In January 1998, after Bill Clinton lied publicly about his brief affair with Monica Lewinsky, he also lied privately. He told his lawyer, David Kendall, that he had not suborned perjury or obstructed justice, but as far as coming clean went, that was it. He told the White House staff and his Cabinet secretaries—and his wife—that the affair never happened.
He knew, as he wrote in My Life, that he’d have to confess someday. But he calculated—as it turned out, accurately—that after the initial hysteria subsided, the public would focus more on Ken Starr’s inquisitorial tactics than on his relatively minor transgression, and he’d survive.
Clinton lied to his people for one reason: He knew that if he told the truth, they would abandon him. His support within his party would collapse, he knew, if he acknowledged having sullied the presidency in that way. He’d have faced mass resignations from his staff and Cabinet members, and on Capitol Hill, support among Democrats would have dwindled down to the real diehards. There is no question about it: He would have had to resign. (I’m not defending his lie, just laying out his reasoning for it.)
a_fly_effect on April 15th, 2019 at 13:02 UTC »
Mitch McConnell has done more to erode democracy in our country than anyone else I can think of in my lifetime.
SpockShotFirst on April 15th, 2019 at 10:18 UTC »
Since the article is subscription only, here is WaPo articke from 2012, written by political scientists: Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem..
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viva_la_vinyl on April 15th, 2019 at 09:59 UTC »
Trump has always been the symptom, not the disease.
Every moment that Republicans continue to stand by his disgraceful behavior is a moment that continues to insult the integrity of this country.