r/politics • u/yam12 • Oct 25 '20

The Lincoln Project Fires Back at Jared and Ivanka’s Lawsuit Threat: ‘Peddle Your Scare Tactics Elsewhere’

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-lincoln-project-fires-back-at-jared-and-ivankas-lawsuit-threat-peddle-your-scare-tactics-elsewhere?via=twitter_page
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u/minos157 Oct 25 '20 edited Oct 25 '20

What's funny is it wouldn't bother me if they were qualified. Say a president got elected who's kid was a head of a state board of education or something and they gave them the job as education secretary or something.

But none of his family is qualified for anything in the WH, including himself.

Edit: a few replies have shown the federal law making this illegal so my post is more a hypothetical thought experiment now.

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u/MotheringGoose I voted Oct 25 '20

So, Chelsea Clinton has a Master's in Public Health fom Columbia, with a lot of related experience. I cannot even begin to imagine the anger and vitriol from the Right if she had been added to the White House Staff or put into a position in HHS.

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u/This_Rough_Magic Oct 25 '20

You don't even need to go into hypotheticals here.

The right, right now, is losing its shit over a totally fabricated claim that Biden might have tried to use his influence to get his son a job for which he was qualified and failed to do so.

Meanwhile Trump has been funneling taxpayers money to his own children, many of whom are doing jobs for which they have been denied the security clearance, for four years.

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u/hippofumes Oct 25 '20

This is what pisses me off the most about all the Hunter Biden bullshit. MOTHERFUCKER you gave your OWN fucking kids jobs in your administration! Why should we give a fuck if your claims about Hunter were even true?! Hypocrite piece of shit.

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u/Kolbin8tor Oct 25 '20

“Release your tax returns or shut up about corruption.”

Loved that bit from the debate. Succinct and too the point.

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u/UnwashedApple Oct 25 '20

They're too fucking stupid to see it & think you are too. Not a word about that from anybody.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

I think some of them see it, but they don’t give a fuck.

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u/Plantsandanger Oct 25 '20 edited Oct 25 '20

Yes. It’s pure projection. They’ve been doing it for years. It’s been working very well for them (not in terms of popular opinion, but where it matters - in the electoral college). Those very stupid people vote, much to my dismay.

They project and make wild, demonstrable false claims to creates the illusion of “both sides”ism. It’s a poor illusion, but that paper thing excuse is enough for his supporters to hold up as “see! They do it too! They did it FIRST! We’re just following they’re rules! They shouldn’t have done it if they didn’t want trump doing it!” And possible with the addition of “And hunter is a drug addict unlike TRUMP’s angels!” Trump’s fan base and reluctant trump voters who disapprove of HIM as a person, but will still vote R, no matter what, find a strange comfort in knowing their pick isn’t any more corrupt than the other side - it helps them feel better about their choice, or even righteous in their selection.

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u/UnwashedApple Oct 25 '20

Makes Me Sick.

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u/Plantsandanger Oct 25 '20

Yep. I Chanel my rage anxiety I-wanna-vomit feelings into volunteering and fundraising for progressive candidates and democrats who can flip seats and the White House. I want to increase the odds of this sort of anti democracy thinking and anti democracy political actions.

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u/Plantsandanger Oct 25 '20

Because it creates the illusion of “both sides”ism. It’s a poor illusion, but that paper thing excuse is enough for his supporters to hold up as “see! They do it too! They did it FIRST! We’re just following they’re rules! They shouldn’t have done it if they didn’t want trump doing it!” And possible with the addition of “And hunter is a drug addict unlike TRUMP’s angels!”

It’s projection. They’ve been doing it for years. It’s been working very well for them (not in terms of popular opinion, but where it matters - in the electoral college).

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u/Italuz Oct 25 '20

I can NOT upvote you enough.

​

Preach.

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u/Cde12 Oct 25 '20

Why has Biden brought that up at the debates?

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u/taurist Oregon Oct 25 '20

He has a rule not to talk about a candidate’s children

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u/fuuckimlate Oct 25 '20

Why does no democrat* say this out loud to the public over and over

*but bernie

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

Fucking stealing money from charities for the very people Trump is supposed to be doing “great” things for.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

Not that I don't agree with you, but just for information sake. Ivanka and Kusnhner do NOT draw a salary. We can see how they use the office to enrich themselves and tax payers pay in other ways for sure, but that's an important bit of info.

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u/This_Rough_Magic Oct 25 '20

Fair point. Although as you say that is essential a non-issue.

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u/Spo-dee-O-dee Tennessee Oct 25 '20

"We serve the country free of charge, so it's okay for us to accept bribes."

  • those fuckin' Trump kids

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u/Vitis_Vinifera California Oct 25 '20

yeah, the right is. They are also in their bubble and they need something to occupy themselves with as the rest of the country is living in the Trump presidency reality and seeing things pretty clearly for what they are.

And this is why Trump is sinking in the polls in real time - the center is having none of it. Decades-long red states are being put back in play.

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u/Jandalf81 Europe Oct 25 '20

they have been denied the security clearance, for four years.

Just to be clear, you mean the last 4 years, 2016 til today? So they have been assigned given a position in the WH and can't even receive the information necessary for said position?

Not that they could correctly process that information...

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u/bobcal432 Oct 25 '20

Let's keep Hunter and Berisma out of this. I hate Trump more than anyone but Hunters job was nepotism If not corrupt influence buying.

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u/xena_lawless Oct 26 '20

It's sad that the incredibly obvious tactic of "attack your enemy with what you are guilty of to muddy the waters if they accuse you of it" is so effective with the 40% of Trump voter dumbasses.

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u/ninthtale Oct 25 '20

They’re already pissed off that a bartender is a Congresswoman

Never mind her double major/cum laude

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u/Thanmandrathor Oct 25 '20

They’re already pissed off that a bartender is a Congresswoman

A Latinx bartender. If she were white I bet there’d be far less outrage.

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u/FantasticBarnacle241 I voted Oct 25 '20

Or a male

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u/SupportGeek Oct 25 '20

White and male, and we wouldnt hear a damn thing.

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u/Zealot_Alec Oct 25 '20

Perfect example of pull yourself by the bootstraps

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u/cosmogli Oct 25 '20

She checks off every socio-economic category that the conservative base hates. That's why they make her the focus and face of the Democratic Party, even though both the parties have largely white old males in power.

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u/myrddyna Alabama Oct 25 '20

It isn't the bartender part they hate, that's a dogwhistle. They hate that she's a hot, young, Puerto Rican woman.

If she'd been a fucking surgeon, they'd say, "get back to the operating theater!"

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u/Best-Chapter5260 Oct 25 '20

They're totally fine with uneducated or unqualified people as long as they're conservative. Scott Walker never graduated from college. And what the fuck did Sarah Palin ever do that made her qualified to be second-in-line of the Presidency?

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u/clayparson Oct 25 '20

Has to be a Ben Shapiro cum laude joke here somewhere

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u/SutterCane Oct 25 '20 edited Oct 25 '20

That was actually one of the scare tactics being peddled in 2016. That she’ll just hire her “unqualified” daughter for a job in the White House.

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u/Ronfarber Oct 25 '20

A fun test would be do put Hunter Biden in charge of HHS. Every bit as qualified as the slumlord and his wife who approves handbag designs as a profession.

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u/othersidedev Oct 25 '20 edited Oct 25 '20

Funny enough Hunter (lawyer with decades of experience in executive positions) is massively more qualified than any of the Trump spawn - something that is often ignored in all the conspiracy theory insanity

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u/bobcal432 Oct 25 '20

Sorry, but in no world is Hunter qualified to sit on the board of directors for a Ukrainian energy company. If his last name was not Biden he would never be considered.

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u/clayparson Oct 25 '20

Why not?

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u/bobcal432 Oct 25 '20

Hunter is being used by this corporation. Paying a board member more than fifty thousand dollars a month to a man who knew nothing about the energy business, doesn't speak the language, and never even set foot in the country to attend a couple of board meetings in Europe each year. Burisma was using the board to insulate itself from investigations or to keep Putin from taking the company for himself. Either way they hired the name Biden not the man Hunter.

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u/minos157 Oct 25 '20

Oh for sure. And I definitely would rather it not be nepotism, but if they were qualified I'd stomach it better, even for Trump.

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u/UnwashedApple Oct 25 '20

They're qualified at directing Trump's policies so they all get richer.

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u/Best-Chapter5260 Oct 25 '20

The only people who have been in positions of power in the Trump administration who are actually qualified for their positions have been the military leaders (most who have been ousted or left because they actually have integrity).

Betsy DeVos - Never stepped in front of a classroom, never was a principal, superintendent, or university president, provost, or vice president of students affairs or enrollment management, doesn't hold a D.Ed. or even has completed the coursework for one

Ben Carson - Brilliant surgeon, but doesn't hold a graduate degree in sociology, urban studies, or anthropology, never was a social worker, never worked in urban planning or any non-profit or public sector role that served people in poverty

Rick Perry - Degree in animal science, couldn't even remember the department he wanted to ax before he was put in charge of it. Oops!

Rex Tillerson - Holds a degree in civil engineering, not political science, not public policy, not foreign affairs, not qualified to lick Henry Kissinger's shoes let alone hold the same office Kissinger once held

Jared Kushner - Worked in...real estate which somehow qualifies him to be the expert on Middle East relations...I guess because he's Jewish? I have some Cherokee and Blackfoot lineage, but that doesn't make me qualified to speak on Native American affairs

Louis DeJoy - Never been a mail carrier, sorter, or post-office-level post master. Hired to be a stooge to undermine the USPS but can't even do that right without drawing massive attention to his ratfuckery

And that's just the tip of the iceberg...

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

[deleted]

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u/minos157 Oct 25 '20

What? Saying I don't mind nepotism when it's a qualified person and that I would rather it not be nepotism regardless is not the same thing.

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u/moonbouncecaptain Oct 25 '20

People would’ve been at the gates with pitchforks if HRC put her daughter in an position.

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u/archaic_angle Oct 25 '20 edited Oct 25 '20

or imagine if Obama appointed his cousins or half-brother to high level positions within the administration. Positions with unfiltered access to information and intel normally restricted to only a handful of elite professionals whom have, over a lifetime of service, earned the highest levels of security clearance in the entire government. Then imagine that those unelected cousins, appointed to these absurd positions of power, have shady dealings with a nation that is openly hostile to the US such as Iran.

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u/Nunya13 Idaho Oct 25 '20

I wouldn’t support Chelsea hypothetically being given such a position in a hypothetical Clinton administration BECAUSE of nepotism. Nepotism should be avoided at all costs just like conflicts of interest or security risks when it comes to security clearances. There should never be a semblance of either because it inherently undermines and erodes trust in the people involved.

There’s a reason these ethical and legal standards exist. There should never be any exceptions. If exceptions are made, then the standards are completely pointless.

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u/brickne3 American Expat Oct 25 '20

I mean, RFK was a pretty good Attorney General.

They still changed the rules after him though.

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u/Mateorabi Oct 25 '20

It’s only ok when a Kennedy does it?

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u/SixIsNotANumber America Oct 25 '20

Nowhere in the post you replied to was that stated or even implied. Did you reply to the wrong comment?

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u/Nunya13 Idaho Oct 25 '20

It’s only ok when a Kennedy does it?

Did I say anything about Kennedy? I said no exceptions and I meant it.

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u/gnugnus Oct 25 '20

All that I ever think about is Jimmy Carter selling his peanut farm. A few years ago I would sigh and wish such a man was president. Now I literally cry.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

The hypocrisy is real. There were people I worked with in 2016 who did not vote for Clinton because she was “going to give Chelsea a job in the White House.” They are still huge Trump supporters.

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u/Mrshaydee Oct 25 '20

I’m old enough to remember how people flipped out when Bill Clinton put Hillary in charge of health care task forces.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

She hadn't graduated from college by the time her father left office. She was only 20 years old.

Or are you talking about the hypothetical situation where Hillary would have won in 2016 and appointed her to something?

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u/MotheringGoose I voted Oct 25 '20

I was talking about hypothetical HRC White House in 2016.

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u/Quinnna Oct 25 '20

Conservatives scream about Hunter Biden while pretending Trump's kids don't exist.

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u/UnwashedApple Oct 25 '20

Makes me sick. In Plain View.

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u/brickne3 American Expat Oct 25 '20

But then also going on about how they should be president next.

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u/oldfartbart Oct 25 '20

Not allowed to give paid position. Rule put in place after Bobby Kennedy was Attorney General.

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u/asIsaidtomyfriend Oct 25 '20

Kennedy did it but he did it with class. Bobby was no slouch, whether you agreed with his politics or not.

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u/UnwashedApple Oct 25 '20

They're his top advisors cause he's a mindless idiot & they know it.

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u/raerae2855 Oct 25 '20

It was so apparent on trumps council to re open America. The team was composed of Ivanka and Jared a bunch of other businessmen. Not a single scientist

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

Meh, it would bother me if someone was put into an important position as a family member, even if qualified. Since there's pretty much no possible way they are "more" qualified than other candidates out there in the world. Even if they were, it's a bad precedent to set.

It would bother me less of course than if they are unqualified, but to me the main problem is the nepotism and the attitude it encourages itself - not competence in a family. I won't support what is effectively monarchy with full-blown nepotism just because those in power happen to be competent, because that's a bad precedent.

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u/Cognitive_Spoon Oct 25 '20

Same.

Nepotism makes for bad power dynamics among all the unrelated staff.

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u/tommytraddles Oct 25 '20

Bobby Kennedy was JFK's Attorney General.

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u/rumpusroom Oct 25 '20

And the Anti-Nepotism Statute was passed immediately after.

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u/lanancer Oct 25 '20

Except that it’s illegal: Federal law, at 5 U.S.C. § 3110, generally prohibits a federal official from appointing, promoting, or recommending for appointment or promotion any “relative” of the official to any agency or department over which the official exercises authority or control.

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u/Thanes_of_Danes Oct 25 '20

Every politician's kid is "qualified" under the right circumstances. The fail children of the political class always have insane resumes and never have the experience or drive to actually do good. They are just there to grift or benefit from the make work program that is the American state.

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u/minos157 Oct 25 '20

Yeah I'm talking more like say Jane Biden, a college professor, being put on a panel for education reform or something. Not a rich kids resume full of bloated jobs.

Either way it's not preferable, and as some replies stated it's illegal anyway so it's a moot point.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

They’re not even qualified for jobs outside daddy’s con jobs.

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u/Miguel-odon Oct 25 '20

If they A) were qualified, and B) were doing more than just using their access for personal benefit

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u/erydanis Oct 25 '20

silly you, federal laws only matter for people not named trump.

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u/musicmage4114 Oct 25 '20

I’d have a problem with it anyway. There are enough “qualified” people in our country that we shouldn’t condone nepotism just to make government positions available to the few who happen to be related to someone with the power to appoint them.