Siderea, Sibylla Bostoniensis
@siderea.bsky.social
Psychotherapist-programmer musician-historian outsider-anthropologist healthcare-blogger science-explainer social critic essay-essayer and soothsayer. Professional wisewoman and amateur wiseass.
Lots of people on bsky saying that the GOP bringing up Bill Clinton is a distraction.
It sure is. But it's one we gave them. It's unfinished business. It's our ghost of elections past. It's our karma.
We do not get to ignore it.
It sure is. But it's one we gave them. It's unfinished business. It's our ghost of elections past. It's our karma.
We do not get to ignore it.
December 21, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Lots of people on bsky saying that the GOP bringing up Bill Clinton is a distraction.
It sure is. But it's one we gave them. It's unfinished business. It's our ghost of elections past. It's our karma.
We do not get to ignore it.
It sure is. But it's one we gave them. It's unfinished business. It's our ghost of elections past. It's our karma.
We do not get to ignore it.
The right sure learned that lesson well.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:41 AM
The right sure learned that lesson well.
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It taught the US that not even the people claiming to think sexual assault and sexual harassment were very serious issues really did, and the whole thing could be safely ignored.
It taught the US that serious sexual misconduct claims can be airily dismissed as nothing other than partisanship.
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It taught the US that serious sexual misconduct claims can be airily dismissed as nothing other than partisanship.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:40 AM
It taught the US that not even the people claiming to think sexual assault and sexual harassment were very serious issues really did, and the whole thing could be safely ignored.
It taught the US that serious sexual misconduct claims can be airily dismissed as nothing other than partisanship.
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It taught the US that serious sexual misconduct claims can be airily dismissed as nothing other than partisanship.
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The right was duly schooled by this experience. They had suspected that all this noise about not letting "boys be boys" anymore and punishing men for "getting fresh" was just a pretext for witch-hunts against political enemies, and, lo, this certainly seemed to prove them right.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:36 AM
The right was duly schooled by this experience. They had suspected that all this noise about not letting "boys be boys" anymore and punishing men for "getting fresh" was just a pretext for witch-hunts against political enemies, and, lo, this certainly seemed to prove them right.
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It made it very clear to the whole country that we weren't really serious about these ideas.
It made it clear that it was, to liberals, only wrong when someone they didn't like did it.
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It made it clear that it was, to liberals, only wrong when someone they didn't like did it.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:32 AM
It made it very clear to the whole country that we weren't really serious about these ideas.
It made it clear that it was, to liberals, only wrong when someone they didn't like did it.
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It made it clear that it was, to liberals, only wrong when someone they didn't like did it.
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It was liberals who introduced the entire concept of "sexual harassment" as a legal doctrine to the US. It was liberals who framed sexual assault as an infringement of women's rights.
The reaction of liberals to Bill Clinton being credibly accused of both was to say, "ha ha only kidding nvm."
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The reaction of liberals to Bill Clinton being credibly accused of both was to say, "ha ha only kidding nvm."
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December 21, 2025 at 5:30 AM
It was liberals who introduced the entire concept of "sexual harassment" as a legal doctrine to the US. It was liberals who framed sexual assault as an infringement of women's rights.
The reaction of liberals to Bill Clinton being credibly accused of both was to say, "ha ha only kidding nvm."
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The reaction of liberals to Bill Clinton being credibly accused of both was to say, "ha ha only kidding nvm."
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The other thing it means is that the American left has a long overdue reckoning coming.
There is a very real sense in which the Dems - not just the politicians but the voters - greased Trump's skids by how they handled the revelations about Bill Clinton.
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There is a very real sense in which the Dems - not just the politicians but the voters - greased Trump's skids by how they handled the revelations about Bill Clinton.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:26 AM
The other thing it means is that the American left has a long overdue reckoning coming.
There is a very real sense in which the Dems - not just the politicians but the voters - greased Trump's skids by how they handled the revelations about Bill Clinton.
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There is a very real sense in which the Dems - not just the politicians but the voters - greased Trump's skids by how they handled the revelations about Bill Clinton.
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It means two other things as well.
It means nobody on this side gets to chuckle to themselves about how silly the GOP is for thinking the Dems would close ranks to protect Bill Clinton. Nobody on this side gets to look down their nose at the GOP and say, "We don't do that."
We, in fact, did.
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It means nobody on this side gets to chuckle to themselves about how silly the GOP is for thinking the Dems would close ranks to protect Bill Clinton. Nobody on this side gets to look down their nose at the GOP and say, "We don't do that."
We, in fact, did.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:24 AM
It means two other things as well.
It means nobody on this side gets to chuckle to themselves about how silly the GOP is for thinking the Dems would close ranks to protect Bill Clinton. Nobody on this side gets to look down their nose at the GOP and say, "We don't do that."
We, in fact, did.
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It means nobody on this side gets to chuckle to themselves about how silly the GOP is for thinking the Dems would close ranks to protect Bill Clinton. Nobody on this side gets to look down their nose at the GOP and say, "We don't do that."
We, in fact, did.
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I'm sure at this point some readers are positively aching to reply "But none of that is as bad as sexually trafficking children!"
Correct!
But it does mean that if it turns out he DID participate in trafficking minors, it's maybe not that much of a surprise.
And
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Correct!
But it does mean that if it turns out he DID participate in trafficking minors, it's maybe not that much of a surprise.
And
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December 21, 2025 at 5:19 AM
I'm sure at this point some readers are positively aching to reply "But none of that is as bad as sexually trafficking children!"
Correct!
But it does mean that if it turns out he DID participate in trafficking minors, it's maybe not that much of a surprise.
And
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Correct!
But it does mean that if it turns out he DID participate in trafficking minors, it's maybe not that much of a surprise.
And
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You can still see people saying, "well, that's different because it was consensual".
No, he was accused of raping and groping and exposing himself to unwilling people, usually whom he had power over.
You can still see people saying, "he said she said".
He settled the Jones case for $850,000.
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No, he was accused of raping and groping and exposing himself to unwilling people, usually whom he had power over.
You can still see people saying, "he said she said".
He settled the Jones case for $850,000.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:15 AM
You can still see people saying, "well, that's different because it was consensual".
No, he was accused of raping and groping and exposing himself to unwilling people, usually whom he had power over.
You can still see people saying, "he said she said".
He settled the Jones case for $850,000.
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No, he was accused of raping and groping and exposing himself to unwilling people, usually whom he had power over.
You can still see people saying, "he said she said".
He settled the Jones case for $850,000.
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From the barely not libertarian DINOs through the liberals and the progressives and on to the crunchiest of anarchists, this is how the side that theoretically thought that rape was bad responded: with minimization and dismissal.
And you can still see it today.
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And you can still see it today.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:11 AM
From the barely not libertarian DINOs through the liberals and the progressives and on to the crunchiest of anarchists, this is how the side that theoretically thought that rape was bad responded: with minimization and dismissal.
And you can still see it today.
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And you can still see it today.
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I was there. I remember. I am personally ashamed of dismissing and minimizing the claims of his victims as a mere political hack job. I had company.
About a half a country's worth of company, didn't I?
The support for Bill Clinton and for minimizing what he had done was broad and deep.
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About a half a country's worth of company, didn't I?
The support for Bill Clinton and for minimizing what he had done was broad and deep.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:08 AM
I was there. I remember. I am personally ashamed of dismissing and minimizing the claims of his victims as a mere political hack job. I had company.
About a half a country's worth of company, didn't I?
The support for Bill Clinton and for minimizing what he had done was broad and deep.
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About a half a country's worth of company, didn't I?
The support for Bill Clinton and for minimizing what he had done was broad and deep.
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At least it wasn't the case. Maybe it is now. That would be nice. But nobody on this side of the aisle gets to look down their noses at the people on the other side of the aisle and say, "WE don't do that sort of thing." WE DID THAT SORT OF THING.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:04 AM
At least it wasn't the case. Maybe it is now. That would be nice. But nobody on this side of the aisle gets to look down their noses at the people on the other side of the aisle and say, "WE don't do that sort of thing." WE DID THAT SORT OF THING.
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So, uh, *no*, it is evidently NOT the case that Democrats would bring Bill Clinton to justice if he were found to have committed a sex crime. No, it is NOT the case that our side does not hold our favored politicians above the law and protect them from justice out of partiality.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:02 AM
So, uh, *no*, it is evidently NOT the case that Democrats would bring Bill Clinton to justice if he were found to have committed a sex crime. No, it is NOT the case that our side does not hold our favored politicians above the law and protect them from justice out of partiality.
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...To give substance to this pledge, we are also pledging, today, our maximum possible dollar contribution to opposing candidates in the year 2000.'"
The biggest, most powerful Democrat organizing engine to arise from the dawn of the internet coalesced around *protecting Bill Clinton*.
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The biggest, most powerful Democrat organizing engine to arise from the dawn of the internet coalesced around *protecting Bill Clinton*.
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December 21, 2025 at 5:01 AM
...To give substance to this pledge, we are also pledging, today, our maximum possible dollar contribution to opposing candidates in the year 2000.'"
The biggest, most powerful Democrat organizing engine to arise from the dawn of the internet coalesced around *protecting Bill Clinton*.
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The biggest, most powerful Democrat organizing engine to arise from the dawn of the internet coalesced around *protecting Bill Clinton*.
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"In response to the impeachment vote, MoveOn launched a 'We will remember' campaign, asking its members to sign a pledge that "we will work to defeat Members of Congress who voted for impeachment or removal...
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December 21, 2025 at 4:59 AM
"In response to the impeachment vote, MoveOn launched a 'We will remember' campaign, asking its members to sign a pledge that "we will work to defeat Members of Congress who voted for impeachment or removal...
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"'We put together a one-sentence petition. ... We sent it to under a hundred of our friends and family, and within a week we had a hundred thousand people sign the petition. ... A half a million people ultimately signed'"
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December 21, 2025 at 4:57 AM
"'We put together a one-sentence petition. ... We sent it to under a hundred of our friends and family, and within a week we had a hundred thousand people sign the petition. ... A half a million people ultimately signed'"
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"Initially called 'Censure and Move On', it invited visitors to add their names to an online petition stating that 'Congress must Immediately Censure President Clinton and Move On to pressing issues facing the country.'"
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December 21, 2025 at 4:54 AM
"Initially called 'Censure and Move On', it invited visitors to add their names to an online petition stating that 'Congress must Immediately Censure President Clinton and Move On to pressing issues facing the country.'"
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Ever heard of MoveOn?
Do you recall – or ever learn in the first place – its origin and just what its name is suggesting people move on *from*?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoveOn#...:
"The MoveOn website was launched initially to oppose the Republican-led effort to impeach Clinton."
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Do you recall – or ever learn in the first place – its origin and just what its name is suggesting people move on *from*?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoveOn#...:
"The MoveOn website was launched initially to oppose the Republican-led effort to impeach Clinton."
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MoveOn - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 21, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Ever heard of MoveOn?
Do you recall – or ever learn in the first place – its origin and just what its name is suggesting people move on *from*?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoveOn#...:
"The MoveOn website was launched initially to oppose the Republican-led effort to impeach Clinton."
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Do you recall – or ever learn in the first place – its origin and just what its name is suggesting people move on *from*?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoveOn#...:
"The MoveOn website was launched initially to oppose the Republican-led effort to impeach Clinton."
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So what did liberals do in response to these accusations of sexual assault and sexual harassment coming to light?
*Surely* the political side that established sexual harassment and rape as violations of women's rights demanded he be brought to justice, right?
Right?
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*Surely* the political side that established sexual harassment and rape as violations of women's rights demanded he be brought to justice, right?
Right?
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December 21, 2025 at 4:49 AM
So what did liberals do in response to these accusations of sexual assault and sexual harassment coming to light?
*Surely* the political side that established sexual harassment and rape as violations of women's rights demanded he be brought to justice, right?
Right?
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*Surely* the political side that established sexual harassment and rape as violations of women's rights demanded he be brought to justice, right?
Right?
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There are so many other accusations that there's a whole Wikipedia page for them:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cl...
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cl...
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Bill Clinton sexual assault and misconduct allegations - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 21, 2025 at 4:42 AM
There are so many other accusations that there's a whole Wikipedia page for them:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cl...
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cl...
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She was one of his campaign volunteers.
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December 21, 2025 at 4:40 AM
She was one of his campaign volunteers.
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"According to Broaddrick, she agreed to meet with Clinton for coffee in the lobby of her hotel, but Clinton asked if they could go to her room to avoid a crowd of reporters; she agreed. Broaddrick stated that once Clinton had isolated her in her hotel room, he raped her."
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December 21, 2025 at 4:39 AM
"According to Broaddrick, she agreed to meet with Clinton for coffee in the lobby of her hotel, but Clinton asked if they could go to her room to avoid a crowd of reporters; she agreed. Broaddrick stated that once Clinton had isolated her in her hotel room, he raped her."
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What emerged was that Bill Clinton had a pattern of using his political positions to pressure female employees to have sex with him.
At least one accused him of rape: Juanita Broaddrick
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita...
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At least one accused him of rape: Juanita Broaddrick
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita...
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Juanita Broaddrick - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 21, 2025 at 4:38 AM
What emerged was that Bill Clinton had a pattern of using his political positions to pressure female employees to have sex with him.
At least one accused him of rape: Juanita Broaddrick
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita...
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At least one accused him of rape: Juanita Broaddrick
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita...
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Some of the women insisted the sex was consensual, most famously Monica Lewinsky.
Others not so much.
But regardless of nominal consent, almost all of the women were HIS EMPLOYEES. And he was in a position of power over them.
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Others not so much.
But regardless of nominal consent, almost all of the women were HIS EMPLOYEES. And he was in a position of power over them.
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December 21, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Some of the women insisted the sex was consensual, most famously Monica Lewinsky.
Others not so much.
But regardless of nominal consent, almost all of the women were HIS EMPLOYEES. And he was in a position of power over them.
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Others not so much.
But regardless of nominal consent, almost all of the women were HIS EMPLOYEES. And he was in a position of power over them.
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