# A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Schadenfreude about Things Happening to Trump & His Enablers (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 14, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537 "2020-11-14T00:09:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 262
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5227 "2022-05-06T21:17:11Z")
Kind of hard for them to black"mail" somebody anyway, since they’re doing their darnedest to kill the USPS. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5228 "2022-05-06T21:24:34Z")
Not that that’s the point, but the “mail” in “blackmail” is not the USPS kind of mail, but taken from a middle english word meaning “rent”. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5229 "2022-05-06T21:27:38Z")
Yes, I knew this but that’s really not the point. The idea of literally black envelopes flying around in the post is kind of fun, though. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5230 "2022-05-06T21:35:32Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Moran doesn’t even understand ‘blackmail’. TBF, Cawthorn has trouble with ‘insurrection’ and ‘personal accountability’ as well. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5231 "2022-05-07T01:13:21Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Or maybe they do and voted for a likely murderer anyway. Given the state of the GOP these days, that would also not be shocking. Considering it was a small town (the guy won with 60 votes), I would think that him murdering his wife recently would be the talk of the town. So I’m going with they just didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5232 "2022-05-07T02:13:42Z")
Near as I can tell from the election results ([pdf](https://boonecounty.in.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-Primary-Final-Report.pdf)) there were three candidates on the ballot for the county township seat, and the instruction was to vote for three. The other two candidates got 110 and 106 respectively. So what probably really happened was that about half the people just clicked all three names while the other half either voted for one of the other two candidates or voted for both of the other two and explicitly avoided his name. In other words not really much of a story. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5233 "2022-05-07T03:06:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I think you mean the “closeted gay/publicly homophobic Republican cocaine orgy club.” And the next six rules are just as important, I’d say. “No member of the club is to be a p\*\*\*ter - if there’s anyone watching?” ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5234 "2022-05-09T13:03:31Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > I mean, I sort of understand straight ticket voting. It’s still dumb as hell to do so without at least cursory research into the candidates, but conceptually, there’s been some vetting by the party on who gets put on the ballot in the first place. My experience has been that researching candidates for local office is almost impossible. There’s very little information available unless you happen to know the person already. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5235 "2022-05-09T13:25:24Z")
Sometimes there are local newspapers that post statements from each of the candidates, which can help. Another useful thing - the guy who paints his platform on the roof of his house is not the guy you want to vote for. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5236 "2022-05-09T14:01:07Z")
I have been able to research local candidates. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5237 "2022-05-09T14:02:44Z")
Mentioned in another thread, but Steve Schmidt spilled a metric fuckton of tea yesterday, both on Twitter and his Substack, effectively calling out John McCain as being the first candidate to be led by Putin: > **[No Books. No Money. Just the Truth.](https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/no-books-no-money-just-the-truth?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=new-from-twitter-with-post&s=r)** > > This is a story about lying. Public lying. It is a story about Senator John McCain’s lying, and the damage it has done to many people, including me. It is also a story about my lying because, ultimately, John McCain’s lie became mine. Over time, that... > > > Simon Rosenberg @SimonWDC The original tweet thread: > TLDR: Schmidt is making the claim that McCain’s campaign was the first infiltration, by Russia, in an American Presidential campaign. The result was the selection of Sarah Palin, the ur-MAGA, and while she couldn’t resurrect a campaign as moribund as McCain’s, she did prove that a rightist blowhard energized the Republican base. 8 years later, here comes Trump… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5238 "2022-05-09T14:43:03Z")
…so, while she maybe couldn’t actually _see_ Russia from her house, she DID _talk to_ Russia on her home phone a lot, is that it? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5239 "2022-05-09T14:47:56Z")
Also that McCain had a longstanding relationship whilst married [that was the subject of a _New York Times_ article as well as a lawsuit against the paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain_lobbyist_controversy). If she didn’t know about it, I feel bad for his wife if this is how she learns the facts. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5240 "2022-05-09T15:46:49Z")
A republican being shitty to a woman in his life? Hmm, I wonder why that didn’t make the headlines. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5241 "2022-05-09T15:58:33Z")
A Naval Aviator being unfaithful? I’m shocked! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5242 "2022-05-09T16:11:09Z")
Wasn’t that how he and Cindy got together? I could swear I’d read he’d been having an affair with her and then divorced his first wife to marry her. Although I could be mixing him up with the Newt. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5243 "2022-05-09T16:23:48Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > [No Books. No Money. Just the Truth.](https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/no-books-no-money-just-the-truth?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=new-from-twitter-with-post&s=r) McCain had a history of cheating on his wife and that portion seems to align with public reporting by the NYT and WaPo. The starting bit about Russia, though, seems a bit haphazardly thrown in. He says that McCain was on a Russian yacht on his 70th birthday but links to a story about McCain going onto the yacht of Raffaello Follieri, an Italian who had convinced Anne Hathaway to date him by creating a “foundation focused on efforts such as providing vaccinations for children in poor countries”. The Hill confirms that McCain did have his 70th birthday with Deripaska: [https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/403759-mccain-refused-to-let-manafort-run-2008-convention-due-to-russia/](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/403759-mccain-refused-to-let-manafort-run-2008-convention-due-to-russia/) But it also notes: > [@](#): > > The Atlantic reported that McCain grew concerned after he learned Manafort was allegedly entangled with Russian oligarchs. An aide for the late senator told the news outlet that McCain ordered Manafort and Davis to cut ties with pro-Russia clients. Taking our current knowledge and extending it back to 2008 isn’t reasonable. And Mr. Schmidt doesn’t seem to have any personal knowledge to confirm behind-the-scene interactions between the Russians, Davis, and McCain. We know that, later, McCain went to Ukraine to cheer for Maidan and he also turned in Trump for interacting with Russians, so it doesn’t seem like he was in bed with them or that they had anything on him. My read would be that this guy felt guilty about covering up the affair and, after reading about Manafort, started to get obsessed with the matter of how close he had been to Russian interests, and sort of pulled his guilt for one over into the other - even if he had nothing to base that on. Or at least, as said, McCain only ever seems to have done things to piss off Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5244 "2022-05-09T16:24:54Z")
Yes, McCain was unfaithful to his first wife with Cindy. Newt was also in this boat. His story is, of course, well known, having his first wife served with divorce papers while she was in the hospital for cancer treatment. And then later divorcing that wife in favor of his third wife, with whom he’d been carrying out an affair for some time. I suppose ‘family values’ means something different when applied to older, rich conservative white men than just about anybody else. But that seems par for the course. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5245 "2022-05-09T18:04:24Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > My read would be that this guy felt guilty about covering up the affair and, after reading about Manafort, started to get obsessed with the matter of how close he had been to Russian interests, and sort of pulled his guilt for one over into the other - even if he had nothing to base that on. I would say it was more that he felt guilty about unleashing Palin on the world and as a result jump starting the ignorance is a virtue attitude that has taken over the GOP. Most of what I get from this tweet thread is, “Palin wasn’t my fault. If I had known what she was going to be like I never would have left her in obscurity. She’s all McCaine’s fault.” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/5246 "2022-05-09T21:48:43Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > My experience has been that researching candidates for local office is almost impossible. There’s very little information available unless you happen to know the person already. One of the advantages in having a mail-in ballot is that I can spend hours, over several days, researching. Everyone from US Senate and Governor down to Constable and JP has campaign websites these days, although some are coy about their platform. The tough part are the judges. Below the state Supreme Court, judges come up every few years on a retain or not choice. They have no websites and about the only information freely available are the polls of DAs, attorneys, and their fellow judges which are always in the mid to high 90s approval. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537.md?page=261) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537.md?page=263)