November 11, 2017

"Trump’s conveniently flexible standard on accusations — and he is not alone — boils down to: If the accuser points a finger at a Democrat — Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein — her word is to be trusted, automatically."

"If she complains about a Republican, Trump’s otherwise dormant devotion to due process kicks in. How can claims from 'many years ago' be allowed to 'destroy a person’s life'? Some answers: Because they are entirely credible. Because the girl, now a woman, has no conceivable ax to grind — she is a longtime Republican, a Trump voter even — and nothing to gain from coming forward. Because three other women related similar, although less disturbing stories, underscoring Moore’s interest in younger girls. Because the presumption of innocence, while essential in the legal realm, does not mean the elimination of common sense outside it. (Thank you, Mitt Romney, for saying that.) The willing suspension of disbelief has its limits, or should."

Writes Ruth Marcus (in the Washington Post).

Marcus doesn't point out the larger proposition: Human beings tend to have a conveniently flexible standard on accusations that boils down to: If the accuser points a finger at somebody in the party I oppose, her word is to be trusted, if at all possible.

By the way, do you think Democrats will ever stop giving Bill Clinton a pass?

142 comments:

Kevin said...

Another way to look at this would be to assume innocence in the face of evidence.

If five people are willing to go on the record with their accounts of your very similar behavior, you're likely guilty.

If one anonymous source is cited for which there is no other corroborating evidence or history of rumors right after the date has passed to remove your name from an election ballot, perhaps some level of skepticism is in order. Not that it means you didn't do it, but that we don't have enough evidence at that point to determine the truth.

As you point out, had the parties been reversed the writer could have more clearly seen the second way of viewing the situation.

Mark said...

I know plenty of Democrats who dislike the Clintons for what Bill did. Hillary lost Wisconsin due to their opinons.

Kevin said...

In a parallel universe, the fact that Trump called for Moore to immediately step down if the allegations were true is seen as further proof of his commitment to finding the truth, upholding the law, and defending the rights of woman and children.

Kevin said...

I know plenty of Democrats who dislike the Clintons for what Bill did.

It's not just what Bill did. It's what Hillary did after Bill did it that really sets them apart.

MacMacConnell said...

"I know plenty of Democrats who dislike the Clintons for what Bill did."

Deplorables in Wisconsin know a grifters when they see one.

Big Mike said...

And Marcus is on the other side, except that the allegations against Judge Moore are he said - she said from 35 years ago. The allegations against her heroes like Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy are backed up by witnesses and evidence (semen stained dresses where the semen checks out forensically as matching Bill Clinton’s DNA. Meanwhile the allegations about Joe Biden’s sexual harassment are on video.

Humperdink said...

Will the media/democrats continue to give Bill Clinton a pass? Clinton is the Sexual Predator Emeritus, so yes.

AllenS said...

By the way, do you think Democrats will ever stop giving Bill Clinton a pass?

No.

tim in vermont said...

" Mark said...
I know plenty of Democrats who dislike the Clintons for what Bill did. Hillary lost Wisconsin due to their opinons"

Yet still the mainstream media keeps gus name out of it, as if they were operating under some "alternative facts." Without the dissident media, Wisconsin wouldn't know anything about it.

traditionalguy said...

It's so funny watching the Alabama people being interviewed say they believe Moore over political campaign propagandists ( WaPo) that run dirty tricks a month before an election, like southerners have never seen it before. How about Nicki Haley's adulterous affair.

This must be targeted at the voter in the Blue Wall States triad Trump won last year.Maybe that still fall for the bias against southern men with funny accents right out of Tennessee Williams imagination.

MacMacConnell said...

"During a segment that aired on Friday’s broadcast of Birmingham, AL ABC affiliate WBMA 33/40’s 5 p.m. local news, political reporter Lauren Walsh sought out voters in Columbiana, AL to gauge their reactions to the Washington Post report that alleged Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Roy Moore engaged in inappropriate conduct with four teenage girls more than 34 years ago.

None of the respondents according to Walsh told her they believed the Post’s reporting.".

http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/11/10/alabama-abc-affiliate-cant-find-one-voter-believes-wapo-report-roy-moore-man-street-segment/

At this point the voters of Alabama will decide.

tim in vermont said...

This is the same WaPo that leaves Biden's waving his dick at female secret service agents below the threshold of the newsworthy.

Michael The Magnificent said...

Moore was just availing himself of his "one free grope"™. Can't we all just MoveOn™?

tim in vermont said...

This is why I love Trump's tweets. This is why the Democrat's pet MSM hates them.

Tommy Duncan said...

Ruthie paints with an overly broad brush. Most conservatives I know would condemn Roy Moore if the evidence warrants it.

As far as I'm aware, Moore does not have a history of sexual improprieties. The accusation is from 1979. If more evidence comes out, I'll consider it.

Another possibility is that the Democrats are intentionally leveraging the recent wave of Hollywood accusations and are using those accusations to make the claim against Moore appear plausible. Perhaps the Democrats saw an opportunity to exploit the Hollywood scandals for their benefit. --But again, I'm short on evidence.

Jason said...

Tim: I'm unaware of any such allegations against Biden. He's obviously a gropey motherfucker who doesn't understand or respect boundaries and personal space. We have video evidence of that. But where is the substantiation of the claim that he exposed himself to female secret service agents?

Diogenes of Sinope said...

I am very sceptical of (usually sexual) allegations that are raised long after the fact, 38 years later in this case and that are raised in the heat of a political race or political appointment. This applies to accusations against people I agree with and those I disagree with.

tim in vermont said...

If they call him Clinton the rapist out, they have to own their own role in enforcing the silence of so many victims who only had to look at what the press did to Jones, Wiley, and Broaddrick for object lessons in the dangers of calling out powerful men.

tim in vermont said...

I am on my phone, so search on Biden, secret service, swimming naked. The girls don't like it, the Atlantic defends him.

Michael K said...

But where is the substantiation of the claim that he exposed himself to female secret service agents?

You're welcome.

The WaPoo is on a mission to defeat Moore and add a Democrat to the Senate, Marcus is one more soldier on that mission.

I just wonder if anyone has interviewed her three ex-husbands about her trustworthiness or if she ever told them about it.

AllenS said...

The accusations about Biden swimming naked in front of female agents have been around for a long time. Are there any videos/pictures of it happening? No. However, watching him placing his hands on women is known and there are videos/pictures of him doing it. Not illegal, or is it?

MacMacConnell said...

Jason
I believe Tim is referring to the secret service woman who said Biden would just get naked in front of her. He likes to run around and swim in the buff. There was no report of him masturbating into the landscaping around the pool, but then maybe she was afraid to lose her job. ;-)

rhhardin said...

Being uninterested in sexual charges that are not crimes is evenhanded.

It's resistance to being played.

rhhardin said...

As somebody wrote today, you don't want saints running the government. They're too elite.

Oh Belmont Club I bet.

rhhardin said...

Women love sexual charges, so they're always good news.

GWash said...

This is the evangelical life style supported by the GOP (as long as it keeps a senate seat)..
Good riddance to republican party... please go back to the minority status you have earned with your ethics and policies... a new conservative opposition to the dems is needed and the current powers (Bannon, Trump, alt right etc) need to be relegated to ash can of history.. this movement has run its ugly disgusting course...

tim in vermont said...

Democrats can never admit their complicity. Next they would have to wonder how the Clintons went from "broke" to being worth hundreds of millions, and perhaps even into hiw Clinton crony Terry McAuliffe got so stinking rich.

ga6 said...

Hell, they found the body in the and gave him a pass....

ga6 said...

car

tim in vermont said...

GWash is in complete denial of the rot at the head of his own party and elevates a backwater Senate candidate to head of the GOP.

tim in vermont said...

"And when I returned, Mary Joe and the car were gone" - Democrat Hero

Big Mike said...

@Jason, Biden swims nude in front of female Secret Service agents.

Anonymous said...

Ruth needs to send those daring investigative journalists on a mission to find
the Epstein Lolita Island passenger manifests.

sinz52 said...

Althouse: "Human beings tend to have a conveniently flexible standard on accusations that boils down to: If the accuser points a finger at somebody in the party I oppose, her word is to be trusted, if at all possible."

Well, I don't do that.

I'm NOT predisposed to judge my opponents more harshly than my friends.

I've always tried to judge everybody the same way by the same set of standards. My friends as well as my enemies.

That's why I don't have any friends.

MacMacConnell said...

Anybody know it DOJ ever released the sealed Hillary Clinton indictment from the Clinton impeachment days? There was talk in the media this summer, but that's the last I heard. Seems if allegations from 1979 are game allegations from not that long ago are too.

MacMacConnell said...

"if DOJ"

Michael K said...

This is the evangelical life style supported by the GOP (as long as it keeps a senate seat)..

The hatred of religion by the left is a prominent feature of their moral collapse.

Antonio Gramsci would be so proud of you.

Curious George said...

"Mark said...
I know plenty of Democrats who dislike the Clintons for what Bill did. Hillary lost Wisconsin due to their opinons."

That's odd. I know lots and lots of lefties. And like most lefties, their friends are all lefties. I cannot think of a single one that fits your description, which is why I think that once again you are full of shit.

Sally327 said...

I like the fact that this one accuser is supposed to be credible, at least in part, because she voted for Trump. Shouldn't that make her less believable, that she voted for Trump who was also accused of sexual improprieties? Plus the fact that all Trump voters are weirdo losers who should be ridiculed and then shunned. Except when they do or say something that might hurt Trump, then they're imbued with absolute moral authority (to coin a phrase).

I think Roy Moore has always seemed kind of creepy. Trump didn't support him in the primary, a very smart decision it seems, so trying to hang him around Trump's neck now, I don't think that's going to work.

Big Mike said...

This is the evangelical life style supported by the GOP (as long as it keeps a senate seat)..

I don’t suppose it crosses the mind of GWash (what passes for a mind) that Trump backed Moore’s opponent.

tim in vermont said...

I like to swim nude too, but common decency would dictate a towel until you got in the water, but I used decency and Joe Biden in the same thought.

Chuck said...

By the way, do you think Democrats will ever stop giving Bill Clinton a pass?

"By the way..."

By the way, that's a question that just bounces off me. I don't need to worry about any hypocrisy there. I'm not a Democrat; I've never been a Clinton defender. I'd condemn, alike, all of Clinton and Trump and Kennedy and Packwood and Craig and Studds and Thurmond and Foley and Vitter and Reynolds and all the rest. Scoundrels from both parties. And even a scoundrel from the Bannon Party.

Michael K said...

"I like the fact that this one accuser is supposed to be credible, at least in part, because she voted for Trump."

Last I heard, we still had a secret ballot. Do you suppose she could have been coached to say that?

Nah. WaPoo would never do that.

roesch/voltaire said...

Understanding the hypocrisy of the hard Christian Right does not demonstrate hatred of religion as preached in the New Testament by Christ. Even conservative Christians like Charles Sykes have concluded this and point out their great loss was to give politics primacy over faith. By the way Gramsci's analysis of religion looks at its paradoxical role in class confrontation and social development which is complex and contradictory at times giving rise to working class rebellion to surprising social consciousness.

Matt Sablan said...

"Trump’s conveniently flexible standard on accusations — and he is not alone — boils down to: If the accuser points a finger at a Democrat — Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein — her word is to be trusted, automatically."

-- The clear difference in those two examples? Clinton admitted to his affair with Lewinsky after lying about it and the complaints were filed contemporaneously. Weinstein ALSO confessed to what he was accused of after lying about it.

Gee whiz. Lying about sexually assaulting or mistreating women makes people think you might be lying about sexually assaulting or mistreating women? What a flexible standard on accusations!

Matt Sablan said...

"As you point out, had the parties been reversed the writer could have more clearly seen the second way of viewing the situation."

-- If the parties had been reversed, we'd all be saying, "The National Enquirer is totally wrong about Edwards love child. His wife has cancer! He's a GOOD GUY!"

Rusty said...

roesch/voltaire said...

OK. That's funny.

tim in vermont said...

"Understanding the hypocrisy of the hard Christian Right "

Understanding the hypocrisy of the Democrats, however is bad because power.

tim in vermont said...

:I'm not a Democrat; I've never been a Clinton defender. I'd conde... bla blah blah"

Just a reliable parrot for their talking points.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Republicans are getting creative in trying to get Moore off the ballot. It’s good to see them at least trying. It’s a given that the Alabama right wing voters wouldn’t care if he had sex with his dog, they’d still vote for the man. Makes one wonder what is going on in the minds of the right wing south and where it will all end.

“Republicans are exploring ways to get embattled Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore’s name off the ballot, including floating the possibility of changing the date of next month’s special election in the wake of years-old allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore.

Some party members are reportedly considering getting Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to move the date of the Dec. 12 special election to early next year, according to The New York Times. Based on Alabama law, it’s too late to remove Moore’s name from the ballot this close to Election Day.”

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/359872-republicans-float-ways-to-push-back-ala-special-election-date

Matt Sablan said...

"Republicans are getting creative in trying to get Moore off the ballot. It’s good to see them at least trying."

-- They shouldn't be able to, but as usual, the Democrats set a precedent that you can swap out your candidate mid-election, so Republicans have every right to push for that same courtesy.

I don't know if Moore is guilty; I do know that accusations should not be enough to end someone's career, no matter hoe much I don't like him or find him creepy. Have we moved beyond the "sources say" part of this? Does she have specific dates that we can cross reference with Moore to see if he has an alibi? Or is it just some vague in the past that is impossible for him to defend against, leaving it a pure he-said, she-said?

tim in vermont said...

The complete ignorance of recent history that Unkown displays is astounding.

tim in vermont said...

I think that it comes from hanging out at sites that ban any commenter who brings up any inconvenient point.

Michael K said...

R/V is a Gramsci scholar. No surprise.

Do you think we have gotten the minds of young people sufficiently emptied yet ?

Big Mike said...

Southern Democrats used to brag about being "yellow dog Democrats," meaning they'd vote for a yellow dog as long as it was running on the Democrat ticket. Why are they surprised by the possibility that southern Republicans might vote for Moore just because he's running on the Republican ticket?

Big Mike said...

@Unknown, originally the special election was going to be November 6, 2018, which is the normal election cycle. Governor Kay Ivey had it moved up to December 12, 2017. All she has to do is announce that there are serious problems trying to hold an election in December and she's changed her mind -- the election will be on November 6 after all.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Blogger roesch/voltaire said...
Understanding the hypocrisy of the hard Christian Right . . ."
What, exactly, is the "hard Chrisian Right"?
Just people you don't like?
I mean, heck, I can define "hard atheist Left." Anyone who admires the policies of Mao, Stalin, Lenin, etc. would make you "hard atheist Left."
So what's the "hard Christian right"? People who want to put the ten commandments on public property? Or people who want to burn witches? Lot of space between those two.

Big Mike said...

And Moore might still be on the ballot come November 6th, but it does give everybody a full year to get to the bottom of the allegations instead of 32 days.

Michael K said...

" Why are they surprised by the possibility that southern Republicans might vote for Moore just because he's running on the Republican ticket?"

My theory is that they will elect him assuming that, if the accusations are true, he will resign and the governor will appoint someone, maybe Strange, to fill the seat.

They probably assume, like I do, that this is a hit job by the leftist house organ of the DNC.

Matt Sablan said...

I firmly believe they should *not* change the date of the special election. That's a terrible precedent to set.

Big Mike said...

@Lewis, the hard atheist left are the ones who proselytize for atheism: roesch, Richard Dawkins, Devin Patrick Kelley, ...

Bilwick said...

I have a similar standard. I don't think of it as flexible as much as it's based on experience, history and common sense. That is: if a "liberal" says something, pretty much God Almighty would have to confirm it before I'd be inclined to give it credence. Today's "liberals" are pretty much Leftists (look who's been their standard bearers these days--socialist Bernie, Red Diaper Barry, the Alinskyite Witch); and therefore come from the tradition of "No truth but socialist truth." Also, if your basic socioeconomic ethic is based on legalized looting and pocket picking, why would I trust you?

Big Mike said...

@Matthew, is it really so bad? The late-arising allegations do need to be properly evaluated.

Oso Negro said...

No, Democrats will NEVER stop giving Bill Clinton a pass.

Big Mike said...

BTW, I wonder whether Ruth Marcus is getting ready to settle into that "special place in Hell" for women who don't support female politicians. I'm thinking of her treatment of Sarah Palin here. Funny how the Ruth Marcus types never consider that conservative women remember what liberal women do to conservative female politicians when they call for gender solidarity.

Michael K said...

"The late-arising allegations do need to be properly evaluated."

Sure. After the election. I'm sure WaPoo timed this to elect the Democrat and the GOPe is helping them all it can.

Drago said...

The morality lectures from the lefties and their caged LLR pets are always amusing.

Roy Lofquist said...

The Republican Party, by its treatment of Moore and Trump, risks losing claim to its final saving grace - the lesser of two evils.

Roy Lofquist said...

I wish to revise and extend my previous remark.

The Democrats have always been quite explicit about what they wanted to do. The motherfucking Republicans have been lying to us all along.

Drago said...

"The Republican Party, by its treatment of Moore and Trump, risks losing claim to its final saving grace - the lesser of two evils."

Uh huh. You won't be terribly put out if we ask to see actual evidence of wrongdoing, will you?

Something tells me you are warmly ensconced in the "its not the evidence or lack thereof, it's the seriousness of whatever the Democrat charges happen to be" camp.

I'll bet you called for W to step down after Rather launched his accusations, didn't you?

And if not....well. perhaps you could explain why.

Not that you will of course.

Gahrie said...

Based on Alabama law, it’s too late to remove Moore’s name from the ballot this close to Election Day.”

So what...it didn't stop the Democrats in New Jersey.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"A vast right-wing conspiracy"

All that needs to be said on the subject. Until the Democrats publicly and literally tar and feather both Clintons and all their political and media enablers, anything they have to say about sexual misbehavior isn't of any relevance whatsoever.

Freder Frederson said...

If an equivalent of the Access Hollywood tape had come out about Clinton, he would have never been elected (e.g., look what happened to Gary Hart).

We had ample evidence that Donald Trump a creep who had sexually assaulted numerous women and offered porn stars large amounts of money for sex. Yet I think you voted for him (even though you are ashamed to admit it) and have given him a pass for everything he has done or not done since he was elected. And for some reason you think he is very smart.

You need to get off your high horse about Clinton if you want to continue to defend Trump.

Martin said...

Ruth Marcus pointing at a political double standard is just too rich for words.

I have never cared for Roy Moore, not at all, not his narrow brand of religiosity.

But this coming out of nowhere after the man has been controversial on issues of morality fro decades, the day after it is too late to substitute another name on the ballot--well, maybe it happened and maybe it didn't, but even if the allegation if true it hardly compares to a lot of what is being thrown around now and plenty of other pols have survived.

I don't like Roy Moore but even if he did "this," it does not rise to the vileness of those who sprung it at this exact time.

Matt Sablan said...

"If an equivalent of the Access Hollywood tape had come out about Clinton, he would have never been elected (e.g., look what happened to Gary Hart)."

-- You do know about the credible claims of assault and rape that dogged Clinton even in Arkansas, right?

Michael K said...

Field Marshal Freder weighs in with heavy thoughts.

If an equivalent of the Access Hollywood tape had come out about Clinton, he would have never been elected (e.g., look what happened to Gary Hart).

It did and he was. I guess you are too young to remember Hillary "standing by her man." Full TV treatment with Bill biting his lip.

He did that a lot. Juanita Broderick included.

Go back to sleep.

Sam L. said...

The left will never give up Bill Clinton.

Comanche Voter said...

Not only will Democrats give Bill Clinton a pass, most of them, male or female, will give him a Lewinsky.

Bilwick said...

"The Democrats have always been explicit in what they want." Not "always" (which is a dangerous word to use anyway). In the twenties the elite of the socialist movement decided that the "s-word" was too hard a sell, so they abandoned losing third-party candidates like Upton Sinclair, moved into the Democratic Party, and--as Sinclair ruefully admitted--transformed it into a de facto socialist party without a name change. It took a while for this to become more obvious: the Old Guard needed to die off or retire; and then the New Left McGovernites had to take the party over in the Sixties and Seventies. Still, the aims had to be partially concealed. Look at the brouhaha when Red Diaper Barry blew the gaff and talked about "spreading the wealth" as if he were handing out leaflets in Union Square. (And yet, somehow--as if by wizardry--Joe the Plumber was made the villain in that incident.)

The basic con is to make it always about some particular issue or crisis. "We just want to expand the power of the State just enough to fix X." And then X (which their
dopey policies don't fix--surprise!) becomes X+1, X+2, Y, Y+1 and so on. "We don't want socialized medicine; we just want Medicare." "We don't want to take away your guns; we just want common-sense gun laws." Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
And merrily we roll along, down the road to serfdom . . .
And the State r



Michael K said...

My theory now is that children want to be taken care of. They want parents and, as childhood moves on to age 30, they vote for mommies and daddies.

Of course you can't call them that. That would be sexist.

You call them Democrats.

Darrell said...

If a charge against a Democrat appears in a liberal newspaper, you know they moved heaven and earth to refute it before they published. The same doesn't apply if the charge is made about a Republican. And later, exculpatory evidence never makes it to print. Trump's standard makes perfect sense.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

People usually don't use reason the right way - deductively, but for post-hoc rationalization.

Right-wingers and Republicans are unusually emotional and fall prey to this fallacy most readily.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

My theory now is that children want to be taken care of.

That's what you call a theory? Are you a fucking genius or what.

Next month in JAMA: Dr. Michael K Kennedy proposes that 3-year olds can't feed themselves. Breaking article that is sure to change medical practice all over the world.

This will turn on its head the prevailing model in pediatrics where toddlers were just left to fend for themselves in the wild. It also explains the reason for several lost generations.

Bilwick said...

The Toothless State-fellator lecturing us on reason and logic. Priceless. Next he'll be lecturing us on economics.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Next he'll be lecturing us on economics.

A prostitute like you already reduces everything to economics anyway. So no need.

Bilwick said...

Really, Toothless? Can you cite some examples where I've done that? And with your usual Aristotelian logic, show how I'm a "prostitute"?

Stand by, folks. This should be good . . .

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

American conservatives may indulge in the exposure of liberal-sewn progressive dysfunction, but they are not Pro-Choice, and respect the constitutional right of due process, where there is implicitly a presumption of innocence. This is despite judicial decree by justices on the highest court who argue from the twilight fringe to the contrary, and their adjoining argument that denies women agency, a father his birthright, and their baby her life.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Can you cite some examples where I've done that? And with your usual Aristotelian logic, show how I'm a "prostitute"?

Are you in favor of a system whereby your democratically elected representatives can have their campaigns financed by lobbying bribes or opposed to it?

Do you hold that wealth is a marker of personal virtue or do you not?

For what price would you or would you not sell out a personal, political or ideological conviction? Or any other value that you claim to believe in?

Chuck said...

Drago said...
The morality lectures from the lefties and their caged LLR pets are always amusing.

I am sure not taking any morality lectures from Trump, or Trump fans.

You miserable shit-headed lowlifes are always running down men of truly good morals, like George and Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney.

I'd ask you to explain how I am going wrong, when I condemn Bill Clinton, and Harvey Weinstein, and Anthony Wiener, and all the rest of the Democrats' scoundrels, along with Trump and Larry Craig and Dennis Hastert and Newt Gingrich Roy Moore. I'd ask; but I really wouldn't much care about your answer. But I'll be damned if I know how it is that condemning all of them equally makes anybody a leftwing stooge.

I am still laughing about the Trumpkin dumbshit among the Althouse commenters who suggested that there hadn't been a single woman who had gone on the record to make any harassment or assault allegations against Trump. The poor shit head probably really didn't know; he was probably so locked into his own silo of alt-right news. In fact, there are more than a dozen, and three of them have documented their claims in various court documents. There's a Wikipedia page on the subject of Trump's sexual attacks.

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2017/11/hyper-politicizing-sexual-harassment.html?showComment=1509595333436#c5461034620196582201

rcocean said...

Anytime the MSM says someone attacking Republicans is a "Life long Republican" or a "X supporter" it turns out to be a lie 99 times out of 100.

BTW, does anyone remember who Anita Hill was CONSTANTLY labeled as a "Reagan Republican" during the Thomas hearings?

Well, she wasn't. She was a liberal Democrat. And a Lesbian. Which the MSM knew.

Big Mike said...

@Chuck, nor are we taking morality lectures from someone who characterizes us as "shit-headed lowlifes." It makes us believe that you think of us, as Hillary did, as as "basket of deplorables," except she has more class than you and did not need to resort to scatology.

rcocean said...

"You miserable shit-headed lowlifes are always running down men of truly good morals, like George and Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney"

Mitt Romney is a fucking liar. He lied about his opponents in 2008 and 2012, and he's lied again and again about his positions on abortion, and illegal immigration and Amnesty. He's also a backstabbing shit that tried to get Hillary elected in 2016.

He's not a "Good Man" at all.

rcocean said...

"If a charge against a Democrat appears in a liberal newspaper, you know they moved heaven and earth to refute it before they published."

Even then, they'll try to bury it. We only heard about Weinstein because Farrow spent HIS OWN MONEY and the New Yorker agreed to publish it. No other MSM outlet was going to publish it. NBC was going to bury it.

Ann Althouse said...

You’re certainly right that I’m ashamed of who I voted for.

rcocean said...

"The WaPoo is on a mission to defeat Moore and add a Democrat to the Senate, Marcus is one more soldier on that mission."

Exactly. Why are Republicans such fucking morons? The WaPo is NOT an objective, reliable news source. Neither is CNN.

Why keep assuming they are telling the truth about Republicans and Conservatives?

Fabi said...

"You miserable shit-headed lowlifes are always running down men of truly good morals, like George and Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney."

Criticizing their politics is not akin to running them down.

Chuck said...

rcocean said...
Anytime the MSM says someone attacking Republicans is a "Life long Republican" or a "X supporter" it turns out to be a lie 99 times out of 100.

BTW, does anyone remember who Anita Hill was CONSTANTLY labeled as a "Reagan Republican" during the Thomas hearings?

Well, she wasn't. She was a liberal Democrat. And a Lesbian. Which the MSM knew.

Don't mix me up with any of that. I'm a devout supporter of Justice Thomas. I have zero sympathies with Anita Hill. I thought her set-up hearing performance was bullshit. Thomas had twice gone through Senate confirmation hearings before that one.

Again, showing my lefty tendencies, eh Drago?

Bilwick said...

Oh, okay Toothless--I get it. You can't cite any examples of where I have "reduced everything to economics," nor any evidence that I qualify as a "prostitute;" so all you can do is fall back on Daily Worker style rhetoric. What a surprise!

But to answer your questions:

(1)Depends on what you mean by a bribe (state-cultists like yourself being notoriously loose with language--e.g. "liberal," progressive," etc.). You mean like "liberal" politicians bribing the electorate with the taxpayers' money? "Vote for me, and I'll give you the following the following goodies . . ." If the Koch brothers, say, bribed all statists to take a permanent vacation in one of those overseas workers' paradise they profess to admire--and then leave the rest of us the hell alone--then yeah, I'd be all for it!

(2) No.

(3) No financial reason. Maybe my life, if one of your goons put a gun to my head (as your gang is wont to do with people). But that would be only to "live again and fight another day:" I. e., come back with greater firepower to kill the goons and--fingers crossed--whoever sent them.

Now you can go back to building more straw men.











Bilwick said...

By the way, Toothless, if I did believe wealth were an indicator of personal virtue, then I'd believe that the Clintons were God's Elect.

Michael K said...

Next month in JAMA: Dr. Michael K Kennedy proposes that 3-year olds can't feed themselves. Breaking article that is sure to change medical practice all over the world.

You know, Ritmo, you posted comments on another thread that sounded quite reasonable and informed. I was about to compliment you on growing up but then I see this.

Was someone imitating Ritmo last thread ?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Mark said...
I know plenty of Democrats who dislike the Clintons for what Bill did. Hillary lost Wisconsin due to their opinons."

Wisconsin voted for Bill Clinton twice, so I doubt their reason for voting against Hill was because of anything Bill did. Hill was just a shitty unlikable candidate who ran a bad campaign. And she famously ignored Wisconsin despite Bill's advice.

Most Dems I know voted for Hill despite not liking her and they still insist that she is somehow less corrupt than Trump, although they can't say why. And they're still fond of Bill, that lovable rogue! Boys will be boys!

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Michael K said...
R/V is a Gramsci scholar. No surprise.

Do you think we have gotten the minds of young people sufficiently emptied yet ?"

As an "educator" R/V certainly helped empty out a lot of brains in his day.

How well do you think a student who expressed a conservative POV would have been treated in R/Vs classroom?

Chuck said...

Big Mike said...
@Chuck, nor are we taking morality lectures from someone who characterizes us as "shit-headed lowlifes." It makes us believe that you think of us, as Hillary did, as as "basket of deplorables," except she has more class than you and did not need to resort to scatology.

The shit heads are the commenters here, who presume wrongly that I must be a leftist, for simply criticizing Trump. And, the shit heads are the people in the media like Limbaugh and Hannity, who have cast off their "conservative" credentials to support Trump. And who relentlessly attack Republicans.

Michael K said...

Poor chuck. Surrounded by "shitheads." I wonder why you subject your self to these deplorable people?

NRO and its lefty commenters would be a more compatible location for your brilliance,

WaPoo never read the "Little Boy that Cried Wolf."

“Out of all the voters we spoke with Friday in Columbiana, we didn’t find one voter who believed the Washington Post report about Moore,” she said.

Wages of sin.

AllenS said...

Chuck said...
You miserable shit-headed lowlifes

Hey, I resemble that comment!

Howard said...

Chuck: If you act like a bitch, you get treated like a bitch. I didn't make the rules, I just play by them. My crazy Grandpa had a saying: If wishes were horseturds, we'd all be shitheads.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Chuck: If you act like a bitch, you get treated like a bitch"

For certain. Mama Chuck must have been very protective for Chuck not to have absorbed this lesson at a tender age.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Depends on what you mean by a bribe...

Ahhh... infinite wiggle room, there. Love your amphiboly and red herrings.

Anyway, I'll chalk up your non-answer to the guy who says it's not prostitution to sleep with someone for a million dollars. IOW, if the price is right, you'll prostitute yourself for it. And as long as the customer's a corporation instead of someone with no one else to rely on but the government.

Thank you for clarifying the terms of your prostitution.

BTW, interesting thing happened to me earlier today as I was out getting a break from you non-rationals. Ran into a homeless veteran. It's funny how the people the government uses the most egregiously - to kill, often needlessly, on its behalf - you're all for encouraging. No doubt you think the government should do less to keep him off the streets in the freezing cold, as well. Good thing the costs of all those wars and military maintenance don't cost a thing. Well, not as much as keeping the vets from starving and freezing, anyway. Those costs are way too high for "your" government.

MacMacConnell said...

So Ruth Marcus along with the leftist fake news media is upset Republicans are now playing by the left's and the media's rules. Do I really have to fight fair in a bar fight where no one else is fighting fair?

hombre said...

I can't get past the paywall, but it's just as well. From Althouse's post it is evident that this woman is a lunatic. The reaction to Harvey by his fellows was not as initially condemnatory as the GOPe reaction to the Moore "November surprise" publish by the unbelievable WaPo. Democrats have never condemned Slick Willie and would probably elect him again today.

The probability that the Moore hit job is codswallop, given the source, the stakes and the lame "corroboration," is more than enough to justify Trump's conditional response. But it isn't about Trump. It's about the likelihood the Democrats and their surrogate WaPo mediaswine are trying to steal the Senate abetted by GOPe swampthings. After all, any tactic, however scurrilous, is justified to deny representation to Moore's deplorable conservative constituency

Say, where are the evil and controversial Roy Moore's other "victims" from over the years? Clearly, they are not among WaPo's other three "witnesses" to Moore's perfectly legal conduct.

LYNNDH said...

Short but accurate - NO

Drago said...

"The shit heads are the commenters here, who presume wrongly that I must be a leftist, for simply criticizing Trump."

Tsk tsk.

Incorrect, per usual.

We are simply noting that the positions you take and the rhetoric you deploy line up with every single talking point, every single day of the lefties.

Accidentally

Always always accidentally.

Of course, our LLR is happy to note that he is willing to criticize Democrats from 150 years ago....because "courage".

Michael K said...

"Say, where are the evil and controversial Roy Moore's other "victims" from over the years?"

I am by no means a fan or Moore. His dating late teen girls gives me the creeps. Still, he met his wife when she was 18, married her at 24 and they are still married at age 70.

I just don't believe the WaPoo. They have done this before and are a DNC house organ.

Chuck said...

Howard said...
Chuck: If you act like a bitch, you get treated like a bitch. I didn't make the rules, I just play by them. My crazy Grandpa had a saying: If wishes were horseturds, we'd all be shitheads.

I didn't start the trashtalking on this blog. What I did, was to criticize Trump. From the perspective of someone who desperately wanted a Republican to win the election.

But because the cult of the personality is so strong in TrumpWorld, and because there is no good answer to so much of the personal criticism of Donald Trump, the response was to attack me personally.

Which tells me everything I need to know about TrumpLand.

In any event, my having been an Althouse commenter for years before there was ever a Trump candidacy is stark proof that I was never any sort of left-wing commenter. Along with the fact that my nasty and stupid detractors here can never find a post in which I am supporting left-wing causes.

It's the most reliable predictor of how little my detractors have by way of argumentation. There's no defense for the things I point out as being inexcusable from Trump (and there have been a number of notable things I have agreed with from the Trump Administration); so the predictable reaction is the dumbest one. They attack me as being left-wing. Without any evidence. Without even an attempt at any evidence.

It really shouldn't be a news story anymore; there are plenty of college-educated Republicans and conservatives who hate Trump. Many voted for Trump, notwithstanding that hatred. I am one of those.


Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

...mediaswine...

This portmanteau is much more efficient than its German precursors:

luegenpresse and Judenschwein.

Good job! A more efficient translation than the original German! They had to break that concept up into two phrases whereas in English our deplorables can take the important bits and compress the phrases up a bit.

Drago said...

LLR and Accidental Leftist Chuck: "Which tells me everything I need to know about TrumpLand."

Note to self: engaging in rumor mongering about 11 year olds is appropriate "non Trumpland" behavior and positions the purveyor at a loftier moral position vis a vis Trump voting Deplorables.

Good to know. Good. To. Know.

Drago said...

TTR: "This portmanteau is much more efficient than its German precursors:.."

I love a good Port. Preferably with an assortment of cheeses.

Any "port" in a storm I always say.

Drago said...

" A more efficient translation than the original German!"

Nonsense. The original German is always most efficient.

You Americans, "mit" your humor...

Drago said...

Btw TTR, I learned first hand what the left thinks of veterans.

One of the more amusing anecdotes involves a military rugby club I was a part of playing a match against Univ of CA Santa Cruz.

The professors alone made sure we were aware of what they thought of us.

Drago said...

LLR Chuck, had he been there, would definitely, without a doubt, no question, have been on "our side" but gosh darn it he would have been forced by circumstance to adopt the very rhetoric of the leftist professors.

"Accidentally"

Drago said...

Look Chuck, we get it.

That 11 year old had the collossal gall to allow himself to be Trump's child, therefore he had it coming and you were the "big man" willing to step into the breach and call him out.

Well played LLR.

Not at all like the lefties who attacked Sarah Palin's children.

Nope. Not like that at all.

Chuck said...

Drago said...
LLR and Accidental Leftist Chuck: "Which tells me everything I need to know about TrumpLand."

Note to self: engaging in rumor mongering about 11 year olds is appropriate "non Trumpland" behavior and positions the purveyor at a loftier moral position vis a vis Trump voting Deplorables.

Good to know. Good. To. Know.

Hey, I quoted the Trump family lawyers; they say that Barron Trump is not autistic. So that could be the end of it. Unless it turns out later that he is autistic, or on the autism spectrum, in which case it will look so weird and so sociopathic on the part of the Trump family that they'd go to such lengths of denial. A weird and nasty form of denial, on a 21st century par with the denial on the part of the Kennedy family in the last century that they had a family member who was lobotomized and ultimately institutionalized and isolated from any public mention.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Btw TTR, I learned first hand what the left thinks of veterans.

That they want them to die out in the streets of starvation and cold? As they're doing now?

Listen, I'm sure people enlist for a number of reasons.

But the least the right can do, given how much glory and patriotism they want to invest in the idea of building the best and biggest killing machine seen on any planet that's astronomically visible, is to make sure that every American they mold into their most militant and beloved of institutions doesn't die of the harsh elements of the American street and American society after they're done doing their best to see how much killing for the Deep State they can do.

Drago said...

TTR: "That they want them to die out in the streets of starvation and cold?"

Nonsense!

That's too unregulated. Having them die out on waiting lists is the preferred Dem tactic.

It's even more effective if you hide the lists!

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/us/va-report-confirms-improper-waiting-lists-at-phoenix-center.html

Not to worry TTR, it was only the "baby killers" that died, so it's all good.

Drago said...

"..seen on any planet that's astronomically visible.."

I'm most concerned about the Venutians. They appear much more strategic according to the Twilight episode documentary I watched.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

2014? That's the latest report you've got on the situation and government response?

Ok. So I'm sure this will all change now that the right got their proud sweep of all offices federally. And that many at even the state level.

I will sit back and watch them do nothing. As they usually do.

John henry said...

If the alternative to bribes is the state taking money from me ay gunpoint (taxes) then deciding who to spend it on

I'll happily go with bribes as the lesser of two evils



John Henry

Drago said...

Thanks for your new found concern about vets TTR.

Like, really new. Like, from this morning.

We appreciate it.

Not enough to vote for the Dems, but still, your rhetoric is a welcome shift.

Be sure to share your perspective with the lefties! And I apologize in advance for when they tell you to take your baby-killer lovin' somewhere else.

Not to any nearby campus of course.

That would be triggering.

Gospace said...

A few big differences with the Torricelli affair and Moore.

Everyone in NJ, including all the Democrats who voted for Torricelli knew he was going to be indicted. There was no last minute accusations of something illegal.

Moore has one accuser, with a checkered history, suddenly appearing weeks before the election when the candidate cannot be replaced.

In NJ, the NJ Supreme Court ruled that despite the law, Torricelli's name could be replaced because the voters of NJ needed a choice. Without a Democrat candidate NJ voters had the following choices: Republican Party, Doug Forrester; Green Party, Ted Glick; Libertarian Party, Elizabeth Macron; Conservative Party, Norman E. Wahner; Socialist Party, Greg Pason. So the NJ Supreme Court opinion was a lie- the voters already choices on their ballot. And Democrats in a free and open primary election had overwhelmingly voted for a crook. And because of their decision, the crook was replaced by "elder statesman" Frank Lautenberg.

In Alabama, if Moore is taken off the ballot, we're holding a Soviet style election with one candidate. Alabama Courts obey the rule of law, and the law says a candidate cannot be replaced, just like NJ law did.

The Alabama governor has already changed the date of the election once- to December rather then next November. She could change it back.

tim in vermont said...

TTR is a socialist anesthesiologist who really doesn't like doctors. Rand Paul is a doctor too. Just sayin'

MikeR said...

"Trump’s conveniently flexible standard on accusations — and he is not alone — boils down to: If the accuser points a finger at a Democrat — Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein — her word is to be trusted, automatically."
Marcus couldn't have come up with better examples than two people who are known to be guilty and have had numerous accusations against them? How do we know that "her word is trusted automatically"?

tim in vermont said...

"her word is to be trusted, automatically."

And in this case, that's a bad thing. When they accuse Trump, or Moore, of course they should be accorded complete trust. Just not when they accuse Democrats, because, well, reasons.

Brand said...

I personally view all such accusations with caution. But it is the Democrats who profess that the woman MUST be believed, so I accept their standard when an accusation is made against a Democrat.

Ken B said...

A point Marcus elides is whether the charges are credible. They were not made contemporaneously. They were not made at other political junctures in Moore's career. They were not made in the primary. They were not made after the primary but before the ballot could be changed. This makes me suspicious a game is being played, and that suspicion makes me doubt.

I want a GOP senate, but I didn’t want Moore before this. Absent these charges I'd probably be happy to see him lose. But now I worry about allowing late hit smear tactics, if that is what these prove to be, doesn’t mean I should support Moore. Then, if the charges prove credible, he can be expelled. If he loses and the charges prove fictitious, what remedy is there?


Ken B said...

I see discussion of moving the election. That is a terrible idea. The election was already moved, one suspects to suit the needs of a party. To move it again just when it looks like the GOP is about to lose would not only be slimy beyond words but would provoke a constitutional crisis.
Plus votes have been cast.

The GOP just has to live with this Sharon Angle scale screw up. I think this is the 5th easy senate seat they have tossed away in recent years.

Bad Lieutenant said...

No worries, he wins in a walk, if he is a shrewd, tough campaigner, is in touch with the people, and does not lose his nerve.

I suppose he needs money and wonder where he may get it. Where are the carriers? How big is everyone's war chests?

Bad Lieutenant said...

How much do you want to bet that Menendez trial won't be concluded on till after the present Republican Governor leaves office and cannot select a Republican replacement for Menendez? That's a side that helps itself in the corners. Who are we kidding, this is war without knives. So far.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Did I miss some conclusive evidence or proof, like recordings or a confession to any wrongdoing on the part of Roy Moore? I understand he denies it.

He need say nothing at all.

Big Mike said...

@Ken, screw you.

Birkel said...

People like Ken B use the word "charges" when Roy Moore is in absolutely no legal jeopardy whatsoever.

That seems quite out of line.

Birkel said...

Senator Menendez faces charges. And the Sunday shows mentioned those corruption charges zero times today. And last week.

Ken B would sell the rope to the Leftist Collectivists so that they might hang us all.