politics

Let's focus on that first sentence for a moment, and maybe you'll sleep better at night.

Conservatives are incapable of hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is believing something, or claiming to believe it, and then acting another way. Conservatives cannot be hypocrites because they don't have any values. Nothing matters to a conservative except for the well-being of the conservatives in their group. There are no moral absolutes, no foundational beliefs, no core values at the heart of Conservative ideology. There is only the self and the other. The self is good and the other is evil. Actions, choices, and statements do not have merits, but are judged based on whether they come from the self or the other.

This is why fighting Conservativism is so slippery, and why seemingly reasonable people identify as conservative. It's human nature to be egocentric, and to think that what is best for the self is best for the world. It's comforting to think that the parts of reality that benefit you are the important parts, the traditions and values that make America great, and that all of the things that hurt you are caused by your unholy enemy.

If you view the world through this lens, any fight, any political topic, whatever it is you want, you are righteous. Anything you do to win is righteous. Your victory is commanded by God, and God wants you to smite any who would stand in his(your) way.

If you need to lie, it is important to lie or cheat or kill, it is necessary. If your opponent occupies the moral high ground, this is a devious illusion created to confuse and upset you. If your opponent lies, cheats, or kills tomorrow, it is further evidence of their evil. This is not hypocrisy because it is not the action that you are criticizing, it is the people.

Conservatives get abortions. Conservatives raise taxes and fund pork barrel projects. Conservatives are soft on crime (when the criminals are members of the self). Conservatives increase the power of government to enact morality policing. Conservatives want to take your guns, if you're a minority. Conservatives stifle businesses with regulatory bureaucracy, when doing so benefits their sponsors. Invariably, a Conservative will flip flop on any issue that personally affects them, for as long as it affects them, without any self awareness or shame because their ideology is nothing more than narcissism.

Donald Trump didn't do this to the Conservative party. Donald Trump is the inevitable fulfillment of the promise of Conservativism, the avatar of self-interest, and that's why they love him for it.

So try not to let that irk you. Your frustration comes from expecting more than a Conservative is capable of. You cannot argue with a conservative, reason with them, or convince them to change. You have to ignore their arguments, establish your boundaries, and obstinately stand up for truth and equality. Stay calm and accept no promises. We're not engaged in a debate, we're engaged in a war, and we're not yet winning.

Agreed. Both sides certainly commit nepotism. But anyone that tries to imply that they are equivalent is like saying a mugger on the street is equal to someone who robs Ft. Knox.

The big difference being, of course: Jared and Ivanka were actually White House employees who were given security clearances (in Jared's case despite the vetting process concluding that he shouldn't have one) and it would have been totally appropriate for the House Oversight Committee to oversee their actions while the House Oversight Committee trying to exercise oversight over private citizens who never worked for the federal government is not.

Silly rabbit, ignoring a subpoena is for Republicans!

You say that as if they actually care about vets despite a lot of then being vets.

Naw. greene, Boebert and Johnson definitely won’t let it go without a romp. They’ve spent far too much time ideating about hunter’s dick picks.

It’s a good preview of the horror that would await if they recover control of the senate.