{"id":154811,"date":"2026-06-15T14:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/15\/why-youre-a-hypocrite\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:02:21","slug":"why-youre-a-hypocrite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/15\/why-youre-a-hypocrite\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You\u2019re A Hypocrite"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bill Clinton is a scumbag.<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, multiple women (remember Paula Jones?\u00a0Juanita Broaddrick?) credibly accused Clinton of sexual harassment (or worse).\u00a0Clinton plainly abused his power in his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, and he committed perjury by lying under oath about the Lewinsky relationship.<\/p>\n

But Clinton was a Democratic scumbag.<\/p>\n

Democrats were willing to overlook Clinton\u2019s personal failures because Clinton was supporting policies they liked.\u00a0Personal indiscretions, Democrats said, can be separated from public life.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Republicans were outraged.\u00a0Always the party of strict morality, Republicans condemned Clinton:\u00a0Immoral men did not belong in public life. The\u00a0Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution in 1998 declaring that moral character matters in politics and that citizens should elect officials who demonstrate consistent honesty and moral purity.<\/p>\n

Got that straight?<\/p>\n

Donald Trump is a scumbag.\u00a0He\u2019s a convicted felon.\u00a0He\u2019s been found liable for sexual assault.\u00a0A judge has found Trump\u2019s testimony under oath to be \u201cnot credible<\/a>.\u201d (Dare I call it perjury, or would that invite a lawsuit?)\u00a0Trump\u2019s cheated on his multiple wives and driven businesses into bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

But Trump is a Republican scumbag.<\/p>\n

Republicans were willing to overlook Trump\u2019s personal failures because Trump was supporting policies they liked.\u00a0Democrats are an existential threat; Republicans simply must support Trump.\u00a0Personal indiscretions can be separated from public life.<\/p>\n

The Southern Baptist Convention was oddly silent.<\/p>\n

(It\u2019s beyond me why anyone would listen when those hypocrites lecture about the word of God.\u00a0But I digress.)<\/p>\n

Democrats were outraged by Trump\u2019s personal misconduct. Democrats \u2014 the party of recently loosened moral values \u2014 loudly condemned Trump.\u00a0Immoral men did not belong in public life.<\/p>\n

Got that straight?<\/p>\n

Texas senatorial candidate Ken Paxton is a scumbag.\u00a0He was indicted for securities fraud and resolved the case by pretrial agreement.\u00a0Later, senior officials in Paxton\u2019s own Texas Attorney General office reported him to the FBI for allegedly interfering in lawsuits, hiring a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair, and the like.\u00a0The Texas House impeached Paxton, although the Republican-controlled Texas Senate acquitted him.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because Paxton is a Republican scumbag.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s now the Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Texas, and Republicans are insisting that private morality doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

You know the drill.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Maine senatorial candidate Graham Platner is a scumbag.\u00a0He sports a Nazi tattoo on his chest.\u00a0He\u2019s deleted his past controversial online posts, and he\u2019s accused of sexting and abusive behavior.<\/p>\n

Democrats are insisting that private character doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0Republicans, after all, are an existential threat.\u00a0If Democrats don\u2019t win the Maine senatorial race, they\u2019re extraordinarily unlikely to win the Senate as a whole.\u00a0Trump can\u2019t be left unchecked.\u00a0People must vote for Platner.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a person to believe?\u00a0<\/p>\n

In my case, like\u00a0Diogenes<\/a>, I\u2019m searching for an honest man.<\/p>\n

Identify a politician who\u2019s held a consistent opinion for the past 30 years on the subject whether private conduct is relevant to someone\u2019s fitness for public office.\u00a0I want to vote for that politician \u2014 Democrat, Republican, or Independent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And you?<\/p>\n

If yours were the deciding vote in the Texas or Maine senatorial race, and that race would tip the balance of power in the Senate, would you hold your nose and vote for a scumbag?<\/p>\n

Or, when push comes to shove, are even you a hypocrite?<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>inhouse@abovethelaw.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Why You\u2019re A Hypocrite<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bill Clinton is a scumbag.<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, multiple women (remember Paula Jones?\u00a0Juanita Broaddrick?) credibly accused Clinton of sexual harassment (or worse).\u00a0Clinton plainly abused his power in his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, and he committed perjury by lying under oath about the Lewinsky relationship.<\/p>\n

But Clinton was a Democratic scumbag.<\/p>\n

Democrats were willing to overlook Clinton\u2019s personal failures because Clinton was supporting policies they liked.\u00a0Personal indiscretions, Democrats said, can be separated from public life.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Republicans were outraged.\u00a0Always the party of strict morality, Republicans condemned Clinton:\u00a0Immoral men did not belong in public life. The\u00a0Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution in 1998 declaring that moral character matters in politics and that citizens should elect officials who demonstrate consistent honesty and moral purity.<\/p>\n

Got that straight?<\/p>\n

Donald Trump is a scumbag.\u00a0He\u2019s a convicted felon.\u00a0He\u2019s been found liable for sexual assault.\u00a0A judge has found Trump\u2019s testimony under oath to be \u201cnot credible<\/a>.\u201d (Dare I call it perjury, or would that invite a lawsuit?)\u00a0Trump\u2019s cheated on his multiple wives and driven businesses into bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

But Trump is a Republican scumbag.<\/p>\n

Republicans were willing to overlook Trump\u2019s personal failures because Trump was supporting policies they liked.\u00a0Democrats are an existential threat; Republicans simply must support Trump.\u00a0Personal indiscretions can be separated from public life.<\/p>\n

The Southern Baptist Convention was oddly silent.<\/p>\n

(It\u2019s beyond me why anyone would listen when those hypocrites lecture about the word of God.\u00a0But I digress.)<\/p>\n

Democrats were outraged by Trump\u2019s personal misconduct. Democrats \u2014 the party of recently loosened moral values \u2014 loudly condemned Trump.\u00a0Immoral men did not belong in public life.<\/p>\n

Got that straight?<\/p>\n

Texas senatorial candidate Ken Paxton is a scumbag.\u00a0He was indicted for securities fraud and resolved the case by pretrial agreement.\u00a0Later, senior officials in Paxton\u2019s own Texas Attorney General office reported him to the FBI for allegedly interfering in lawsuits, hiring a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair, and the like.\u00a0The Texas House impeached Paxton, although the Republican-controlled Texas Senate acquitted him.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because Paxton is a Republican scumbag.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s now the Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Texas, and Republicans are insisting that private morality doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

You know the drill.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Maine senatorial candidate Graham Platner is a scumbag.\u00a0He sports a Nazi tattoo on his chest.\u00a0He\u2019s deleted his past controversial online posts, and he\u2019s accused of sexting and abusive behavior.<\/p>\n

Democrats are insisting that private character doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0Republicans, after all, are an existential threat.\u00a0If Democrats don\u2019t win the Maine senatorial race, they\u2019re extraordinarily unlikely to win the Senate as a whole.\u00a0Trump can\u2019t be left unchecked.\u00a0People must vote for Platner.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a person to believe?\u00a0<\/p>\n

In my case, like\u00a0Diogenes<\/a>, I\u2019m searching for an honest man.<\/p>\n

Identify a politician who\u2019s held a consistent opinion for the past 30 years on the subject whether private conduct is relevant to someone\u2019s fitness for public office.\u00a0I want to vote for that politician \u2014 Democrat, Republican, or Independent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And you?<\/p>\n

If yours were the deciding vote in the Texas or Maine senatorial race, and that race would tip the balance of power in the Senate, would you hold your nose and vote for a scumbag?<\/p>\n

Or, when push comes to shove, are even you a hypocrite?<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images) Bill Clinton is a scumbag. In the 1990s, multiple women (remember Paula Jones?\u00a0Juanita Broaddrick?) credibly accused Clinton of sexual harassment (or worse).\u00a0Clinton plainly abused his power in his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, and he committed perjury by lying under oath about the Lewinsky relationship. But Clinton was a Democratic scumbag. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":154797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/donald-trump-GettyImages-1152627372-BbSTnv.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}