April 9, 2020

"As news broke that Tripp was near death, Lewinsky tweeted: 'no matter the past, upon hearing that linda tripp is very seriously ill, i hope for her recovery. i can’t imagine how difficult this is for her family.'"

From "Linda Tripp, whose tapes exposed Clinton affair, dies at 70" (AP).
While defending the taping as necessary to protect herself if her credibility were questioned, Tripp also consulted with a New York literary agent before beginning her secret recordings. Her initial concerns proved warranted when officials and pundits questioned her motives and attacked her character.

Tripp soon became a recognizable member of the wide cast of characters in the impeachment drama, so much so that actor John Goodman appeared as Tripp several times on “Saturday Night Live.”...
That was back when women who came forward and exposed sexual harassment in the workplace were treated as fat, ugly, old, jealous, self-aggrandizing freaks. But America had not yet learned about sexual harassment... other than that time we watched the high-profile, televised attack on Clarence Thomas. Who portrayed Anita Hill on "Saturday Night Live"?

(Watch Goodman as Tripp here.)

59 comments:

Big Mike said...

Bill Clinton’s palace guard, led by “The Talking Skull” Carville, was a particularly vicious lot, and their media allies were all too willing to pile on. Tell me, Althouse, did you giggle when The Talking Skull described Paula Jones with the phrase “If you drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find”? Lots of other well-to-do female liberals certainly did.

Linda Tripp did what she did to protect herself. She also protected Monica Lewinsky, who doesn’t seem to have ever realized it.

rhhardin said...

Women's minds hadn't yet gone so far off the rails, as to what narrative they want to live in.

stevew said...

Lewinsky should have left out the "no matter the past" which I read as a quite catty and disrespectful.

The good old days of bimbo eruptions, when men and women need not believe all women. Is it fair to see that these days are returning given the treatment Tara Reade's accusations are being given?

pious agnostic said...

What people who lived through it remember is that, as a low-level male in the workplace, we were required to participate in yearly corporate-mandated self-accusation sessions in order to fully comprehend the manifest evil of showing the slightest partiality and/or interest in a fellow female workers. It was repeated stressed that, not only was sexual blackmail and sexual assault common and continuous but that by not enthusiastically combating this workplace evil with constant vigilance, and thorough examination of conscience, we were contributing to it even though our positions were ones without influence, power, or ability to threaten or coerce anyone. This went on for many years.

And of course, we all knew that the big corporate bosses, who regularly actually did sleep with their subordinates and trade sex for favors, weren't punished or reprimanded in any way.

Then Clinton got a BJ in the oval office, and everything changed. At least people were up-front in their hypocrisy.

wendybar said...

And all good Liberal women hated her. Just like the Alyssa Milanos (protecting pervert Joe Biden) of today...only SOME people are guilty of degrading women...not the Democrats though...

Heartless Aztec said...

Ms Lewinsky is the only one in that entire melodrama that showed any class. She continues to do so.

Marcus Bressler said...

Had Tripp not done the recordings, the "Democratic Operatives with a Byline" would have destroyed her. So the rest of the Liberal plantation went after her appearance.

THEOLDMAN

SHE deserves a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom

Kay said...

Funny, I don’t really remember her, but do remember the John Goodman skit (though vaguely). As a kid I had a copy of Newsweek with what I assume was the Star report. It pretty much read to me like a porno back then.

Marcus Bressler said...

I give Goodman a pass for that. He was drinking alcoholically then.

THEOLDMAN

Too late for him to make an amends on that one, but maybe he did it in private. I hope so.

gilbar said...

That was back when women who came forward and exposed sexual harassment in the workplace were treated as fat, ugly, old, jealous, self-aggrandizing freaks

That was Because when women who came forward and exposed sexual harassment in the workplace against Democrats, they were treated as fat, ugly, old, jealous, self-aggrandizing freaks JUST LIKE THEY ARE NOW
fify!

David Begley said...

Answer: Christine Blasey.

gilbar said...

it's ALWAYS been the single standard: What EVER helps democrats is GOOD!

RMc said...

It's almost as if the people we're supposed to believe are members of one political party, and the people we're supposed to treat as liars are members of a different one!

Lurker21 said...

Lewinsky should have left out the "no matter the past" which I read as a quite catty and disrespectful.

Not at all, given what she went through. I can't imagine anybody in her situation making such a gracious tweet without some kind of disclaimer. "Catty"? Really? Don't let a feminist hear you saying that.

MayBee said...

gilbar said...
it's ALWAYS been the single standard: What EVER helps democrats is GOOD!


Exactly.
It interesting, even the people who have been protecting Harvey over the years haven't been disrespected as much as Linda Tripp.

Linda Tripp became a pariah, Monica Lewinsky became a household joke, and Bill Clinton went on to be a gobzillionaire still beloved by the Democratic Party.

traditionalguy said...

Like the winning 1960s student radicals who rioted at the 68 Convention, the Clintons were never under the law. And they are still fully immune. Lewinsky only escaped being suicided by the wisdom of Linda Tripp who took the Killery attacks for her.An appropriate story for Holy Week.

Shouting Thomas said...

There are no good guys here. Just a pack of wretched hustlers on all sides.

There is also no great epidemic of sexual harassment to make into a cause.

Bullshit all around.

One of the good things about this pandemic panic is that this fluff has receded into almost nothing.

Todd said...

I remember that as "the day feminism died".

That was the day feminism sold it soul to protect the most powerful man in the world that abused his position to engage in sex with the lowest and most naive of female underlings.

An event that would have ENDED the Presidency of anyone with an R after their name.

The leaders in the feminist movement showed they were at least as hypocritical as all of those evil, powerful men that took advantage of women under their control for their own gratification.

Bill Clinton took unfair advantage of Monica. Feminists raped her.

Shouting Thomas said...

As much as I’d enjoy a tit-for-tat with Joe Biden and the Dems eating shit, I’d prefer that this absurd crap go away.

Mazo Jeff said...

I have always felt that Linda Tripp was a fascinating woman of the WH saga called the "Clinton Administration". Imagine being a WH staffer witnessing the Kathleen Wiley story, being subpoenaed to testify about those events, being subsequently transferred to Siberia (Pentagon) where you suddenly find yourself befriending a young, former WH intern who tells you she is having an affair with POTUS. Having been trashed by the WH for her first testimony, Linda Tripp decides this time to tape these conversations for evidence! Amazing woman put into this role by fate!! RIP Linda!

Temujin said...

It's always been the same rules:

Women who calls out Dem is denigrated as some of the worst scum in humanity. Think Juanita Broderick. Linda Tripp. Kathleen Willey.
Women who calls out Repub becomes instant national heroine. Think: Christine Blasey Ford (a crazy person who was pulled off the street to star in that one-act play). Hell, they even tried to make Julie Swetnick a national heroine.

etbass said...

Big Mike said, "Tell me, Althouse, did you giggle..."

Don't know if you were around then BM, but Althouse was alone among Feminists in excoriating Clinton and the feminist turn coats who let him off the hook. It was the low point for feminism but Althouse soared.

Shouting Thomas said...

It was the low point for feminism...

The low point for feminism was the moment it was invented.

Johnathan Birks said...

We know how the game is played. BELIEVE THE WOMAN .... unless she's accusing a Democrat. Then she is to be either slutshamed or ignored.

gilbar said...

just for fun, try imaging a world;
where Monica accidentally gathered up a load a laundry, and included the blue dress.
How many MORE women would BJ Clinton have raped, by now?

Todd said...

etbass said...

It was the low point for feminism but Althouse soared.

4/9/20, 7:31 AM


Ah but not the lowest point! They are setting new records daily! Men in girl's rest rooms and locker rooms cause they put on a dress. Men paying women's sports cause they "feel" like women. Men having periods. Touting all female choices as valid UNLESS that means wanting to stay home and raise kids. My how the lowly have fallen!

stevew said...

With "no matter the past" Lewinsky is pointing at herself and saying, see how virtuous and classy I am. The rest of her tweet is a boiler plate gracious statement. She may as well have written a simple, Linda Tripp, RIP.

Michael said...

Gilbar

You would have to had asked Jeff Epstein

Ralph L said...

Her children were surprisingly good looking in 1998.

I wonder if Paula Jones's lawyers would have found out about Monica without Tripp.

Sebastian said...

"That was back when women who came forward and exposed sexual harassment in the workplace were treated as fat, ugly, old, jealous, self-aggrandizing freaks"

Well, women who exposed harassment by powerful Dems, back when the Clinton machine was still revving up.

We cynical deplorables remember, and we therefore remember that progs don't believe what they profess to believe. It's all about power. Nothing else matters. Women are tools. Everything progs say has to be discounted, nothing taken at face value.

And we found out that feminism means being willing to get down on your knees for any man who swears by abortion. As long as that sacrament is observed, anything else goes.

It was a clarifying era. Althouse herself assisted in the clarification.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Joe Biden tells me that things have changed drastically. Now, if some lying dog faced pony solder accuses him of rape, the media will just smother the story. The upside is that women can now feel safe to come forward.

*** Disclaimer *** don't count on the same outcome if your a Republican

Jake Tapper couldn't be reached for comment.

Ambrose said...

Nonsense - this is not a "now vs. then" story, this is all about who is being accused.

A Voice of Reason said...

Ambrose is 100% correct.

h said...

Reminder: in 1983, the House ethics committee published a report (on the investigation of two COngressmen who had sex with Congressional pages) that said "any sexual relationship between a member of the House of Representatives and a congressional page, or any sexual advance by a member to a page, represents a serious breach of duty." Anita Hill was 1991.

Roger Sweeny said...

Big Mike,

You must be new here. Althouse has consistently opposed sexual exploitation. She was APPALLED at the free pass given Bill Clinton by people who called themselves feminists.

Mattman26 said...

I had all but forgotten Tripp until I listened to the Monica Lewinsky interview on Armchair Expert (highly recommended).

Monica was a young woman in dire need of a trusted friend. Tripp pretended to be that friend, while recording their very intimate conversations to use to try to take down a president.

Monica has every right to feel betrayed. Almost by definition she was. Her RIP is pretty classy under the circumstances.

dbp said...

Big Mike nails the most important thing in the first comment:

"Linda Tripp did what she did to protect herself. She also protected Monica Lewinsky, who doesn’t seem to have ever realized it."

Two things:

1. Had Tripp not convinced Lewinsky to save the blue dress, the Clintons would have been able to smear her as an obsessed stalker.

2. Lewinsky, given all she went through and not forgetting her own bad judgement, can be forgiven for not having the perspective to realize how Tripp helped her. As such, it shows good character for her to wish her former frenemy well in her time of need.

A Voice of Reason said...

In fact, there are very few "now vs. then" stories. For example, Liberals have always wanted to compel, and when they have the power, they do so aggressively. Lyndon Johnson, for example. The protests of the late 1960's were not fundamentally about the Vietnam War, as has been now successfully spun. They were protests against conscription (which is kidnapping + slavery with prison if you resisted).

There is nothing new under the sun.

Wince said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mattman26 said...

“1. Had Tripp not convinced Lewinsky to save the blue dress, the Clintons would have been able to smear her as an obsessed stalker.”

I’m sorry, but no. If Tripp hadn’t intervened, at some point the “affair” would have likely ended, and Monica would have maintained her privacy and anonymity, and her private foibles would have been her own, like the rest of ours are.

A Voice of Reason said...

Pretty naive there, Mattman26

Guildofcannonballs said...

"Ms Lewinsky is the only one in that entire melodrama that showed any class. She continues to do so."

Licking the hole of ass shows you class?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Linda Tripp aged well. Her more current photos are very attractive.

I despise the collective left and fuck SNL for their mocking of her.

Dave Begley said...

Wince: See my answer above. Christine Blasey played Anita Hill on SNL. She flew in from CA for the gig.

BJK said...

SNL didn't have black female cast members until after 2000.

Pretty sure Ellen Cleghorne would disagree with you on that one (as would Danitra Vance).
Cleghorn joined the cast of SNL in 1991, which would have overlapped the confirmation hearings for Justice Thomas.

dbp said...

"I’m sorry, but no. If Tripp hadn’t intervened, at some point the “affair” would have likely ended, and Monica would have maintained her privacy and anonymity, and her private foibles would have been her own, like the rest of ours are."

We will never know. It is a fact that Lewinsky had already perjured herself in a deposition for the Paula Jones case before Tripp became involved, so Tripp was not the sole source of information regarding Clinton's affair. Further, if someone confides in you that they perjured themselves, you now have two conflicting moral obligations.

Kay said...

Todd said...
etbass said...

It was the low point for feminism but Althouse soared.

4/9/20, 7:31 AM

Ah but not the lowest point! They are setting new records daily! Men in girl's rest rooms and locker rooms cause they put on a dress. Men paying women's sports cause they "feel" like women. Men having periods. Touting all female choices as valid UNLESS that means wanting to stay home and raise kids. My how the lowly have fallen!
4/9/20, 7:42 AM


You might be surprised to learn that a lot of feminists regularly clash over issues of trans inclusivity with regard to feminism. I see these kind of arguments on the left all the time. Just look up the term TERF and you’ll find tons of examples.

chickelit said...

Her RIP is pretty classy under the circumstances.

I wonder if Bill and Hillary could give a rip for Tripp. They're probably hoping Matt Drudge catches COVID.

Todd said...

Kay said... [hush]​[hide comment]
Todd said...
etbass said...

It was the low point for feminism but Althouse soared.

4/9/20, 7:31 AM

Ah but not the lowest point! They are setting new records daily! Men in girl's rest rooms and locker rooms cause they put on a dress. Men paying women's sports cause they "feel" like women. Men having periods. Touting all female choices as valid UNLESS that means wanting to stay home and raise kids. My how the lowly have fallen!
4/9/20, 7:42 AM

You might be surprised to learn that a lot of feminists regularly clash over issues of trans inclusivity with regard to feminism. I see these kind of arguments on the left all the time. Just look up the term TERF and you’ll find tons of examples.

4/9/20, 8:53 AM


Don't confuse "feminists" with "feminism", though with lefty "herd mentality" there is only a hair's difference. I have to assume that most of the feminists that are opposed to the above do so due to having daughters.

I believe the gay culture is more upset about this [as a whole] than the feminists are [as a whole].

Mattman26 said...

“Further, if someone confides in you that they perjured themselves, you now have two conflicting moral obligations.”

Really? You’d feel the urge to turn in a friend who privately confessed to perjury?

Good to know! (And it’s probably not actually perjury, either, but that’s a side point).

Ralph L said...

Volunteer Monica had sex with Clinton and then got a paying WH job. If lying about that isn't material to Jones's lawsuit, I don't know what perjury is.

William said...

She was not the most ridiculous figure in the scandal, but she underwent the most ridicule. Then she died of cancer. Her life was not blessed.

Wince said...

BJK said...
Pretty sure Ellen Cleghorne would disagree with you on that one (as would Danitra Vance).
Cleghorn joined the cast of SNL in 1991, which would have overlapped the confirmation hearings for Justice Thomas.


You know, that was my gut instinct, but on quick look I read the numbers in the following Essence article as years, not sequence.

My bad.

cacimbo said...

Tripp did worse by Lewinsky than the Clintons. Lewinsky and Chelsea were the only two I felt bad for when the drama was happening. Now decades later Lewinsky appears to have been the only one whose life was destroyed.

Iman said...

Cleghorne played Anita Hill.

Bilwick said...

"You have no idea what these people are capable of."--Monica Lewinsky to Linda Tripp

"Oh, I have some idea."--ghost of Jeffrey Epstein

Bilwick said...

"You have no idea what these people are capable of."--Monica Lewinsky to Linda Tripp

"Oh, I have some idea."--ghost of Jeffrey Epstein

KellyM said...

Blogger h said...
"Reminder: in 1983, the House ethics committee published a report (on the investigation of two COngressmen who had sex with Congressional pages) that said "any sexual relationship between a member of the House of Representatives and a congressional page, or any sexual advance by a member to a page, represents a serious breach of duty." Anita Hill was 1991."

If I'm not mistaken, one of the Congresscritters was Gerry Studds, Dem Rep from MA, preying on 16 year old male pages. He issued a typical "sorry, not sorry" statement and resigned his post, slinking back to his district on the Cape.

Annie said...

Tripp was interviewed and talked about how the Clintons and their goons would treat people. She became concerned with Monica because she was too emotionally attached to Clinton and getting clingy which she thought was putting her in danger. One of the reasons she did what she did - expose the affair - she felt it would give Monica a level of protection against the 'shadows' the Clintons used to threaten/silence anyone perceived as a threat. It was also to protect herself..but she believed Lewinsky was in danger.