a predator but also a pimp.) Clinton had a notorious sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky (about which he lied under oath, setting the stage for his impeachment) and has been accused of sexual assault -- including rape -- by multiple women.

Former President Lyndon Johnson’s language was racist day in and day out. He used the N-word and other racial slurs against African-Americans in general, those who worked for him and even former Justice Thurgood Marshall -- whom he nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court!

When it comes to lying to the public, former President Barack Obama had a great run. He lied about the Benghazi terrorist attack. He lied -- repeatedly -- about what Obamacare would do to Americans’ health care coverage and costs. (The New York Times gently acknowledged that Obama “clearly misspoke.” Um, yes -- three dozen times.)

In fact, President Obama can take credit for a number of the items listed above. He spied on journalist James Rosen, “went to war” against Fox News and severely curtailed press access to the White House. Obama deliberately impeded an investigation into drug running and money laundering by terrorist organization Hezbollah because it interfered with the deal he wanted with Iran (which he also lied about, by the way).

Obama was also fond of lording his power -- whether or not completely in conformity with constitutional limits -- over his political opponents. Notable Obama quotables include “Elections matter,” and “I won,” and “I’ve got a pen ... and I’ve got a telephone.” Obama’s executive orders on immigration impermissibly usurped the legislative prerogative of Congress, and the federal appointments he made without Senate approval -- while the Senate was in session -- exceeded the lawful limits of executive power, as the Supreme Court unanimously pointed out.

Nor was President Obama more solicitous of the federal judiciary -- at least when it decided cases against him. Obama’s Department of the Interior was held in contempt by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, for refusing to remove a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that the court had previously found to be unconstitutional.

And he displayed his share of disdain for the public, saying at one point, “We’re gonna punish our enemies, and we’re gonna reward our friends,” and infamously describing the denizens of Rust Belt states as “bitter” anti-immigrant bigots who “cling to guns or religion.”

To say, “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander” is to throw in the towel and tacitly accept this kind of behavior as a matter of course from our elected officials. If we don’t like where we are now, we’ll rue the day when that attitude becomes explicit.

That said, it is the media and other highly visible thought leaders -- largely on the left -- who bear the lion’s share of responsibility for the curious position in which we find ourselves. They have displayed craven hypocrisy in their willingness to excuse improper, immoral and even unlawful conduct from politicians on their side and then try to whip the American public into a furor by feigning outrage and indignation when anything even approaching that which they’ve winked at is engaged in by Republicans.

That, dear friends, is what has gotten us here. It is why so many Trump voters don’t give a damn about the allegations of surgically enhanced porn stars or ethically challenged lawyers.

If the president’s conduct is truly reprehensible, it should matter. But if it doesn’t matter for all, then -- like it or not -- it won’t matter for any.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; laurahollis; mediabias; mediawingofthednc; morality; partisanmediashills; presidents; presstitutes; smearmachine; townhall; trump; vulgar
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

‘Sheesh...read the article before you start blathering.’

always a riot when posters start bloviating over titles...several on board the Head Exploding Express on this thread...


41 posted on 08/23/2018 2:46:24 PM PDT by IrishBrigade
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
“LBJ also had affairs, IIRC.

And the sadistic motherf*cker picked his Beagles up by their ears! Guess maybe he was practicing picking up his one of his ugly-a$$ed daughters. And back then Lady Bird was "Beautifying America," when all she needed to do is put a sack over her head. In many ways, LBJ was our "most reprehensible" President in modern times.

42 posted on 08/23/2018 3:01:35 PM PDT by vette6387
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To: SeekAndFind

Americadoesn’t has no true morals anymore. Thanks to liberal Democrats. Everything is socially acceptable.


43 posted on 08/23/2018 3:09:41 PM PDT by Retvet (Retvet)
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To: IrishBrigade

Especially these days w tricky titles that are satirical.


44 posted on 08/23/2018 3:15:19 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: DoodleBob
Against the other 16 or so Republican candidates, Trump looked like a moral degenerate.
DJT won election against Hillary, and against everything - literally everything short of creating a public scandal during the campaign - that a sitting POTUS was able to do to prevent his election.

The reason that Trump defeated "the other 16 or so Republican candidates” was that unlike them, Trump demonstrated that he would fight. And fight he did, in circumstances which would have forced any other Republican out of the race.

Especially given the dirty tricks which we know in retrospect Trump faced from Democrats with the knowledge of the POTUS, it is a historical fact that no other Republican would have won. It was never a choice between Trump and a squeaky clean candidate, it was a choice between Trump and Hillary. And there was a distinction but not a difference between Hillary and Obama. The right of the people to select a president other than a Democrat would have been extinguished; indeed the Democrats thought they already had that in the bag. And SCOTUS would have gone along with the possibility of any future Republican POTUS. The Constitution was in the balance.

. . . and Democrats such as news broadcasters seriously think they can push Trump out!!


45 posted on 08/23/2018 3:36:05 PM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (Journalism promotes itself - and promotes big government - by speaking ill of society.)
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To: SeekAndFind

“—Is repeatedly and humiliatingly unfaithful to his wife?

—Engages in sexually exploitative conduct with young women working for him?

—Is credibly accused of sexual misconduct by more than one woman?

—Uses racial slurs to describe African-Americans, in the crudest possible terms?

—Lies to the American public repeatedly?

—Spies on journalists and denies them access to the White House?

—Interferes with investigations into foreign nationals suspected of illegal activity?

—Cozies up to hostile nations?

—Issues executive orders of questionable legality — and then brags about it?

—Refers to political opponents as “enemies”?

—Insults large swaths of the American public?

NO doubt Obama did every bit of this as did Bill Clintoon but the left never said a peep about it.


46 posted on 08/23/2018 3:49:22 PM PDT by CodeToad ( Hating on Trump is hating on me and America!)
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To: conservatism_IS_compassion
The reason that Trump defeated "the other 16 or so Republican candidates” was that unlike them, Trump demonstrated that he would fight

I partially agree. Cruz was also a fighter. What turned most people from Cruz to Trump was the realization that we needed an unorthodox street-fighter to defeat Hillary. Thankfully we got Trump.

I think Cruz would have been a good candidate against Obama in 2012.

Some data also help:

I believe the Trump jump came after an interview with Anderson Cooper then a rousing speech in Las Vegas, then he said McCain was no war hero on July 17.

47 posted on 08/23/2018 5:51:24 PM PDT by DoodleBob
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To: SeekAndFind

You mean like claiming to be eligible to hold office but being born in Kenya?


48 posted on 08/23/2018 5:52:44 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: DoodleBob

No. As I remember, he was being a milktoast like Rubio and the rest. Standing for nothing. Remember Trump was the only one seriously talking about immigration. The rest of the field was paying the same lip service we’ve seen for the last 40 years. I like Cruz, but he is becoming Cornyn. D.C. corruption. He has yet to fight for anything Trump stands for, or even stand up for him. When Obama was in office, all he did was talk about the same things Trump has accomplished. Time for Texas to start over.


49 posted on 08/23/2018 6:21:24 PM PDT by Bommer (Jesus is God! Deal with it.)
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To: DoodleBob
Cruz was also a fighter. What turned most people from Cruz to Trump was the realization that we needed an unorthodox street-fighter to defeat Hillary. Thankfully we got Trump.

I think Cruz would have been a good candidate against Obama in 2012.

I contributed to Cruz early, and after Trump was nominated I contributed to him. Cruz counted on winning the debates - which is fine, as long as that translates into votes. As we see now, journalism is willing to utterly jump the shark to prevent a Republican victory, so you just can’t count on that.

As Rush pointed out (at least recently), none of the other Republican candidates dared to attack Trump because those that did, regretted it.

And that’s what it took to beat Hillary (and Obama and his apparat) in 2016.


50 posted on 08/23/2018 6:25:06 PM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (Journalism promotes itself - and promotes big government - by speaking ill of society.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I wonder where this whining fraud was when the degenerate Clinton was soliciting blow jobs IN THE OVAL OFFICE? These filthy traitors to The Republic need to be outed over every deviancy they lust for. But of course, that never stops a degenerate minded dead soul like the author of the article from spewing more of this effluent.


51 posted on 08/23/2018 6:27:26 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensational perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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To: SeekAndFind

How very subtle is the enemy: “That said, it is the media and other highly visible thought leaders ...”


52 posted on 08/23/2018 6:29:01 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensational perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
You have been snookered into defending this leftist attack. It was over your head, obviously, like the ‘come to bury Caeser not to praise him.'
53 posted on 08/23/2018 6:35:47 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensational perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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For those who have been concluding this author is not seeking to play upon conservative moral values, to kick start a rejection of Trump ‘to stop the slide into degeneracy’ ...


54 posted on 08/23/2018 6:40:28 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensational perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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To: SeekAndFind

I believe the explanation that is appropriate AGAIN as it was a few years back,it’s his private life,it’s only sex,everybody does it,case closed


55 posted on 08/23/2018 7:33:15 PM PDT by ballplayer
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