I think Trump and the Republicans WANT us to complain about Hatch Act violations...

[brooklynite]

1) It's an "inside the beltway" issue that voters don't care about

2) It distracts us from talking about issues voters DO care about (economy, COVID,etc.) where Trump is vulnerable

3) Bringing up corruption lets them rehash their Hunter Biden "scandals" to keep the base revved up and sell a "both sides do it" message to middle of the road voters.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Most of us knew.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. Of course they do. It's a sideshow act.

I bet a majority of this country couldn't even tell you what the hell the Hatch Act is, or what it means and why it's a big deal. That makes it a loser issue to debate because not only do you have to explain what it is - you have to explain why the President is violating it.

It's a rotten egg of an issue. Maybe if we weren't in the middle of a presidential election but we can't afford to take our eye off the ball on this one. Hitting the American people with some obscure act is not going to persuade voters. It just isn't.

[Freethinker65]

3. Trump thrives on breaking the law and getting away with it. It boosts his ego.

No one will do shit about it.

The Democrats will do their jobs, because that is what Democrats do.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. There were plenty of times the GOP cried about Obama violating the Hatch Act...

It's a convoluted, almost bureaucratic mess of a discussion to have because you not only have to explain to a significant amount of the country what it is, you then have you explain why the President is violating it. It's needless. It's a distraction.

This isn't new. Bush and Clinton both had their presidencies slapped by the federal watchdog who oversees the Hatch Act for apparent violations. Trump may be more brazen but this issue is a dud

[Freethinker65]

5. Yep. They are bitching about those in uniform during American Samoa's nomination of Biden.

I think the use of taxpayer money for large staged events to be later used in campaign ads is a bigger issue than using the WH or uniform as a prop.

[unblock]

6. It's all about privilege. He embodies *everything* about privilege

The lying
The exaggerations
The fabrications
The nepotism
The gifting
The corruption
The media bullying
The breaking of laws
The pardons
The talking about a third term
The talking about not accepting election results
The taking credit for Obama's achievements
The destroying of everything he built
The stupidity
The narcissism
The insulting anyone and everything
The dementia
The sexual assaults


*all* of it just goes to rub it in everyone's fact that he can get away with it because of privilege. His world is a hierarchical one and he's at the top so he can get away with anything and everything.

His fan club loves it because he pushes the social structure that lets white people think they're entitled to more than their fair share because they're white, men because they're men, etc.

And he embodies all that to the nth degree.

[2naSalit]

7. Out here in the hinterlands...

#1 is bs.

A large portion of the population are federal employees and former federal employees like myself. We had to know what the Hatch Act was and abide by it. Many thousands of us from the NPS, BLM, USFS, Several military facilities of them, USDA, USPS, DOE, FBI, ATF, USBP, USFWS, FAA... I could go on.

We're out here and we know about it and can tell you what it is because we have to abide by it for our jobs. And many are seriously offended by this. I've fielded several calls from colleagues tonight, and it's unanimous in our little group.