Even if it was his wife who turned it upside down, as he claims, it’s still his house as well and he could have opposed her decision to do so. On top of that, couples are (supposed to be) a team. If he didn’t know what she was getting up to in their own house, it speaks pretty poorly of him.
But obviously he, at the very least, condoned the upside down flag by allowing its presence.
I think the bigger takeaway from this is not that it was his wife who did it (regardless of whether that’s true), it’s that he readily threw his wife under the bus in an attempt to save face for himself. That, by itself, speaks volumes to the type of guy he is at his very core. Or even his supposed loved ones are safe if he feels threatened. Now that’s the sad part.
It’s easy to do that when she will suffer no consequences whatsoever for it. He’s not sacrificing her to save himself, he’s using a convenient excuse whereby the member of the household who has some nominal expectation of impartiality and civic support keeps their hands clean because their spouse has apparently have zero implications for their impartiality or ethics (see Thomas, Ginni).
You just described what it is to throw someone under the bus. 😊
To “throw under the bus” is a figurative phrase in English meaning to blame or abandon a person for selfish reasons. It is typically used to describe a disavowal of a previously amicable relationship to avoid being associated with something controversial or embarrassing.
“Throw someone under the bus” implies the other person going under the bus is bad for them and you’re doing it so they receive the harm instead of you. If someone says “hey, who shit in my flower bed” and you blame your dog, the dog isn’t going to suffer any consequences. I think Alito’s wife probably thinks he’s outplayed the haters, not that he’s harmed her to save himself, because nothing at all will happen to her.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t buy his story for a second, but dear God, your whole post exposes ignorance of how couples work, and reeks of “hes the man of the house and should take control.”
I’ve been with my wife for over 20 years. We don’t make sure everything the other does we agree with, and we don’t constantly keep tabs on what the other is doing. Claiming that it speaks poorly of him because he doesn’t keep some kind of totalitarian eye on his wife is kind of ironic in a comments section of this article.
The level of betrayal it would take for my wife to do something like this when I am a Supreme Court justice, knowing the political significance it would have, would be off the charts.
This is not simply be a case of “my wife and I don’t agree on everything and we don’t keep tabs on everything”. This is one of 9 people in the entire country appointed to one of the most powerful positions for life, and who, if they have the slightest bit of integrity and respect for the power entrusted to them, should be striving to show a significant level of nonpartisanship. Yes, this is a sacrifice. It’s the job.
I don’t know how I could possibly remain married to someone who would sell me out like that — make it appear that I was supporting insurrectionists. But we know it wasn’t a betrayal, and that he was showing support for them, and saying his wife did it is a convenient way to signal to the bad people while hand-waving away anybody who calls him out.
Wow, you totally missed my point. Being on the same page and aware of what your partner is doing has nothing to do with taking control. And I didn’t say he should be lording over her.
Relationships, when done well, involve a lot of communication. And how would you not notice the flag on your own front door?
Even if it was his wife who turned it upside down, as he claims, it’s still his house as well and he could have opposed her decision to do so. On top of that, couples are (supposed to be) a team. If he didn’t know what she was getting up to in their own house, it speaks pretty poorly of him.
But obviously he, at the very least, condoned the upside down flag by allowing its presence.
I think the bigger takeaway from this is not that it was his wife who did it (regardless of whether that’s true), it’s that he readily threw his wife under the bus in an attempt to save face for himself. That, by itself, speaks volumes to the type of guy he is at his very core. Or even his supposed loved ones are safe if he feels threatened. Now that’s the sad part.
It’s easy to do that when she will suffer no consequences whatsoever for it. He’s not sacrificing her to save himself, he’s using a convenient excuse whereby the member of the household who has some nominal expectation of impartiality and civic support keeps their hands clean because their spouse has apparently have zero implications for their impartiality or ethics (see Thomas, Ginni).
You just described what it is to throw someone under the bus. 😊
“Throw someone under the bus” implies the other person going under the bus is bad for them and you’re doing it so they receive the harm instead of you. If someone says “hey, who shit in my flower bed” and you blame your dog, the dog isn’t going to suffer any consequences. I think Alito’s wife probably thinks he’s outplayed the haters, not that he’s harmed her to save himself, because nothing at all will happen to her.
This is the selfish narcissist core right here. He threw his wife under the bus rather than backing her up.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Reminds me of Ted Cruz blaming his family for him skipping out to Cancun during a state-level crisis.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t buy his story for a second, but dear God, your whole post exposes ignorance of how couples work, and reeks of “hes the man of the house and should take control.”
I’ve been with my wife for over 20 years. We don’t make sure everything the other does we agree with, and we don’t constantly keep tabs on what the other is doing. Claiming that it speaks poorly of him because he doesn’t keep some kind of totalitarian eye on his wife is kind of ironic in a comments section of this article.
The level of betrayal it would take for my wife to do something like this when I am a Supreme Court justice, knowing the political significance it would have, would be off the charts.
This is not simply be a case of “my wife and I don’t agree on everything and we don’t keep tabs on everything”. This is one of 9 people in the entire country appointed to one of the most powerful positions for life, and who, if they have the slightest bit of integrity and respect for the power entrusted to them, should be striving to show a significant level of nonpartisanship. Yes, this is a sacrifice. It’s the job.
I don’t know how I could possibly remain married to someone who would sell me out like that — make it appear that I was supporting insurrectionists. But we know it wasn’t a betrayal, and that he was showing support for them, and saying his wife did it is a convenient way to signal to the bad people while hand-waving away anybody who calls him out.
Wow, you totally missed my point. Being on the same page and aware of what your partner is doing has nothing to do with taking control. And I didn’t say he should be lording over her.
Relationships, when done well, involve a lot of communication. And how would you not notice the flag on your own front door?