Many Republican Office Holders Never Feel Shame

[MineralMan]

We see that all the time. When Al Franken was accused of a relatively minor sexually-charged action, his response, in the end, was to resign. That's a Democratic sort of response.

When Trump gets accused of a far worse action, or Kavanaugh refuses to take responsibility for a sexual assault he committed as a teenager, however, no sense of shame is attached to the act. No shame - No sense of guilt.

That is an important difference between Democratic and Republican politicians. We see it, too, in false negative campaign advertising by Republicans. They know they're lying, but feel no shame from doing so.

A lack of shame is part of the reason Republicans can do horrible things and simply ignore the suffering they cause. They feel no shame about anything.

[Wounded Bear]

1. No shame, and absolutely no sense of irony...

[Lindsay]

2. As a commenter at Eschaton said,

"Shamelessness is their superpower."

[MineralMan]

3. Exactly.

People who do not experience shame are often very, very successful. The irony of that is clear.

[Caliman73]

4. I wouldn't say it is ironic.

They often succeed at positions that require little actual compassion, morality, or ethics. Business, Politics, Law, etc... Those businesses reward unethical behavior at times. I suppose you can be unethical in any profession, but especially business and politics reward people who make selfish decisions that border on immorality as long as the benefits outweigh the costs.

You don't see shameless people succeed in areas of human relationships because to them everything is transactional. I take from you as much as I can and give you as little as possible. That is why you see these wealthy men on their 3rd marriages regularly.

It says much about how our society sees "success" that people like Trump, Kavanaugh, and basically anyone in the current administration and Republican party have gained such power.