Back in 1998, iconic feminist Gloria Steinem wrote a now-infamous editorial defending then-President Bill Clinton, who multiple women had accused of sexual harassment, assault and even rape. Steinem argued that Clinton’s conduct wasn’t really sexual harasment, much less criminal conduct, and that in any case the accusations against Clinton were in a different category than those made against Republican politicians (who had been forced to resign). But Steinem’s bottom line was this: women — even (especially!) feminists — should overlook Clinton’s behavior because, unlike Republicans, he was a reliable defender of abortion.

Steinem later backpedaled a bit, during the height of the #MeToo movement. But there is nevertheless an important lesson in that story. To put it bluntly, an astonishing amount of corruption — if by that we mean complete abandonment of principles — will be overlooked, tolerated and even encouraged if it gets people what they want politically.

This is a bipartisan phenomenon to be sure, but we are seeing it in full force on the Left at the moment, as the extent of the corruption within the Biden administration (and its puppet master holdovers from the Obama administration) is finally being revealed.

Thus, they don’t want endless wars — unless the wars are taking place in countries funneling money to politicians they like and their families. They want to support the efforts of countries attempting to remain free of dictatorial overlords — unless the dictatorial overlords are funneling money to politicians they like and their families.

Bribes from foreign nations? Who cares? Weaponization of the federal government? No big deal. Selective enforcement of the law and dual standards of justice? Meh. Crafting a fictitious “collusion” narrative to take out a political opponent (and then a president), and spending tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars for a fraudulent investigation? Whatever. Lying to Congress? Yawn. Censoring scientists, experts and even journalists who have information that contradicts deceptive propaganda? Sure.

Americans understandably feel betrayed by those who ignore the corruption when they should be calling it out — like feminists who look the other way at serial abusers, free speech enthusiasts who now cheer for censorious authoritarians, or journalists who lose interest in telling the public the truth.

What’s behind these abrupt changes of position is not so much money as it is policy.

Like Gloria Steinem in 1998, today’s turncoats think ignoring the corruption of the Biden family and the lawlessness of his administration will aid those working behind the scenes to get the policies they want: destruction of the fossil fuel industries; the elimination of cars, private property, and sprawling suburbs of single-family housing in favor of public transportation and multifamily high-rises in “15-minute cities”; criminalization of gun ownership; confiscatory taxation and wealth redistribution; defunding police departments; the imposition of critical race theory and gender indoctrination in the educational system; taxpayer-funded abortion on demand; “free” universal health care and higher education, just to name a few.