this is a brilliant observation honestly. every accusation or criticism levied against the fascists gets reversed in a “I know you are but what am?” sneer. it works for many reasons, and it’s part of the right wing playbook.

• accused of nepotism? flip it around and prosecute Hunter.
• accused of Jan 6 violence? bring up the George Floyd riots or antifa.
• accused of sexual scandal? point out Bill Clinton’s many accusers and Bidens hair sniffing.
• greed? bring up Pelosi insider trading.
• coercing abortion? they point to vaccines/mask mandates. obviously none are equivalent in scale or scope, but the have truthiness to them at first glance. and just as importantly, like in your purse thief example, they redirect attention and create doubt… just long enough to avoid getting caught or face the wrath of the crowd.

it works, partly because the so-called opposition party in America is actually kind of a piece of shit and has been for generations. Dems hate the extreme consequences of capitalism, but love capitalism (and benefit from it). so they ultimately can’t condemn it or offer long term solutions to the problems it creates. conservatives at least offer simpler solutions which all boil down to “hate who you’re told” and “obey your God King and you’ll someday be rewarded”.