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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#117251: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:18:32 AM

Sure but I don't think I've heard of Dem politicians being caught hiring male prostiution, while it is a thing that happens with Republican ones, normally vocally anti-gay ones. Thouse are the kinds of scandals that make the news in a big way because they're very heavy on the hypocrisy (and the hiring of a prostitute tends to make the press more interested), we don't actually often now get Republican or Dem sex scandals involving mutually consenting adults.

edited 25th Mar '16 8:19:21 AM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#117252: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:21:08 AM

Most such scandals involve some type of abuse of power, such as John Edwards using state money to go on a sex trip.

But the thing about Democratic politicians and gay sex is that Democrats are far more likely than Republican politicians to be openly gay in the first place, making the whole exercise pointless.

Hmm... fact check me. How many openly gay major politicians do we have? I have no idea, honestly.

edited 25th Mar '16 8:22:03 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#117253: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:27:23 AM

Which makes their castigation of Bill Clinton really absurd, although, to be slightly fair, the public rationale for their anger is that he lied about it under oath.
He didn't, though. The legal definition of the term "sexual relations" (as in "I did not have sexual relations with that woman") doesn't include oral sex. There's also the whole "it depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is" thing (which is often used as evidence that Clinton is a bit dim, but he was drawing a distinction between "is currently" and "is or has ever in the past").

Exact Words at its finest.

edited 25th Mar '16 8:30:57 AM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#117254: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:29:30 AM

You know that, I know that, but in the reality of national politics, such attempts at sophistry come across as really lame. I'd have respected Bubba more if he'd come right out and said it. "Yes, I received oral sex from Ms. Lewinsky. Yes, this is a weakness I've had for a long time. No, it does not affect my ability to govern. And a lot of you do it too, so don't get all morally outraged without checking your closets." Mic Drop.

edited 25th Mar '16 8:30:05 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#117255: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:36:41 AM

Honestly, I've got a lot of respect for the guy because of that sort of thing. Whether he got a blowjob from an intern in the Oval Office is no one's business except his, his wife's, and the intern's, so he walked the exact legal line of saying what he wanted to say without actually lying. Given that a lot of governance involves such hair-splitting legal distinctions, that's a pretty good display of skill.

Of course, effectively (if not technically) lying about having an affair makes him a shitty husband (and, arguably, person), which I'm not denying. But as a politician, I can't say it's not impressive.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#117256: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:41:08 AM

Trudeau is such a fucking class act. He's smooth, he's charming, and yet everything he says smacks of genuine wisdom. Are there any faults to this guy?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#117257: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:43:15 AM

Sadly find numbers for LGBT US politicians is hard, I just keep running into the fact that the UK has the most LGBT parliament in the world.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#117258: Mar 25th 2016 at 8:53:32 AM

[up][up] Alberta kind of hates him. He also has a bit of a problem with over promising...but he does apologize and admit he over-promised.

Also, our Parliament, both the House of Commons and the Senate, don't hate him, which makes a big difference. (Although it would be a little difficult to get a Prime Minister who Parliament hates.)

edited 25th Mar '16 8:54:44 AM by Zendervai

Iaculus Pronounced YAK-you-luss from England Since: May, 2010
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#117260: Mar 25th 2016 at 9:12:05 AM

I was too young to understand the Lewinsky scandal when it was going on but being older and wiser and knowing about things like women's allegations of rape/harassment not always being taken seriously, I have to ask; a lot of focus put on the relationship between Bill and Hillary and the Republicans making political hay over it, but did the question of consent and/or harassment ever come up with regard to Lewinsky? I mean, there was a pretty huge power differential involved.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#117261: Mar 25th 2016 at 9:27:06 AM

[up] That was always there as an undercurrent but it was largely overlooked, certainly on the Republican side of the aisle, because they absolutely do not want to have that particular conversation. On the Democratic side, they were too busy trying to keep Clinton's presidency from being torn down by prurient giggling over cigars to give much of a damn about Ms. Lewinsky's consent.

Still, eager young women being attracted to people in positions of power is hardly a new story, and it will not be a story that goes away any time soon. Hell, look at Fifty Shades of Grey: it is literally about the fantasy of a young woman being dominated by a powerful man.

edited 25th Mar '16 9:28:44 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#117262: Mar 25th 2016 at 9:34:24 AM

[up][up] Lewinsky says it was consensual.

If this Cruz affair thing is legit, it could win Trump the nomination and dash the GOP establishment's dreams of a brokered convention. The National Enquirer is a tabloid rag, but they were also the people who uncovered John Edwards' cheating, Jesse Jackson's love child, and Rush Limbaugh's drug addiction.

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the IRS must provide information about potentially discriminatory tax-exempt applications given to tea party members.

I still doubt this will go anywhere.

edited 25th Mar '16 11:37:26 AM by Demonic_Braeburn

Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.
CassidyTheDevil Since: Jan, 2013
#117263: Mar 25th 2016 at 9:36:43 AM

Regardless of consent or cheating, doesn't that go against business ethics? I think the reasoning in this case is pretty sound.

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#117264: Mar 25th 2016 at 9:48:16 AM

[up][up][up]

Still, eager young women being attracted to people in positions of power is hardly a new story, and it will not be a story that goes away any time soon. Hell, look at Fifty Shades of Grey: it is literally about the fantasy of a young woman being dominated by a powerful man.

Written by a middle-aged woman.

edited 25th Mar '16 9:49:08 AM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#117265: Mar 25th 2016 at 9:55:36 AM

I think Clinton is somewhat of an asshole for cheating but from what I've heard Hillary has forgiven him. If she doesn't hold a grudge then I don't see why anyone else should hold it against him.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#117266: Mar 25th 2016 at 10:06:09 AM

[up]X5 50 Shades really isn't a good example, it's Rape/Abuse Fantasy pretending to be BDSM fantasy. A book that pretends rape isn't rape and justifies abuse is not a good thing to fall back on for an argument that something was consensual.

edited 25th Mar '16 10:07:01 AM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#117267: Mar 25th 2016 at 10:20:09 AM

@Kostya I mean Bill has a history of poor treatment of women

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#117268: Mar 25th 2016 at 10:37:54 AM

Wasn't that IRS thing from a while ago, and the list of things that were being singled out for additional investigation also included Democratic-aligned groups and was basically a crackdown on politically-oriented "charities"?

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#117269: Mar 25th 2016 at 10:45:59 AM

Demon's article link told me most of what I wanted to know, especially given Lewinsky's willing to stick to her story over 20 years later. She does grant that Clinton took advantage of her (and yes it is a violation of business ethics to court a subordinate, adultery or no) but the article also makes the point of emphasizing believing someone when they said it wasn't rape too.

Mostly it was bothering me in the context of "the Clintons seem to get away with everything" argument and wondering in that case whether Bill should have.

edited 25th Mar '16 10:47:54 AM by Elle

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#117270: Mar 25th 2016 at 10:53:19 AM

The National Enquirer? is accusing Ted Cruz of a sex scandal of having slept with five or more women (not at the same time)
I won't even lie, if they accused him of sleeping with five women at once, I'm pretty sure he'd go up in the polls by taking voters from Trump.
I doubt anyone's going to bother accusing Trump of any inappropriate sexual behavior
Aren't all of his blunders already public record? Last year's(decade's) news, as it were? I mean, maybe if he got caught on video smoking crack it might be important.
I don't think I've heard of Dem politicians being caught hiring male prostiution, while it is a thing that happens with Republican ones, normally vocally anti-gay ones.
The part I italicized is why you hear about them - it's newsworthy when a politician is being a hypocritenote , and not when they're just cheating or hiring a hooker (legal or otherwise).

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#117271: Mar 25th 2016 at 10:54:47 AM

I did read about that wife spat. This campaign has gone pretty far down in terms of ethics and plain decency, doesn't it?

"Gone"? At what point was this primary ever even in the same room as ethics or plain decency?

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#117272: Mar 25th 2016 at 11:01:51 AM

One of Trump's ex-wives is featuring on the current season of Dancing With The Stars. She's not said anything outright bad about him when he's brought up (nor would anyone want to stick their foot in the hornet's nest mouth for that matter) but as past relationships go, hard to get more public than that.

AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#117273: Mar 25th 2016 at 11:06:53 AM

Didn't one of Trump's exes try to sue him for raping her?

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#117274: Mar 25th 2016 at 11:20:51 AM

[up] Its complicated.

During their divorce in 1991, Donald Trump's ex-wife Ivana accused him of "raping" her three years previously. But she has since clarified it was not in "a literal or criminal sense".

Although Trump's lawyer pulling out the "You cannot rape your spouse" card probably isn't helping his credibility.

edited 25th Mar '16 11:22:08 AM by Demonic_Braeburn

Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#117275: Mar 25th 2016 at 11:25:06 AM

Sounds to me like she got threatened into dropping it.

Oh really when?

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