June 14, 2018

"It’s becoming a cultish thing, isn’t it? It’s not a good place for any party to end up with a cultlike situation as it relates to a president that happens to be of — purportedly — of the same party."

Said Senator Bob Corker, quoted in "Republicans embrace the ‘cult’ of Trump, ignoring warning signs," which is The Washington Post's response to this week's primaries, including the one in South Carolina, where a promising GOP newcomer, Katie Arrington, beat the well-known Mark Sanford in the Senate race the race for his congressional district.  WaPo identifies Sanford as "a firmly conservative member of Congress who had survived earlier scandal." It doesn't mention that he was the governor of South Carolina (when he became a national laughing stock, "walking the Appalachian Trail")( and that explains why my tag for him is "Gov. Sanford").

Why shouldn't WaPo celebrate Arrington's victory and exult at the rejection of the disgraced Mark Sanford? Why not use the template Women Triumph Over Sleazy Men? I know WaPo has that template, but I assume the answer is that everything must be understood through the loathing of Donald Trump.

Sanford criticized Trump, and Trump tweeted in support of Arrington. That seems to reflect the simple popularity of the man who got himself elected President, but somehow that's a "cult." By the way, was Obama a cult? I don't mind the use of the word "cult" to describe and explain personal political popularity, but WaPo is so aggressively slanted these days. It's propaganda. It's the cult of hating Trump.
Trump’s closest allies have largely dismissed the “cult” commentary, as Corker put it, as evidence of cultural and class tension inside the Beltway.
Oh!  As Corker put it. It's Corker's word, and when WaPo uses the word, it puts the word in quotation marks. Well, all right then. Journalism credibility protected — with scare quotes. And they go to the other side for balance. Look, it's Scaramucci again:
“They keep saying the cult stuff because they don’t like the disruption and change,” said former White House communications director and financier Anthony Scaramucci. “He doesn’t speak with an elitist vocabulary and the savoir faire that Washingtonians are used to,” referring to Trump.
The next line is a warning:
Disruption works both ways, however, and is no guarantee of success in midterm elections, which are often perilous to a president.
As if the Washington Post is inclined to give good advice to the GOP.

And then it's back to the Trump antagonists, this time to address the unstated question that WaPo must know readers have (and I said it myself, above, was Obama a cult?):
“I don’t think we, or any president, demanded personal loyalty to the degree Trump has,” said David Axelrod, an Obama adviser during his first campaign and term. “We made appeals around shared goals, ideals and agendas. We didn’t play in primaries. Popular as he was, Obama’s party was not the cult that the GOP is today.”
Here's the influential Trump tweet:


Ha ha. Argentina. Click on my "Appalachian Trail" link above. Sanford, as governor, told people he was off to hike the Appalachian Trail — so wholesome! — but he went to Argentina — to commit adultery.

99 comments:

Tina Trent said...

There was nothing cultish about those schoolchildren singing songs to Obama while wearing matching blue shirts with the word "change" on them.

Was nobody else haunted by Up With People?

Darrell said...

Popular as he was, Obama’s party was not the cult that the GOP is today.

Hence the photoshopped halos on Obama's images and the school children singing Barack Obama um um um.

Darrell said...

The Left B Crazy.

Paco Wové said...

David Axelrod is always my go-to guy for analysis of the state of the Republican party.

Darrell said...

A corker is usually a dried turd that resides directly behind the sphincter that requires extraordinary effort to push out so that the bowel movement can proceed.

Mike Sylwester said...

I subscribed to The Washington Post for many years, and so I remember when it was involved in professional journalism.

rehajm said...

He's almost gone.

Mike Sylwester said...

I think Trump is a buffoon, and I think that journalists of this kind are buffoons too.

robinintn said...

Corker has had his tiny little panties in a twist ever since the “sources say Trump is considering Corker for SoS” rumor was floated (by Corker of course), and Trump didn’t bite.

Robert Cook said...

As bagoh20 insists there is a big "thing" called "Trumpism,", we can say confidently Trump's popularity is a cultish thing for at least one person.

Ann Althouse said...

Thanks, Darrell. That helped a lot.

Leland said...

People who step away from "mainstream" beliefs are often called cultist, even if their leaving is because don't believe anyone's BS anymore.

The really sad thing here is that Sanford felt comfortable running for a public office again. A guy that stupid and impulsive doesn't need authority over anyone.

Darrell said...

You're welcome, Ann.
Anytime.

Temujin said...

There was and is no more cult-like following in American politics than the Kennedy's, followed closely by Obama. Kennedy people could stick a woman in a car and send that car into a body of water, watch her drown from the shore, and the worst that would happen is that the Kennedy would not be elected President but would (after years of disgusting behavior with women) still be called the 'Lion of the Senate' by his cult worshipers.

With Obama, he could just stand up in front of the podium, looking good, and say the most trite things. Often things you would expect a 10th grader to utter (we're the ones we've been waiting for), and men and women of the cult would get wobbly-kneed, some actually fainting. (remember when it was a thing to count the number of people who fainted at an Obama speech?). Like some Beatles concert. Or a gathering with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Obama's team was thoroughly a cult. If you did not worship that cult, you were expelled. Under threat of expulsion there were no leaks. You had to be pure in your belief that He was the coming.

For both Kennedy and Obama, the press remains in the front row of this cult. They are the ones who get flogged and reply, "Thank you, sir, May I have another?" Trump? Not so much. He picks people he thinks will follow his lead. If he finds they don't, he lets them go. Just like in a real business.

Mark said...

Was the adulation and glorification of "The One," together with images and graphics reminiscent of the Soviet era, a cult?

Bay Area Guy said...

Corker talks about the "cult,"

Corker ignores the conservative accomplishments of the Prez as tallied by The Heritage Foundation such as tax cuts, regulation cuts, and conservative judicial appointments.

Corker ignores the economic growth. .

Corker must be one of those fellows who is "easily distracted".

rehajm said...

What is it with these guys that they must try to burn everything down on their way out? Is it just petty ego driven shit or do they think it's somehow constructive to their little world- if I call Trump followers cultists he won't drain the swamp!?

Matt Sablan said...

You can't blame Sanford for thinking we'd stop crying about Argentina. I mean. Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are the leading men in their parties. Not exactly paragons of marital fidelity them.

Oso Negro said...

There was certainly a cult of Obama. I had to look away in horror when I saw that my brother had displayed a photograph of Obama’s dog in his home. He was a mellifluous mulatto, a secret Shi’ite, a middling intellect and apparently a closeted homosexual. But clearly, the One that many Americans had been yearning for

Bob Boyd said...

I'll bet when the WAPO quotes Corker, they don't tell us that he was responding to the reporter asking him if he thinks Trumps support is a cult.

traditionalguy said...

Corker nd the Anti Trumpers are the cultists.They expect the Congress works by taking the biggest bribe bidder's money and then lying to the voters about being for Conservative balanced budget BS.The trouble is that what they preach is never what they vote for, unless by a coincidence the biggest bribe offer came from a donor that wanted it.

That damn Trump only wants what is best for Americans...why that's a cult... like the Andrew Jacksonian Cult of the 1820s that wanted to win.

gilbar said...

they had the opportunity for a great headline, and missed it. They could have wrote:

Voters tell Sanford to Take A Hike

mockturtle said...

The GOPe are still infuriated that the upstart has left them in the dust. The 'cult' of Trump should tell them that--just maybe!--they were not understanding their base. And, sadly, do not want to understand it.

Gahrie said...

Get back to me when people start publishing pictures of Trump with a halo.....

Luke Lea said...

“I don’t think we, or any president, demanded personal loyalty to the degree Trump has,” said David Axelrod, . . .

Maybe because no other president has bucked his own party's establishment as well as the opposition party's? He's like one man taking on the world, both in his own mind and in the minds of many of his fans. Any hint of disloyalty is interpreted as evidence that, the moment he show signs of failing, the knives will be out, which of course they already have been on a number of occasions. Has there ever been another moment like it in American history?

Tommy Duncan said...

Self awareness is not a strong suit of Trump's opposition. But perspective is not useful in breathless journalism.

Matt Sablan said...

I think Obama telling the GOP I won and freezing them out of meetings was a pretty clear call for loyalty. Trump is pretty tolerant of disloyalty. Look how long it took him to can Comey and how many people in his administration openly undermined him for how long before he did anything. The first IG to investigate Obama was slandered and fired.

Matt Sablan said...

I see Trump's demands for loyalty as the extension of what we saw under Obama. Does anyone think Clinton didn't demand loyalty? It is also a learned behavior. Look at his early administration when he was more lax on loyalty.

William said...

I don't see anything admirable in Trump's marital record. I'd just as soon he didn't invite Kim Kardashian into the Oval Office for consultations. Nonetheless, I voted for him and probably will again. He's got many personal failings, but he's right about more things than Obama and Hillary.

William said...

Ponder Warren Harding. The man was no great intellect, and he cheated on his wife. He was, nonetheless, a better man than Woodrow Wilson and a far more successful president.

Rusty said...

Mike Sylwester said...
I think Trump is a buffoon,

I'm beginning to think that the buffoon is a personae he puts up. People always seem to under estimate him.

Tina Trent said...

@rehajm 7:03: the first one. What do they have to go back to but the consequences of their behavior without the protections of ofice? Tenure has destroyed academia, but maybe ex-Senators and Congressmen would be less trouble in the long run if we just gave them free emeritus offices in the Capitol for life and a few interns for distraction.

Bill Crawford said...

From Mike Allen's Axios email this morning, "When everything is hyperbole, words lose their force and meaning."

And he thought he was talking about Trump.

Seeing Red said...

Have we had a photo of Trump looking at himself in a mirror yet?

Seeing Red said...

You don’t have to fall in love, you just have to fall in line.

Sebastian said...

"everything must be understood through the loathing of Donald Trump"

Of course.

They are betting it will return them to power. They are counting on NeverTrumpers like Corker to help them. I think they are betting and counting right.

Ann Althouse said...

How is that Trump tweet characterizable as a demand for loyalty? "Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina. I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love. She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie!"

He's just saying he doesn't support Sanford because Sanford isn't helping him and he endorses Arrington. Failing to support your antagonists is some sort of imperious insistence on loyalty??

Anonymous said...

“I don’t think we, or any president, demanded personal loyalty to the degree Trump has,” said David Axelrod, an Obama adviser during his first campaign and term. “We made appeals around shared goals, ideals and agendas. We didn’t play in primaries. Popular as he was, Obama’s party was not the cult that the GOP is today.”

This is bullshit, of course, but I think this is another example of the desperate flailing around for a "power word". They got spoiled during all those years when simply chanting "racist" smote their enemies with its magical powers, but it's not working very well anymore, and reciting mumbo jumbo to ward off evil is all they know. "'Cult'? Oooh, that sounds good and creepy, it might work. Let's throw it around and see if it sticks."

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Get back to me when people start publishing pictures of Trump with a halo.....

Yep. Nose in the air, haughty glare like Stalin's "hero" posters. And how many different versions of Halo Obama did all the news photogs create? Nuthin' cultish about that.

Bay Area Guy said...

If some Republicans don't like Trump (which is fine), I'd suggest focusing the critique on his policies, not persona.

Lotta GOP types don't want tarrifs or increased border security. Reasonable minds can differ. So, feel free to attack the issues with gusto, rather than the man. The "Get Trump" Squad may eventually get him, depending on how things break, but so far they just look stupid and inept.

readering said...

Corker talking about GOP fear to challenge Trump on free trade, which had been such a big GOP issue until his election.

I can't believe Trump tweet on primary affected outcome. Less than three hours before polls closed.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Trump endorses the woman candidate.

Martha said...

CULT was the word of the day. Morning Joe began their show yesterday bemoaning the fact that the Republican Party had become the Cult of Trump.....because the Luv Gov Sanford lost to a Trump supporter.

Wince said...

“He doesn’t speak with an elitist vocabulary and the savoir faire that Washingtonians are used to,” referring to Trump.

Thanks to the Mooch for reminding me of Klondike Kat's rodent nemesis.

"Savior Faire is Everywhere!"

"He'll never touch one of the Governor [Sanford's] creampuffs!"

"I'll make mincemeat out of you mouse!"

chickelit said...

Didn’t Obama exhort his people to: “reward thy friends and punish thine enemies”?

Sydney said...

I see that everyone else had the same reaction. I have never seen a political cult like the cult of Obama. I remember shortly after Obama's election coming across a children's picture book in Target about his life. It read like a life of a saint, and he hadn't even been inaugurated yet. This talk of a Trump cult is pure projection.

readering said...

I supported Obama as a better candidate than Clinton, McCain and Romney. But I could comment on his faults. folks manage to turn Trump's faults into strengths. That's cultish.

Chuck said...

Althouse -
As if the Washington Post is inclined to give good advice to the GOP.


Lulz. As if non-Republicans Ann Althouse, Scott Adams and Sean Hannity were inclined to give good advice to the GOP.

Seeing Red said...

Why in the world are they bitching a woman beat a man?

readering said...

Great photo released of Trump saluting N Korean in uniform (general?).

Michael K said...

Chuck is up and on message, I see.

I have been trying to figure Corker out. What is going on with him?

There is the old story that every Senator sees a president when he looks in the mirror.

Maybe Corker really thought he was going to be a possible candidate. Why resign ? Are things not working out like he hoped originally ?

He's a rich man and sees another rich man doing what he hasn't been able to do. Maybe that is all it is.

Marty said...

Martha said, CULT was the word of the day.

Good thing there is no central leftwing propaganda bureau dictating the party line of the day! Amazing how these geniuses all come up with these notions on their own.

As a card-carrying deplorable, I'm happy to know that we're in such good hands.

Chuck said...

I really appreciate the application of the "Gov. Sanford" blog-tag.

It made it easy for me to go back and see what Althouse commenters' view of Mark Sanford was, before he dared to say anything personally disloyal to the God Emperor.

Michael said...

The WaPo is amazing, and not in a good way. I actually sent them $100 so I could keep reading Megan McArdle, and now I get the "Post Most" email every day highlighting the most read stories in the paper. Out of 8 or 10, maybe one or two is anything other than aggressively anti-Trump. These people have lost their bleeding minds.

Birkel said...

readering: "...Obama... better candidate..."

On this much we can agree. With nearly 100% positive coverage Obama was indeed viewed by the average American as a better candidate. That much is beyond dispute.

As for governance, which is the only thing that matters from an elected official, Obama was the worst president of the modern era. He far exceeded Carter and Nixon for terrible policy. Obama strangled the economy to its worst performance for any president in the modern era. Obama's legacy has been largely erased because he could not marshal the Democrats to support his policies when they had filibuster-proof majorities. Obama was intimately involved in degrading the civil liberties of Americans by misuse of the alphabet soup agencies.

You were the willing mark. You bought the iron sulfide.

Sam L. said...

WaPoo strikes again!

Birkel said...

Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire, implies that conservatives had loads of praise for Sanford in previous threads. But reading the comments I find Leftists sarcastically congratulating Republicans. There are conservatives happy that Sanford beat Colbert Busch on those old threads. But those conservatives say little in support of Sanford.

Chuck's implication is deception, if not a lie.

FleetUSA said...

The Obama cult = racism to disagree with him.

eric said...

If he would have won, the story would be, "In Trump era, adulterers elected to public office with higher frequency." Or some nonsense like that.

Trump figured out awhile ago it ls lose/lose with these guys.

So don't play their game.

Chuck said...

Birkel said...
Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire, implies that conservatives had loads of praise for Sanford in previous threads. But reading the comments I find Leftists sarcastically congratulating Republicans. There are conservatives happy that Sanford beat Colbert Busch on those old threads. But those conservatives say little in support of Sanford.

Chuck's implication is deception, if not a lie.


Don't you think it remarkable, that a largely shameless adulterer like Donald Trump would publish a sarcastic Tweet about Sanford's Argentine infidelity?

That's honestly (obviously?) one of my big problems with Trump. He loves the personal attack. That is why I love the personal attacks on Trump. It's not policy. It's personal.

Bob Corker and Jeff Flake and John McCain have voted with Trump's position(s) plenty of times.

Matt Sablan said...

"Obama strangled the economy to its worst performance for any president in the modern era."

-- You can't even argue against that. The stimulus was such a failure, the economy did worse than they predicted it would do without it. Even by Obama's own metrics, the stimulus killed the economy.

Birkel said...

Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire,

My comment was directed toward your false implication that commenters here were supportive of MARK SANFORD.

Your effort at obfuscation is noted. But I won't let you get away with it. You may misdirect toward Trump as you please, but it will continue to be in pursuit of covering your own falsehoods.

As for Trump's personal attacks, I will weigh that against your racism, sexism, and homophobia and appropriately discount your opinion to zero on issues of personality.

Matt Sablan said...

I don't think I was ever supportive of Sanford; I did mention in a recent thread that I can see why he thought he'd get a pass. Clinton and Trump showed him the way, but, alas, apparently going abroad for his trysts was a step too far for the people who think "put some ice on it" and Stormy Daniels are acceptable in our political leaders.

Kevin said...

I don't think Trump has achieved "lightworker" status yet, so I don't know why the left is so worried.

Dude1394 said...

Really axelrod? Wasn't it one Bill Clinton who was promised blowjobs in return for policy positions?

That's a LOT OF LOYALTY brotha'.

Kevin said...

Meanwhile the anti-authoritarian left is still looking for someone to lead them to the promised land:

The desire among Democrats for Obama to take a more leading role in the midterm fight and party building in general is just getting stronger, particularly with the lack of alternatives.

“There’s f---ing no one else,” one frustrated Democratic strategist said. “Bill Clinton is toxic, [former President] Carter is too old, and there’s no one else around for miles.”

Matt Sablan said...

Hillary Clinton is ready for her close up, Mr. Frustrated Democrat Strategist.

Yancey Ward said...

Chuck wrote:

"I really appreciate the application of the "Gov. Sanford" blog-tag.

It made it easy for me to go back and see what Althouse commenters' view of Mark Sanford was, before he dared to say anything personally disloyal to the God Emperor.
"

Well, Chuckles, I did go back and read entire threads that you referenced above, and guess what- they don't demonstrate what you are implying. I couldn't find a single comment from any of today's commentators in this thread that was complimentary towards Sanford and his behavior- not a single one. Some even wanted him to lose to Stephen Colbert's sister. So, happiness at Sanford's defeat on Tuesday isn't really out of character at all. I think it is a pity that the Republicans in SC gave him the nomination in the special election in 2013, but finally corrected course this week.

Chuck said...

Yancey Ward, I didn't see, and never expected to see, anybody congratulating Sanford on an extramarital affair.

I did expect to see people siding with Sanford as a conservative legislator, and so we saw that. The people siding with Colbert's sister were the usual lefties, now mostly vanished from Atlhouse.

And really, if the Trumpists are going to go all high-morals on Mark Sanford, I CANNOT WAIT for more news from Michael Cohen's 14 cellphones and multiple laptops, on whether it was really Elliott Broidy (lol) or Trump, who got Shera Bechard pregnant. Before her abortion.

#EvangelicalGutShot

Comanche Voter said...

Cult? Unlike our New Messiah, the Lightworker (actually more of a "light", not to say nonexistent Worker), Trump has not yet promised to halt the rise of the ocean. On the hubris scale, Trump--while noisy--is still a rookie compared to Obama.

Birkel said...

Nobody that I read is excited to be rid of Sanford for his moral failings. People are happy he is gone for policy reasons. Katie Arrington ran on policy.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

The GOPe are still infuriated that the upstart has left them in the dust. The 'cult' of Trump should tell them that--just maybe!--they were not understanding their base. And, sadly, do not want to understand it.

I disagree, I think they understand their base quite well, they just have no interest in addressing their concerns. The GOPe is about promising the base the moon, and then finding some excuse to do the opposite. Its unmistakably clear that the GOPe, and indeed the majority of Americans, want the immigration laws enforced and an end to disadvantageous trade deals. Nonetheless, the current congressional leadership, with a Republican majority in both the House and Senate, is still trying to slip in an amnesty bill. This is why Trump is popular, because he not only understands his base, he tries to deliver what they desire to them.

Birkel said...

People do make fun of Sanford. He is incredibly useful as the butt of a joke.

Make jokes about Trump. Not clapter jokes. But actual jokes. That strategy might work if LLRs had a sense of humor. They don't.

Michael K said...

whether it was really Elliott Broidy (lol) or Trump, who got Shera Bechard pregnant. Before her abortion.

Chuck, this rumor mongering is a bit low even for you.

These two cases were blackmail. Obvious even to you.

Interesting to see you siding with blackmailers. Stormy's lawyer is in deep shit.

Is that your image of a successful lawyer ?

The story of how Avenatti ran his firm as it maneuvered into bankruptcy tells a lot about the way he operates, testing legal and ethical boundaries. He owns 75% of Eagan Avenatti; 25% belongs to San Francisco lawyer Michael Eagan.

The firm’s bankruptcy ended in March, but its failure to honor the settlement terms has proved costly.

Eagan Avenatti was hit with a $10-million judgment last week after Avenatti broke his promise to start paying $5 million to Frank, who alleged in arbitration that the firm cheated him out of his earnings.

Michael Cohen, the lawyer who paid Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Donald Trump, cited the judgment in urging a judge to reject Avenatti’s request to participate in a New York court dispute over FBI raids on Cohen’s home, office and hotel room.


I guess that's one of your heroes.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

He's just saying he doesn't support Sanford because Sanford isn't helping him and he endorses Arrington. Failing to support your antagonists is some sort of imperious insistence on loyalty??

Forget about it Professor, its Chinatown. As others up thread have noted, its just another attempt to stigmatize Trump supporters. Its an attempt to frame the situation linguistically to their advantage. You know, propaganda.

Chuck said...

Birkel said...
Nobody that I read is excited to be rid of Sanford for his moral failings. People are happy he is gone for policy reasons. Katie Arrington ran on policy.


So yes, I was quite honestly interested in that. What were the policy differences between Sanford and Arrington? Policy differences can be hard to find, in lots of primaries, which is why lots of incumbents win.

I was aware, of course, of the SC-1 primary. But I didn't follow it closely on a policy basis.

If someone can fill me in on a good reason, policywise, to be happy about Trumpist Arrington's winning, I might actually be happy to hear it.

Chuck said...

Michael K said...
whether it was really Elliott Broidy (lol) or Trump, who got Shera Bechard pregnant. Before her abortion.

Chuck, this rumor mongering is a bit low even for you.

These two cases were blackmail. Obvious even to you.
...


So you're saying that Trump never had sex with them? Are you saying that Elliott Broidy was blackmailed? For what? Are you suggesting that Shera Bechard blackmailed Trump? For what? We were told that the NDA was for Elliott Broidy.

Hunter said...

Chuck said...
Don't you think it remarkable, that a largely shameless adulterer like Donald Trump would publish a sarcastic Tweet about Sanford's Argentine infidelity?

You may have forgetten that Sanford's trouble wasn't just about infidelity. He literally went missing (The Governor is Missing -- the latest thriller from James Patterson!) for several days and no one knew where he was, not even his wife or security detail. The lie about hiking the Appalachian Trail was after the fact.

One could not care about the infidelity at all, and that would still be pretty serious grounds for criticism!

Hunter said...

So you're saying that Trump never had sex with them?

And Chuck, how in the hell would any of us know whether he did or didn't?

The usual course for a rational person would be to not assume something is true just because it was claimed, absent any evidence.

Birkel said...

Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire, I have a standing policy not to take homework assignments from the internet. You're not exceptional.

Inform yourself.

Seeing Red said...

If someone can fill me in on a good reason, policywise, to be happy about Trumpist Arrington's winning, I might actually be happy to hear it.


There goes Chuck moving the goal posts.

Seeing Red said...

Corker’s bobbin cause there wasn’t a Corker Cult. I coulda been a contenda!

readering said...

I do think Shera Bechard's photo should be in the phraseology dictionary next to TDS.

Chuck said...

Hunter said...
Chuck said...
"Don't you think it remarkable, that a largely shameless adulterer like Donald Trump would publish a sarcastic Tweet about Sanford's Argentine infidelity?"

You may have forgetten that Sanford's trouble wasn't just about infidelity. He literally went missing (The Governor is Missing -- the latest thriller from James Patterson!) for several days and no one knew where he was, not even his wife or security detail. The lie about hiking the Appalachian Trail was after the fact.

One could not care about the infidelity at all, and that would still be pretty serious grounds for criticism!


Of course; that is all true about Sanford.

As with Trump; it is one thing, if Trump had sex with a porn star in a hotel room in Tahoe. It is quite another level of seriousness, if Trump paid off the porn star and in the process committed election law, tax law, bank reporting and wire fraud violations.

And an even higher level of seriousness, if he impregnated another woman, who aborted the pregnancy with Trump's knowledge or even assistance. And then paid her off, and then arranged for Broidy to act as the fall guy, while Broidy had business with the Executive Branch.

JaimeRoberto said...

It's cults all the way down.

Jim at said...

Fake Greek columns = Not a cult

Vance said...

One thing is for certain: Trump easily has a slander case against Chuck. The high standard of malice aforethought is easily proven in his case.

Chuck would hold his head high: "Your honor, of course I lied to slander, smear, and spread villainous rumors and vicious lies about Trump and his family! It was my duty as a Deep State Defender to mislead in an attempt to bring down a Republican President!"

Chuck said...

Vance said...
One thing is for certain: Trump easily has a slander case against Chuck. The high standard of malice aforethought is easily proven in his case.

Chuck would hold his head high: "Your honor, of course I lied to slander, smear, and spread villainous rumors and vicious lies about Trump and his family! It was my duty as a Deep State Defender to mislead in an attempt to bring down a Republican President!"


See you in court!

Trump might, however, want to start with New York magazine, before me:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/theory-playboy-model-had-affair-with-trump-not-broidy.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/more-evidence-that-broidy-was-covering-for-trump-in-affair.html

Then again, Trump has such a shitty record in libel actions:

https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/02/donald-trump-tim-obrien-courtroom-story/

Michael K said...

So you're saying that Trump never had sex with them? Are you saying that Elliott Broidy was blackmailed? For what? Are you suggesting that Shera Bechard blackmailed Trump? For what? We were told that the NDA was for Elliott Broidy.

What a weak response !

We don't know that Trump had sex with the whore. She has no evidence and was a decade ago. All she has is a photo at a golf tournament. The amount in the NDA that she violated was not much. Not for a guy like Trump. It looked like "go away" money to me.

Listen, I got sued for malpractice about 1993 for a kid I operated in in 1986, before HIV was discovered, because he got AIDS in 1993. He had gotten 8 units of blood while I was saving his life.

The malpractice carrier offered $1500 and the parents took it. A defense would have cost 20 times that or more. You should know that.

You are a billionaire running for president and some whore comes up with a photo at a golf tournament 10 years before.

Come on. You know better !

The stuff about the Playboy bunny who was blackmailing the other guy, also a rich man. never even said anything, I know of, about Trump.

You are inventing your slander out of whole cloth. I wonder if the Michigan Bar Association would be interested ?

Michael K said...

New York Magazine. There is a reliable source.

Michael K said...

Chuck, I actually read one of your links.

Trump, I pointed out, is exactly the kind of man who has affairs with women like Shera Bechard, while Broidy has a history of bribing public officials to further his business interests

Boy is that some kind of evidence !

You should be ashamed but I know that is not an emotion in your repertoire,

Chuck said...

Michael K;

You wanna bet, on whether it is someday revealed that Trump was the father of Shera Bechard's aborted pregnancy?

I don't know for sure, yet. But that's what bets are all about. An even bet is all I am asking for. If you are so confident that New York Maagazine is full of shit and the story can't possibly be true, then I think I'll ask for 10-to-1 odds.

Michael K said...

You wanna bet, on whether it is someday revealed that Trump was the father of Shera Bechard's aborted pregnancy?

Chuck, didn't you ever learn that wishing distorts your understanding of odds and th chances of gambling?

Are you a compulsive gambler ?

You sound like one.

No, I don't bet. Time will tell but you have zero evidence but wishing.

If she had some dna, she would have a case, unlike the whore.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Mike Sylwester @6:49... Cuck talk. Stuff it, dipshit.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Cuck Sablan @ 10:47 whining about Stormy Daniels. Put some ice on it, cuck. A billion celebrity had an affair 7 years ago, and he said pussy 13 years ago. That's exactly like the governor of a state raping someone, or the president of the United States diddling a teenager in the oval office. GTFOH....

jg said...

is 'cultish' their new 'dark'?

FIDO said...

So Stephen Colbert and Robert DiNiro being able to shout 'Fuck Trump' and expect (and get) standing ovations is not cultish...but Paul Ryan arguing w Trump about his agenda IS cultish.

It is the Spaghetti Style of Media Manipulation: throw anything against the wall and see what sticks.

Trump is an ass. He is an EFFECTIVE ass. That is as far as my 'devotion' goes. He certainly didn't send a tingle up my leg (though my spine at his nomination is another story).

Contrast that to the demands of loyalty due to Hillary having a vagina.

FIDO said...

It is interesting to note that the Democrats are salivating at the prospect of Obama campaigning for Dems in the midterms (and in opposition to Presidential custom) because, and I quote 'we got no one else'.

No you don't. And I doubt you really have him.

Obama is too thin skinned to go Mano y Mano with a thug like Trump.

readering said...

Fake Greek columns: Cult

Fake movie trailer: Brilliant stagecraft