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This also happened before he was a sitting president, so all the stuff about “Bush Iraq war crimes” and “Nixon’s burglary” and similar historical presidential
by dmix 4y ago
This also happened before he was a sitting president, so all the stuff about “Bush Iraq war crimes” and “Nixon’s burglary” and similar historical presidential baggage is mostly irrelevant, at least in terms of new precedent.
The social/civil consequences of this sort of criminal indictment before election is enough to kill a presidential campaign and has enough times in history. As it should be.
This is behaviour before/after presidency when the stakes are far lower.
- dukeofdoom 4y agoDoesn't that just give over power to prosecutors to pick who you get to vote for?
- norwalkbear 4y ago[flagged]
- gaganyaan 4y agoI almost wish HN had emoji reactions for comments. Upvote/downvote doesn't quite cut it when what this comment really needs is just an eyeroll emoji, possibly paired with "OK Boomer".
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- phone8675309 4y agoYes - look at Comey's comments about butter emails that severely damaged Hilary Clinton's electoral chances.
- otterley 4y agoI think you mean "influence elections" - "picking who[m] you get to vote for" is quite a stretch.
- vkou 4y agoThe alternative is a country where political candidates are not bound by the rule of law. That juice is not worth the squeeze.
- brewdad 4y agoJust in case, I am hereby declaring my candidacy for the President of the United States for the upcoming election and all future elections in my lifetime.
- norwalkbear 4y agoSame here but the trick is also being popular.
- norwalkbear 4y ago[flagged]
- dmix 4y agoYes everything is different right now and all precedent and apprehensive reactions should be disregarded - aka what every single hysterical partisan in history has said. Don’t worry… we’ll be okay whatever happens. It’s never as bad as what the FUD pushers wished would happen (“feared” would be the wrong word here).
- norwalkbear 4y agoExcept we handed Trump 2024 on a silver platter
- daveguy 4y agoNah.
- kcplate 4y agoIn terms of tearing the country apart…I think you need to separate the nut jobs who idolize Trump from the right leaning folks who simply supported Trump mainly because he was on their side of the line and frankly not an elderly democrat who was a punchline before he became “The Alternative”. The nut jobs will create problems, the others will complain but not act. Overall the others far outweigh the nut jobs.
- norwalkbear 4y agoIt's not 2016 anymore. civil war and the great divorce is mainstream
- kcplate 4y agoI’m in the heart of Trump country and I guarantee the number trump flags flying and MAGA hat wearing ain’t what it used to be around me. I definitely don’t see the same levels of Trump adulation now. Frankly even some hardcore supporters I know are tired of his shtick and lean DeSantis.
- stuckinhell 4y agoTrump is a fundamentally different player than Bush or Nixon. They were establishment in times the establishment wasn't nearly as hated as it is now. This just plays to Trump's strength as the ultimate rebel. In terms of game theory, this is a very different game than Nixon or Bush. Trump annihilated the Bush Legacy, and is hated by both sides of the establishment.
- n0tahacker 4y agoWhich raises the question if one part of the establishment can protect you from the consequences of the law.
- bayesian_horse 4y agoTrump is part of "the establishment" himself. And that he can bullshit people like you into believing otherwise is part of his superpower as a lifelong pathologic liar.
- googlerx 4y agoAt least some of the legally problematic reimbursement payments to Cohen happened while he was president.