When you have to make the "he's not as bad as ..." argument about someone, they're still pretty bad. I agree, but I didn’t make that argument. I’m saying that

When you have to make the "he's not as bad as ..." argument about someone, they're still pretty bad. I agree, but I didn’t make that argument. I’m saying that there is a fundamental difference between scummy and criminal, and they are not part of the same continuum.