5 ms·

Everyone has dirty laundry they would prefer not be aired, and if they don't then their friends, family, or partners do. I don't think we want to live in a worl

Everyone has dirty laundry they would prefer not be aired, and if they don't then their friends, family, or partners do. I don't think we want to live in a world where absolute moral purity (as determined by the most vocal, biased critics of a given person) is required to hold public office.

krapp 5y ago
>I don't think we want to live in a world where absolute moral purity (as determined by the most vocal, biased critics of a given person) is required to hold public office. Don't worry, you live in a world where a man with a well documented decades-long laundry list of scandals and faux-pas can brag on tape about how he can get away with molesting young women because of how rich he is and still get elected President. I'm actually wondering what you could effectively blackmail an American politician with, given how little Americans seem to care about the morality of their leaders. Maybe just the eponymous "dead girl or live boy," but then you have the Kennedys...
- snakeboy 5y ago
  I don't think "eponymous" is the word you meant there.
  - krapp 5y ago
    You're probably right, but I'm too lazy to care.
- webmaven 5y ago
  > I'm actually wondering what you could effectively blackmail an American politician with, given how little Americans seem to care about the morality of their leaders. Well, in general anything that would get them prosecuted for a felony should be an effective stick. Add in a carrot and now they're on the hook for bribery too.
- bawolff 5y ago
  A person with no reputation to lose is hard to blackmail. I don't think trump generalizes in this context.
kortilla 5y ago
Moral purity isn’t required, just some honesty. I don’t care if politicians cheat on their spouses or even if they rail coke out of hookers’ asses on the weekend. Just don’t pretend you don’t do someone has power over you if they find out you do.
OneLeggedCat 5y ago
> I don't think we want to live in a world where absolute moral purity (as determined by the most vocal, biased critics of a given person) is required to hold public office. Well lucky you, we have the exact 100% polar opposite of that system currently. I think it would be fine to move toward it a little.
- webmaven 5y ago
  > Well lucky you, we have the exact 100% polar opposite of that system currently. I think it would be fine to move toward it a little. I'm skeptical of the notion that outing public officials (when the blackmail material is personal in nature as posited by the GP) would move toward that goal. I don't even think an exception should be made for material that would expose hypocrisy in policy-making (eg. 'pro-life' lawmakers that have had or facilitated an abortion). Straight-up crimes though (bribery, corruption, theft, insider trading, etc.), sure.
  - cwkoss 5y ago
    Why?
    - webmaven 5y ago
      Why am I skeptical, or why no exception?

krapp 5y ago

>I don't think we want to live in a world where absolute moral purity (as determined by the most vocal, biased critics of a given person) is required to hold public office. Don't worry, you live in a world where a man with a well documented decades-long laundry list of scandals and faux-pas can brag on tape about how he can get away with molesting young women because of how rich he is and still get elected President. I'm actually wondering what you could effectively blackmail an American politician with, given how little Americans seem to care about the morality of their leaders. Maybe just the eponymous "dead girl or live boy," but then you have the Kennedys...

snakeboy 5y ago
I don't think "eponymous" is the word you meant there.
- krapp 5y ago
  You're probably right, but I'm too lazy to care.
webmaven 5y ago
> I'm actually wondering what you could effectively blackmail an American politician with, given how little Americans seem to care about the morality of their leaders. Well, in general anything that would get them prosecuted for a felony should be an effective stick. Add in a carrot and now they're on the hook for bribery too.
bawolff 5y ago
A person with no reputation to lose is hard to blackmail. I don't think trump generalizes in this context.

kortilla 5y ago

Moral purity isn’t required, just some honesty. I don’t care if politicians cheat on their spouses or even if they rail coke out of hookers’ asses on the weekend. Just don’t pretend you don’t do someone has power over you if they find out you do.

OneLeggedCat 5y ago

> I don't think we want to live in a world where absolute moral purity (as determined by the most vocal, biased critics of a given person) is required to hold public office. Well lucky you, we have the exact 100% polar opposite of that system currently. I think it would be fine to move toward it a little.

webmaven 5y ago
> Well lucky you, we have the exact 100% polar opposite of that system currently. I think it would be fine to move toward it a little. I'm skeptical of the notion that outing public officials (when the blackmail material is personal in nature as posited by the GP) would move toward that goal. I don't even think an exception should be made for material that would expose hypocrisy in policy-making (eg. 'pro-life' lawmakers that have had or facilitated an abortion). Straight-up crimes though (bribery, corruption, theft, insider trading, etc.), sure.
- cwkoss 5y ago
  Why?
  - webmaven 5y ago
    Why am I skeptical, or why no exception?