Far-right Rep. Madison Cawthorn raised eyebrows last week when he made the unsubstantiated claim that people he once admired in Washington, D.C., have invited him to orgies and done cocaine in front of him.
In an interview with a conservative podcast, Cawthorn, R-N.C., claimed he was giving his perspective as a “young guy in Washington,” where the average age is "probably 60 or 70.”
Those doing cocaine in his presence were some of the people leading the movement to curb drug addiction, he alleged.
I should say: Madison Cawthorn's actions and remarks are often deranged and completely untrustworthy. Having said that, I feel no shame reveling in the havoc he’s wreaking on GOP lawmakers who’ve tried to normalize him through their support or silence.
So let’s do some quick investigative work about the claims, shall we?
Cawthorn has been accused of being a racist and has spewed invective about Democrats, so it seems likely that the people he looked up to are Republicans. And that explains why there’s been hand-wringing in the GOP over his comments — to such an extent, in fact, that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reportedly plans to talk to Cawthorn about them.
According to Politico, Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., spoke out against the claims in a closed-door meeting among Republicans on Tuesday (Womack is 65 years old and has spearheaded legislation to combat drug addiction.)
“Womack remarked that many lawmakers go to bed at 9 p.m. and still use fax machines and flip phones stating that it was inappropriate to paint them with a broad brush, as Cawthorn did," Politico reported.
Not to get technical, but I’m pretty sure people with flip phones and fax machines can still attend orgies.
Many Republican lawmakers have happily watched and egged on QAnon conspiracy theorists who baselessly allege prominent liberals are child sex abusers in need of eradication by conservatives such as former President Donald Trump.
Now the enablers of this slander are seemingly tinged with allegations of possible sexual predation from someone within their own ranks. And there’s no reason for him to stop.
I don’t care whom Cawthorn has allegedly been invited to have sex with or how many or how old they are. And to reiterate: He’s one of the least reliable sources imaginable. But I’m shedding no tears whatsoever that the party that welcomed him into the fold (political party — not sex party) is having to deal with the consequences of giving him a platform.
Related: