usmbguest5318
Gold Member
I tend to agree. I know to that in a public setting like this one, that conclusion is one that needs the support of either:
(1) an attestation more or less to that effect by Bilden, or
(2) a sound argument that shows preponderantly
(a) one who is thoughtful fears having a trump association and
(b) Bilden is thoughtful.
(b) Bilden is thoughtful.
My issue with the claim is that JakeStarkey didn't present a sound case for it being so. The fact that I hold him to the same standard I hold conservatives doesn't mean I think he's wrong any more than I think conservatives are wrong.
That standard has everything to do with one's making the statement here in public rather than in a conversation with friends lounging on the lanai and discussing the matter over mint juleps. I'm sure you're familiar with the idea of "six degrees of separation." I live in D.C. there's a lot of "scoop" that flies around, and one is never "six degrees" away from the source. One doesn't need to be part of "official Washington" to hear it or hear it in a timely manner. Locals and public officials belong to the same clubs, have officials as neighbors with whom they chat, go to the same restaurants, talk to the same long term career SES employees, use the same cleaning services (the "maid and nanny network" is one of the best reasons to have a maid/nanny), send their kids to the same schools, patronize the same boutiques, vacation in the same places, etc., and guess whose relationships are deeper in all those local places....Word gets around. It's the same in other cities, it's just that the "scoop" may be business related or state or local government related.
So when I'm talking to my local friends, I know whether they know what they are talking about...I know their motivations, experiences, network, character etc. as they know mine, so I can "read between the lines," so to speak, in assessing the merit of what they say to me. My friends can do the same when I share things with them. Too, when we doubt what each other says, we can ask, "Where'd you come up with that?", and get/give an honest answer in complete confidence.
Here, it's not like that. I can't name names. You can't either. Nor would I expect you or other members to do so, unless, of course, one is one of the persons directly involved in the matter under discussion, in which case one can say, "I'm 'so and so' and I said/think....." The point is that if one is going to here make a claim, it has to be a claim one can support. Jake didn't support his claim, and that's the problem I have with it.
