Integrity. Once a person allows it to slip, even a little,

[MineralMan]

it can be very difficult to get back on track. I think that may well be in play in all of the scandalous crap that's going on in DC. Now, Trump never had any to lose, but it looks to me like a lot of others are losing theirs, especially on the Republican side.

The problem is that, once you compromise your integrity in small ways, those who know you did that gain power over you. They know you are flippable, and will push hard to get you to make more compromises. Eventually, you become completely compromised and unable to return to a position of integrity.

I believe this has happened broadly across the leadership of the Republican Party and has destroyed all semblance of any sort of integrity among that group. At this point, they are so busy trying to cover up their lack of integrity that they no longer have any left at all. Time for a change at the top. Past time.

[Phoenix61]

1. Yep!

The slippery slope in action. It's why a lie always leads to another lie, to cover up the first lie and once that ball starts rolling it is very, very hard to stop. Eventually the lies begin to contradict each other. Life is complicated and trying to create a false reality that will hold together under scrutiny is almost impossible. It's why the truth always comes out in the end.

[MineralMan]

2. I agree, except that the truth doesn't actually always come out.

That's the sad fact, actually.

[Orrex]

3. And sometimes, when it comes out, too many people don't care

e.g., just about all of Trump's chumps.