Help me out here. Can anyone name just one "scandal" the right wing celebrated that was real?

[Stinky The Clown]

Obama is a Muslim

Al Gore was a liar

Obama was born in Kenya

Clinton killed Vince Foster

John Kerry faked his wounds

Clinton ran drugs into Arkansas

Is there anything they say that's actually true?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. Bill Clinton had extramarital affairs

I guess that one was real

[jehop61]

4. BTW

As did Harding, Rooseveldt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Bush 1, ....and we won't even mention the numerous legislators who diddled with prostitutes, in bathrooms, with little boys, etc.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. Yeah I really don't care as long as it was consenting adults

Who fucks whom. But I'm def in the minority on this.

[99th_Monkey]

12. The only compelling case against dalliances by public officials is

the character thing, trustworthiness, and of course (thrown in there) how that may
lead to divulging state secrets. And if they are caught and then lie about it.

I'm sort of on the fence on this one.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. Which would render every politician before the 90's

Untrustworthy. Private lives should be private unless there is a huge public need to know.

[Major Nikon]

6. True, but all that really proves is the puritan nature of the average American

Many of which don't live up to that standard themselves.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. Agreed

[Thav]

15. I was in Germany at the time, and was watching a news story about that.

My host mom turns to me and asks, "What's the big deal about that?"

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. Lol I think most countries reacted like that

Egalitarian ones did because they tend to not care about sex lives of adults.

Non gender egalitarian ones also did, because men are allowed to have affairs.

America is stuck in some strange limbo between both these attitudes

[loyalsister]

21. He did break the law

Perjury is a real offense. He gave the rw witch hunters credibility when he handed them something they could twist into an impeachment.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. Yeah and then he left office hugely popular

The rw screwed themselves over by going after an understandable lie.

[loyalsister]

31. "understandabke lie"

to his wife, in-laws, the public maybe. But not under oath during a deposition. He gave them exactly what they wanted. That he left office popular is a sad comment on the intelligence of the US populace and explains why so many people did not feel betrayed by Bushes lies.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

33. Actually it's the sign that the American people can under some conditions

Recognize a political witch hunt and have empathy for the victims of said witch hunt. And the lie was understandable to more or less everyone.

[loyalsister]

34. Until we matured, I guess

Yet, people wanted Bush prosecuted for his lies to us which were not technically illegal. Both cases should reasonably induce outrage. Yet, not wanting to have been wrong about a someone breeds loyalty that inhibits consideration of the facts. We have very very low standards when it comes to integrity of our politicians and truth.
To me, "understandable lies" are the ones kids tell their parents about breaking the window, or one about an affair told in private. To tell a lie under oath is actually illegal, and all he had to do was tell the truth to cut them off at the knees.

[pnwmom]

28. I believe him that he misinterpreted the meaning of the words

on the paper they handed him that defined "sexual relations" -- because when I read it, I misinterpreted it the same way he did.

The words define sexual relations between various body parts and didn't include the word mouth, lips, etc. If you read it without parsing carefully every single other word it could appear to exclude oral sex.

I also think they should never have been questioning him about Monica in the first place, since she never claimed anything but a consensual, adult relationship with him.

[loyalsister]

30. Before I develop feminist sensibilities I am embarrassed to admit I defended him

But I never ever bought into the idea that he would have been confused by that language.
In his "defense" people were able to relate to what he claimed to be persecution and he further cultivated hero worship. It's a testament to his political skill, but he enabled the RW to continue and accelerate their witch hunts on the grounds that "there was a "there" there once so they might be correct." Unfortunately, the distractions lead people to turn a blind eye to very serious flaws in character.

[malaise]

25. What did Dennis Hastert have??

The longest serving ReTHUG Speaker of the House was molesting teenage boys - now that was such a scandal that he's in prison for trying to hide the money leaving his account to cover-up his crimes.

[AgadorSparticus]

2. Nope. It used to be just RW yapping. Now we have so called progressives repeating the RW smears.

[passiveporcupine]

23. Enough already

Let it die like it should.

[AgadorSparticus]

35. Agreed. Enough of the RW talking points on this board.

[passiveporcupine]

36. Some people don't know when it's time to quit fighting

Go for it...call me a republican if it will make you feel better...but DU will be a much nicer place to post when these snide little jabs aren't constantly running in the background.

I'm done with this discussion. You are free to get in the last word.

[AgadorSparticus]

37. I'm not calling you a republican. I never said anything of the sort.

I said RW talking points are being repeated because they are. And I am kinda tired of that.

[DawgHouse]

38. +1

[TexasProgresive]

3. Can't help you, Stinky, 'cause they are the people of the lie.

The bigger the lie the more they want to believe it. And they will not believe anything true but negative about their own. Just one example, Ken Starr turned a blind eye to sexual assaults of female students at the premiere Southern Baptist university, Baylor. He resigned in disgrace but he should be charged with some criminal charge or other. Has this even been reported outside of the local area?

[KingCharlemagne]

5. Hmm, maybe Edwards' infidelities? Or Weiner's Wiener? - nt

[pansypoo53219]

19. imaginary sex counts?

[Warpy]

27. It does to pissy Republicans looking for any dirt they can find

Remember the firestorm they tried to ignite over Carter "lusting in his heart?" That one was epic, especially since Carter was the choirboy who was elected to cleanse us of all the sleaze we endured from Nixon and Ford.

Since they can't find any real crime anywhere, they concentrate on sex. even fantasy sex, while they are a danger to children, themselves.

[EllieBC]

9. Another one the RW loved that wasn't true: Clinton and Arkansas prisons and blood donations.

It was a convoluted mess of a conspiracy (aren't they all?). And last I heard...utter bunk.

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

10. Is there anything they say that's actually true?

Almost nothing, that I've ever heard. I wouldn't trust one to give me the correct time.

[deaniac21]

11. Both parties are good at it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_scandals_in_the_United_States

[Nye Bevan]

13. Weiner tweeting his cock to college girls (nt)

[Journeyman]

14. William Jefferson did have a lot of cold cash on hand when he was busted for corruption . . .

And there were a few other Democrats caught in questionable ethics scandals over the past two decades. Nothing compared to the far greater number of Republicans thus exposed, but then, I find all such abuses despicable.

[cherokeeprogressive]

17. ABSCAM?

[malaise]

20. Funny how the real scandal from the 90s was the fact that Denny Hastert, the longest ReTHUG Speaker

of the House of Representatives, was molesting people's sons.
Amazing how their scandals are covered up even after the scumbag was sent to prison.

Democrats are really naive - I'd have ads with their Speaker across the country -everyone would know

[KingCharlemagne]

40. I like your sense of the jugular. much appreciated! - nt

[Socal31]

24. The ATF losing track of weapons that end up being used to kill a federal agent.

Ill conceived and poorly executed operation.

[Kingofalldems]

29. What RW sources?

Or is it you?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

32. When the democrats broke into the watergate hotel and bugged

the campaign headquarters.

Oh, wait. That's not quite right.

[Rex]

39. None. They are all just GOP witch hunts.

Meanwhile we can study real scandals - like Iran Contra or the 2003 Iraqi invasion.

[KingCharlemagne]

41. Iran Contract - a mature democracy would have compelled Reagan's departure. Still shaking

my head at that one.

Come to think of it, a mature democracy would have Bush and Blair on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

[Night Watchman]

42. Dukakis had a Dirty Word in his Name

And he was running against a candidate named Bush!

[Skittles]

43. no

[Jim Lane]

44. Eliot Spitzer really did commit adultery while in office.

Of course, so did Vito Fossella, Mark Sanford, and David Vitter, the obvious difference being that Spitzer resigned but none of those fine upstanding Republican adulterers did.

Vitter was the most like Spitzer in that he was patronizing prostitutes. Fossella was a devoted family man -- so devoted to family values, in fact, that he had two separate families, one in DC and one in his home district. Sanford's paramour was an Argentinian, prompting the memorable wisecrack (can't remember who made it): "It's not enough that Republicans commit adultery, now they're outsourcing it?"

My apologies to any Republican adulterers I've forgotten.