Ron Paul was already a favorite of Russian propagandists a decade ago. That’s all I need to know. If the Russians have checked him out and decided that he’s bad for America, I’m not going to second-guess them.
Questions that begin “what about…” shouldn’t be blindly dismissed. The problem, imho at least, is when they are clear misdirects.
Charlie Pierce continues to call 'em like he sees 'em:
Not to be surpassed, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos dropped by a House Committee to demonstrate again how little she knows about education. She got crossways with Marcia Fudge, Democrat of Ohio, who wanted to know why DeVos apparently has chloroformed everyone who works for her department’s Office for Civil Rights. In reply, DeVos lapsed into a English dialect with which neither I—nor, apparently, Fudge—is familiar. I believe it is common among beauty contest contestants and dudes called upon in class who Have Not Read The Material.
“The office for civil rights is committed to protecting the civil rights as determined under the law of this land and we do so proudly and with great focus each day.”
If you watch the video through to the end, you see Fudge simply give up, realizing that she essentially is asking for detailed responses from a doorknob.
Eh, that’s more Ron. Rand tends to talk big and then vote how they tell him. If it’s an easy vote where his vote doesn’t matter he might make a show of going against it, but if his vote ever matters he’ll tow the party line almost every time.
Wow, Kush er got a permanent security clearance even after it became clear how much he is in the pocket of the Saudis.
I can’t help but wonder if that was a trade they made for keeping Trump from firing Rosenstein on Monday.
That would be corruption of a sort that would signal the end of America.
Can you guys even comprehend the apocalyptic rage if it were Chelsea Clinton making shady deals and still getting a permanent security clearance? Especially after she was caught? And I mean… rightfully so. I’d be up in arms myself.
I’m really thinking politicians are learning a scary lesson here. Wrongdoing isn’t what derails careers, it’s admitting wrongdoing. Just refuse to apologize or back down and nothing happens.
I am not sure that’s the lesson. Hillary Clinton never admitted wrongdoing for the Clinton Foundation’s “shady deals” (see this NBC report: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/new-emails-show-clinton-foundation-donors-sought-special-access-748756547878) but it affected her campaign greatly. It might just be that you either need a law to prevent politicians from operating foundations or private businesses (which would probably require a constitutional amendment), or accept that without evidence of a crime, the appearance of conflict of interest will plague both parties.
Effecting a campaign is different from ending one, or getting you removed from office. In the past, transgressions like we are seeing from the Trump family and administration would have led to ending campaigns or getting people removed from office.
Did chelseas clinton have a permanent security clearance and routinely handle political business for her parents? That part appears to not be the same. It’s the nepotism and playing the game by different rules that particularly is egregious with trump et al. Despite people trying to say that both sides do it ;)
No, but Chelsea forced women to have abortions and maintains eternal youth by devouring the fetuses.
Cool, a trustworthy soul has finally been located in the White House.
Hillary certainly had a top secret security clearance (actually, she had more than that) at the same time as the Clinton Foundation deals referenced in the stories I mentioned…
Again, none of this is to suggest that the Kushner situation is a good one. It is a response to your claims and intimations that this is a uniquely Trumpian phenomenon.
Could you give an example?
Gary Hart ended a presidential campaign over a mistress. So did John Edwards I think. Meanwhile Trump brags of grabbing pussy. Clinton was castigated over possible transgressions while Trump appears to have paid off women, all while the right keeps their mouths shut.
Oh, jeez. Clinton literally sexually assaulted people and tried to silence them, and won two terms. Perhaps you are ignoring the strong influence that political power can have on these kinds of situations. It is certainly troubling, but I was looking for examples relating to conflicts of interest/security clearance and business interests, not sexual aggressiveness/abuse.
As did Trump! I can’t even remember how many women have accused him of grabbing them. He paid off the porn star. There’s one accusation of rape of an underage woman from quite some time ago.
It appears you edited your original post, I edited my reply and then you edited your reply.
I got nothing on security clearances other than to say the use of family in office was supposed to stop after JFK and RFK. True, the Clinton’s pushed the envelope, but the Trumps have broke that envelope.
What would your proposed solution be, or are you aware of anyone with proposed solutions? That could be interesting, but I’m not sure how it would work out exactly. A ban on political officeholders doing any kind of private business dealings? Would they have to sell all their private assets, put them in a trust, etc? I am curious how that would work without being unduly burdensome. I am not aware of anyone having a solution to the problem of apparent conflict of interest in the trump white house – just references to the crusty old emoluments clause, which has never been used for anything (and has dubious application).