The Moral Outrage Over Donald Trump’s Lewd Comments Is Misplaced

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Margot Anderson:

Donald Trump’s lewd description of his fondness for beautiful women, expressed privately in the company of other men, has sparked a flood of denunciations among Republicans and Democrats alike. House Speaker Paul Ryan was quick to disinvite Trump from a Wisconsin rally, proclaiming that women should be “revered,” not “objectified.” The Republican National Committee has suspended all mailing efforts supporting the Trump campaign. The list of those who were once #TenuouslyTrump but have now revoked support continues to grow.

No decent person thinks Trump’s decade-old comments are laudable or dignified. Indeed, they are coarse and boorish, more suitable to a frat boy or sailor than to the potential president of the United States. But isn’t the moral outrage a bit misplaced?

The chief offense Trump is being accused of is “objectifying women,” i.e. denying their dignity and humanity. But isn’t abortion the ultimate objectification of a human being? Abortion treats human life as a disposable clump of cells.

Objectifying Women Is Okay If They’re Small

During last week’s vice presidential debate, Hillary Clinton running mate Tim Kaine defended a woman’s “right” to seek an abortion, even a late-stage one. There was nary a peep—no screeching for his removal from the ticket or even calling for his excommunication from the Catholic Church. Apparently, it is far less reprehensible to defend the killing of human life in public than to speak like a boor in private. (One can’t help but wonder if Trump would have gotten off easier for shooting someone on Fifth Avenue.)

The reaction to Trump’s comments stems in part from identity politics, the focus of the Clinton campaign and something the elite Right has largely bought into. Trump, a heterosexual white male, spoke like a (churlish) heterosexual (white) male at the expense of women, and this must spark intense and righteous indignation because women are a permanent—and large—element of the victim class.

We can speak of the life-and-death matter of abortion in dispassionate, polite tones and agree to disagree, but a heterosexual white male can never, ever speak disparagingly (or critically) of a member of the victim class, even in private. Republicans’ glee in joining the Trump takedown shows the wheels are already greased for Clinton’s identity-politics agenda if she gets elected.

Why Isn’t Turnabout Fair Play?

Speaking of things that one is or is not allowed to say, Hillary Clinton has illegally communicated matters of national security on an unclassified, personal email server, and she has defended her husband, whose conduct toward women is far more questionable than Trump’s. Yet no one is seriously saying she shouldn’t be on the ballot, on either the Right or the Left.

Clinton even targeted possibly a quarter of the electorate with her “basket of deplorables” comment before television cameras, yet that was little more than a speed bump for her campaign.

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“It’s just sex”

That’s what they said about Bubba

For the record I am personally opposed to abortion and would always advise counseling adoption—and easing restrictions on a couple’s ability to adopt.

I do not have the right to tell a woman what to do with HER body—nor do I have the right to grab ANY part of her body without her consent–PERIOD

Does anybody disagree with that?

Trying to defend Trump by playing the abortion card is a pretty big stretch. Anyway, moving on …

Trump is no longer playing to win the election. He knows he’s lost. I heard a great quote from a GOP lobbyist on NPR this morning: “His backers — 35% of the electorate — are lying face down in Kool-Aid.”

Trump is positioning himself to be the leader of a fierce, persistent, opposition to the Clinton Presidency — and, I think, to prepare the way for his son’s candidacy in 2020 (see below). The Tea Party is dead. The GOP will be at the mercy of the Trumpsters until after the 2020 election. Between 2016 and 2018, Trump will be all the GOP has to keep its spirits up. There will be government lockdown the likes of which we’ve never seen, if the GOP somehow retains control of the Senate. If the Dems win the Senate, they’ll have to invoke the nuclear option for SCOTUS nominations, which will further energize Trumpsters.

In the 2018 election, the GOP will probably do pretty well, and their candidates will largely be Trump approved. Ryan will be out. The old center-right GOP conservatives will be out. So the Trumpsters will continue to hold sway until 2020. What happens then depends on Hillary’s health, Donald’s health, and whom Donald annoints as his heir apparent (quite possibly Donald J Trump, Jr, who will be 43 on inauguration day, 2021). But there will be a Trump like candidate emerge, once again. And he’ll (and I’m sure it will be a “he”) get beat down badly, once again.

Only then will the GOP begin to reshape itself and emerge from the rubble. The problem is that, in 2020, the Dems will do well, as in 2016 (they will do increasingly well in Presidential election years, owing to the inexorable march of voter demographics**). So that means that the GOP won’t be able to gerrymander the congressional districts, as they did in 2010, allowing them to control the House, even in the Presidential election years, when the total Dem votes nationally for House races is greater than that of GOP votes — but the GOP wins more seats, thanks to gerrymandering.

What will hopefully emerge for the GOP will be a sensible, principled, center-right party, more in line with the way it was during the period of 1948 to 1988. It will be good for the GOP and good for the nation.

**e.g. In 1988, GHW Bush got 59% of the white vote, and won in a landslide over Dukakis. In 2012, Romney got the same 59%, but lost to Obama. This shows the futility of writing off blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Asians, gays, atheists, and, most importantly, socially tolerant millennials.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/politics/donald-trump-paul-ryan-tweets/

The blatant and profound dishonesty of today’s rabid right seems to have no limits.

The crude ugliness spewed from Trumps sewer of a mouth could be forgiven if it weren’t for the totalitarian, promoting of sexual assaults, and arrogance of the context. Trump was bragging how he could grope women against their will and they could do nothing other than shut the hell up because of his superstar status, that his power and prominence gave him the right to grab vaginas at will. That’s a considerable difference than simply chastising him for having a potty mouth.

And the abortion argument (a law brought to us by the predomidenty conservative Burger Court and Nixon) is equally misleading and nonsensical. Even aside from the argument of right to choose, the rabid right pretends to assume that voiding Roe v Wade would simply eliminate the issue, that it would be “problem solved, next case please”.

One little mistake or slip of the tounge by the GOP and the media sharks will be circling their smelling blood and the feeding frenzie begins just like with Quayle misspelling Potato and Cheneys hunting accident

Trump, a heterosexual white male, spoke like a (churlish) heterosexual (white) male at the expense of women

Actually, he was speaking more like one of the rap “artists” that campaign for liberals and are invited to the White House.

@Richard Wheeler:

I do not have the right to tell a woman what to do with HER body—nor do I have the right to grab ANY part of her body without her consent–PERIOD

Does anybody disagree with that?

Well, I do, though I think abortion after 20 weeks should be outlawed, unless a strictly defined medical emergency. I don’t think a woman that excused and enabled her husband’s sexual assaults should be President. Someone that simply said it could happen is far less bad.

In essence, the left celebrates a liberal celebrity that DOES what Trump said CAN happen. The left reveres and idolizes liberals that have killed women, raped women and worship the women who make the proper excuses so the liberal idols are not tarnished by their abuses.

Then, the preach morality.

@Bill… Deplorable Me:

There isn’t any credible evidence of sexual “assaults” by Clinton. There is infidelity, for sure, but, beyond that, simply allegations which are no more credible than even worse allegations (e.g. including pedophilia) directed against Trump.

And the idea that Hillary “excused and enabled” ASSAULTS is an outrageously false charge.

@Larry Weisenthal: Hmm… so the multiple victims are not credible?

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/10/09/breitbart-news-exclusive-video-interview-bill-clinton-accuser-juanita-broaddrick-breaks-describing-brutal-rapes/

True, $850,000 is an incredible amount to pay someone that has no case.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/jones111498.htm

Poor Bill… the victim of a long list of troublesome coincidences

http://www.albertpeia.com/oxfordassault.htm

Oh, that’s right… they’re all just “trailer trash”, that sympathetic euphemism applied to all of Bill’s victims accusers.

But, if nothing ever happens, why is the Clinton campaign worried about the impact these non-events will have on the campaign? That is confusing.

WikiLeaks Email Reveals Clinton Camp Fears Bill’s Sex Life Could Sink Campaign

Yep, nothing to see here. Just move along and vote for Honest Hillary and Pure Bill.

@Bill… Deplorable Me:

Clinton’s political career dates to 1973. There’s no doubt that he’s been sexually active. There is no credible evidence that he ever “assaulted” anyone. Unless you consider the following, identical types of allegations to be credible (and Trump has only been active in politics for a year and a half and therefore hasn’t begun to attract the adversarial scrutiny that Clinton has been attracting for 43 years.

http://fusion.net/story/328522/donald-trump-accused-rape-sexual-assault/

And trying to pin any of the above “raps” on Hillary is beyond the pale. Trump won’t win a single vote by trying to turn Hillary — victim of her husband’s infidelities — into any type of sexual co-conspirator. The worst thing that you can say is that she’s a wife who stood by her man. It’s not like she was pimping him out, which is basically what the Trump supporters are trying to convey.

The worst part of the Trump quote wasn’t the crude language, but what it revealed about Trump as a person. He bragged about his own sense of entitlement. “When you are rich and famous, you can take anything you want.”

The other thing to add is that the Clinton campaign is, if anything, more restrained in its criticism of the Trump revelations than has been the GOP, itself. It’s the GOP and not the Dems and certainly not Clinton who have introduced the concept that the private sex life of politicians is fair game for their political opponents.

@Larry Weisenthal: The simple point is this: Hillary claims to be a champion of women. She even made a statement that women that claim to be victims of sexual abuse HAVE to be believed. Yet, she viciously attacks those who claim, with plenty of evidence and credibility, anyone that has been Bill’s victim.

No, they aren’t unverified or unproven. There is PLENTY there and LOTS of people that have claimed to have been a part of it. Even currently, there’s Jeffery Epstein unsavory association. Young girls. Like Monica… Monica that Bill SWORE he did not have sex with. Oh, and, speaking of that, there’s Bill’s credibility.

So, Hillary, the champion of women, enabled Bill’s sexual assaults and attacked his victims to keep her political fortunes healthy. She attacked the victims of sexual assault to maintain her own career. Just like she defended a child rapist she knew was guilty… and chortled about it.

In the end, it isn’t Bill’s philandering or sexual crimes that are the specific issue. It’s Hillary’s reaction to them. And this makes her disqualified from taking any moral high ground on any woman’s issues.

The worst part of the Trump quote wasn’t the crude language, but what it revealed about Trump as a person. He bragged about his own sense of entitlement. “When you are rich and famous, you can take anything you want.”

You just don’t (or won’t) get it. Trump stated an absolute fact, which even before he said it, Slick Willie has proven. Powerful men can find women that that power will seduce or powerful men can do things to women and get away with it. Just like Bill did. Just like Hillary condoned.

The difference is, Trump only said it. You liberals celebrate the people that DO it.

@Bill… Deplorable Me:

Are you old enough to have lived through the Lewinsky affair? Do you know the details?

Monica manipulated her work schedule so that she’d have access to Bill after hours. She seduced him … flashed thong underwear at him. SHE was the one who first denied having sex with him … not lying, but using the convention of young people at the time, i.e. oral sex isn’t really sex. People who engage in oral sex are still virgins, if that’s all it is.

That’s the reason Bill didn’t commit perjury. He was very very careful about that. In his sworn deposition, the attorney examining him gave a very detailed description of what he (the attorney) meant by “sex.” He gave a long detailed description. Not one item in his description consisted of fellatio. So Bill was very careful, in his testimony, to make it clear that he and Monica did not engage in any actions as defined by the attorney.

And, again, there isn’t any credible evidence of “assault.” Unless, again, you ALSO deem Trump’s accusers to have been credible. Bill’s “list” of accusers is only longer than Trump’s, because Trump has not (yet) had political enemies, including, at times, teams of private investigators, going over everything in his life with a fine tooth comb for 40 years.

With respect to Hillary having “enabled” Bill — that’s utterly outrageous. Attacks like that are backfiring, even as we are quibbling over this, because women aren’t buying it. Sure, Hillary defended her husband. He deceived her. That’s on him; not on her. That’s the truth and that’s the way that women see it.

They would make a movie about liberal demacrats but the title DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS has already been used

The crude ugliness spewed by Bill Clinton sewer of a mouth could be forgiven if it weren’t for the totalitarian, promoting of sexual assaults, and arrogance of the context. Bill Clinton was bragging how he could grope women against their will and they could do nothing other than shut the hell up because of his superstar status, that his power and prominence gave him the right to rape vaginas at will. That’s a considerable difference than simply chastising him for having a potty mouth.

@Larry Weisenthal:

Monica manipulated her work schedule so that she’d have access to Bill after hours. She seduced him … flashed thong underwear at him. SHE was the one who first denied having sex with him

I remember it well. What bothered me the most about it was not Bill’s scumbaggery but the fact that he was so stupid and pu$$y-hungry that he set national security aside just so he could get his nut. My first thoughts were that of blackmail or espionage, not his sorry morals.

But, regardless of all that, the bottom line is that HE did it (with a 22 year old girl). THIS is what Trump was talking about; powerful or celebrity men can get and do whatever they want. While Trump interjected some crude references in his statement, what he said was an indictment of both the men and women of today.

Plus, again, Trump was making a statement… Clinton DID it. Repeatedly. Worse, Hillary, repeatedly, blamed and attacked the victims… including Monica. Oh, she hammered Bill as well, in private, for his stupidity, but publicly she maintained the front that best preserved her political legacy and future. The overriding indication in all this is that Hillary, Bill nor any of their supporters do not honestly care one bit about any of this… they are only interested in the value as a political attack.

Hillary needed Bill more than he needed her; his political career was over. So, Hillary could not just up and leave; without him and his coat tails, she was nothing (take a look at her list of accomplishments, if you doubt that). Yeah, she was in the full enable mode since she had independent chance.

Clinton’s accusers have been around telling their stories for almost 30 years. Trump’s only cropped up this year. Why have they been quiet? Trump has always been wealthy and vulnerable. He doesn’t even have a reputation of people turning up dead around them. But, they should have their accusations listened to, of course. Yet, I don’t believe (as Hillary obviously doesn’t) that anyone that makes an accusation gets the benefit of full credibility. The Duke LaCrosse team and Al Sharpton’s Tawana Brawley cases should council caution. It should be recognized that powerful and famous people draw this kind of fire, but that does not mean the accusations should be shrugged off.

Instead of calling all the accusers “trailer trash”, perhaps Hillary should have conducted thorough investigations to clear her and her husband’s names. Just like if she wanted everyone to believe she only had personal emails on her server, she should not have deleted and bleach-bit destroyed those emails the moment she heard there was a subpoena for them. Going into the full-defense mode immediately tends to provoke suspicions.

@Bill… Deplorable Me: TRUMP ONLY SAID IT

re O’Dell “I did try to fuck her. Moved on her like a bitch.”

Who you kidding Bill? Yourself??

@Richard Wheeler: Who are YOU kidding? Read the REST of it. Did he grab her pu$$y? No… he was bushed off. And, he didn’t RAPE her like Clinton does when he is told NO.