Why in the hell are Democrats held to such a different standard??

[Peacetrain]

I am not saying we are perfect or do not have our fair share of scandals and flakes.. but seriously compared to what is on the right side of the aisle.. we would qualify as saints.. I just do not understand how the right can lie, be anti American.. traitorous .. and it does not stick for squat.. but a Democrat .. dear Lord.. they cannot sneeze wrong.. and it is a major scandal demanding some sort of commission.. just so aggravating.. even our side expects our people to be the second coming, and will be the first in line to denounce our people if they aren't... what am I missing???

[get the red out]

1. Media

That's the media narrative. Good old corporate-controlled news.

[Peacetrain]

2. I hear what you are saying..but even when they report the

shenanigans that the right does.. and hammers on it.. it dissolves away to nothing in 3 days.. yet if a Democrat even looks cross eyed.. it never ends..

[TrollBuster9090]

24. MSM's obsession with not being accused of 'liberal bias' has lead to the 'both sides' doctrine.

Almost without exception, every journalist and network news director will pee their pants if somebody accuses them of having a liberal bias. Then they'll immediately run out and dig up ten scandals, real or imaginary, about Democratic politicians to compensate for it.

In the 1980s, plutocrats started funding fake 'think tanks' that specialized in whining that the MSM had a 'liberal bias.' (The Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute...all funded by the Kochs.) They felt the heat of the criticism, and actually slanted to a conservative bias in an attempt to compensate. Ultimately that lead to them creating a false equivalence between the two parties which doesn't exist. The infamous "both sides" bullshit. The Democratic Party has flaws, but the Republican Party has gone full-on, batshit crazy kleptocracy.

James Carville put nicely during the Bush Administration when he said "The Republicans keep saying 'Bush is 30 feet tall' and the Democrats keep saying 'Bush is 4 feet tall' and the Press keeps saying 'okay, we'll just split the difference and report that he's 17 feet tall."

So, because of the ridiculous BOTH SIDES NEWS DOCTRINE, we just watched a whole election cycle where the media did this:

Trump just called Mexicans rapists and drug dealers....but Clinton EMAILS

Trump just bragged about sexually assaulting women....but Clinton EMAILS

Trump just asked Putin to hack the Clinton campaign....but Clinton EMAILS

Trump just broke the Cuban embargo, trying to do business with Cuba...but Clinton EMAILS

...on and on, ad nauseam, until they've successfully created a false equivalence that both parties are equally bad. And if both parties are equally bad when it comes to policy and ethics, you may as well just vote for the person you 'like' or implicitly 'trust' more. That usually ends up being the person who looks like you, drives the same kind of car you drive etc.

[NobodyHere]

30. Anyone here campaigning for the fairness doctrine

should applaud that the media covered the flaws of both candidates

[TrollBuster9090]

32. A. I'm for the Fairness Doctrine, and

B. What I just described was not an example of 'balanced' reporting, or balanced editorial positions. It was an example of inaccurate reporting that created a false equivalence where one didn't exist.

The correct way to report it would have been to cover the Clinton email 'scandal' ONCE, and to accurately report on how much of a 'scandal' it actually is in comparison to the dozens of Trump scandals.

After doing that, the Fairness Doctrine would then require that networks allow equal time to both sides to explain or defend those scandals.

What actually happens these days in no way resembles the Fairness Doctrine.

[blue cat]

3. I've been feeling that way

Since the Clinton years.

[Willie Pep]

4. Decades of right-wing propaganda has taken its toll on the party.

We are still stuck with labels that date back to the 1960s. We are the party of welfare queens, corrupt union bosses, lazy government workers, weirdo college professors and sexual and moral degeneracy. We are weak on crime and foreign policy and are likely secret communists who hate Mom, God and apple pie.

People give the Republicans a pass because they are Real Americans[TM] who believe in 100 percent Americanism, common sense, Christianity, moral uprightness, hard work and being tough on welfare bums, radicals and foreign enemies. When a Republican is found to be corrupt he/she is either an unusual case or not really corrupt but just the victim of the Liberal Media.

This is the worldview of many people and not just hardcore conservatives. I know some people who are Independents but they lean Republican because of the strong biases against the Democrats.

Another thing is that Democrats seem to be less tribal than Republicans. I know of no Democratic counterpart to the "broken-glass Republican" who will vote Republican in every election and for every office. Many Democrats don't come out to vote as reliably and often only vote in the presidential election. Democrats often seem more likely to criticize other Democrats while Republicans fall in line and will defend their politicians to the death even if they have some misgivings about them.

Just my 2 cents from observations over the years.

[Cosmocat]

19. Agree on all points

Almost exactly my response.

[paleotn]

5. The right

doesn't hold their politicians accountable. They seem to care less if they're crooked as a barrel of snakes (my apologies to snakes.) It's an f'ing game to them. It's not about good, effective government.

[Eleanors38]

6. Democrats claim an authentic standard. Republicans don't adhere to it...

The media will hold Democrats to their own standard. They will not hold the Republicans to standards they scoff at. The Trumpettes are living the political sporting life which, frankly, innoculates them from moral condemnation. Moral condemnation is the Democrats' game, so the media will play that game. Besides, with Trump and his people engaging in an an epic bitch-slapping, MSM will look for losers.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Hillary couldn't even have a bout of Pneumonia in peace

I agree. It's insane/crazy/outrageous.

[liberal N proud]

8. Because the term liberal media is a false narrative

False narrative being a right wing meme.

[0rganism]

9. Democrats make the claim that government can do positive & helpful things for the people

a positive claim, the burden of proof is on us to show it happening.

every time a Democrat is caught taking bribes or having sex with staffers, that is seen as a scandalous betrayal of the core Democratic position, hence newsworthy.

Republicans make a different claim: government does not help people, is simply burdensome and corrupt, a haven for lazy incompetents and unrepentant sinners who think they're above the laws they use to annoy honest Godfearing Americans.

while their statement is mostly negative, the positive portions can be validated by testimony from people who have been inconvenienced by regulations (doesn't matter which ones but anything affecting small business is very effective) and/or "scandalous" behavior by the Republican officials themselves.

when Democratic officials misbehave, they undermine the premise of the Democratic position.

when Republican officials misbehave, it confirms their premise that government is a bunch of sick morally deficient hypocrites.

in other words, Republicans expect everyone including themselves to be corrupt, and no defense is forthcoming or necessary. Democrats are fighting an uphill battle to demonstrate that government is not merely a bunch of ineffective criminal parasites, and must be impeccably scrupulous to support that ideal.

[Tumbulu]

27. Excellent- thanks ! nt

[Paladin]

10. Because we've allowed ourselves to be held to such standards.

The right wing counts on Democrats pulling their punches and adhering to a set of good behavior rules they discarded decades ago. And we accommodate the right wing, over and over. I'm sick to death of it, but I see no signs of it changing. Now that we've hit rock bottom as a political party, perhaps it will start to turn around.

[Cosmocat]

18. Bingo

EVERY elected Republican and operative spew absolute Bullshit relentlessly and won't give even an inch when they are completely wrong about something.

Meanwhile, you can count one one hand the number of Ds with two functioning balls, Warren, Sanders ...

[uponit7771]

23. RIGHT... or in the case of wingers don't scream loud enough when they go lower and scream

... often enough then do something hard and callous because of the right not meeting those standards

[volstork]

25. You beat me to it.

This is exactly right. We are fair and principled. They are dirty crooks. We need to fight back in every way possible.

[treestar]

11. Yes and we'd think more voters

would notice that and push back. Right wingers are never fair.

I think we holder ourselves to higher standards has a lot to do with it. They have no shame. You never hear them on a circular firing squad.

[world wide wally]

12. Propaganda is a powerful tool

Kind of like a hammer. Keep beating people over the head with it and it eventually sinks in.
Thanks 4th estate

[NCTraveler]

13. Because we hold ourselves to a different standard. nt.

[betsuni]

14. Democrats are the mommies, Republicans the daddies.

Everything is mommy's fault. Not only can't Democrats do anything right (and the good they do mostly ignored or taken for granted), they're blamed for not stopping the bad behavior of others (the "Why didn't Democrats stop ___ ?" thing). It's an American cultural myth. I wish people would grow up.

[jaxind]

15. Because...

Because the republican base holds their republican politicians to a very low standard! The republicans hold democrats to a much higher standard. The democratic base hold both republicans and democrats to pretty much the same high standard! Very sad!

[Skittles]

16. repukes ruled by white men

white men = extreme privilege

simple as that

[kentuck]

17. Because it's their world and we are just visiting...

[Rex]

20. I've asked that question all my adult life, never get an answer.

I think it has something to do with media bias.

[barbtries]

21. i so agree with you.

just had an argument with a co-worker about that. he's still bitching about how terrible a candidate Hillary was. i say - NO she was not a terrible candidate, she's been getting a bad rap for decades, AND why are you still bitching about it? it's over for Hillary. Now we have to try to save the country and we need to be together to do this.

Obama didn't do enough. why aren't the democrats making any noise? why didn't Hillary talk about jobs on the campaign, well yes SHE GODDAMN did so, with every speech, but guess what? Trump was on TV. and after 30-40 years of propaganda and lies, no one trusted Hillary even though it was so fucking clear that she was the far better candidate and would have been a fine president.

all of this bullshit, this impending doom and destruction, is the fault of republicans. do democrats make mistakes? well is any human perfect? republicans have no morals or ethics so their mistakes never stick. but that doesn't mean that democrats suck. we all fuck up sometimes, but what republicans work for means we all get fucked!

i think you struck a little nerve Peacetrain!

[uponit7771]

22. They don't know the tactics to fight back bullying on a organizational level... they take a gun to

... a tank fight

[JHB]

26. 60 years of strategic carping-bombing and lobbying

Conservatives have spent the last 2 generations railing against "liberal media bias" and pushing for "balance" at all levels: from Washington think tanks to direct mail campaigns to get ordinary people with a conservative-leaning beef with coverage to write to executives.

Plus they built their own media infrastructure, which made mainstreaming their spin all the easier.

[Blaukraut]

29. This

And since the demise of the Fairness Doctrine and the advent of the internet, Democrats have had to fight an uphill battle to even be heard, never mind be treated fairly. In the case of mainstream media - follow the money. In the case of fringe media...follow the money.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

28. The country is largely owned by the wealthy, and they have the money...

... to attack politicians who stray too far from their desired agendas.

Democrats are more likely to support programs like social welfare instead of the "right" kind -- corporate welfare.

[KittyWampus]

31. Republicans have talking points delivered to them. Democrats do not.