There are people who really, really don’t want Rep. Madison Cawthorn to be re-elected to the House. First, leftwing activist groups tried to get him thrown off the ballot, asserting that he fomented an “insurrection.” Then, a series of opposition research dumps focusing on his immature antics have come to haunt the congressman.
One of them involved a staff member putting his hand on Cawthorn’s crotch while they made sexual jokes. Another, which I won’t link to here, showed a naked Cawthorn, supposedly prior to him attaining office, dry humping his cousin while others looked on and laughed.
Now, as weird and ill-advised as that stuff is, there is a level of “guys doing stupid crap” in all of it. Many men in their twenties will admit that they have shared homoerotic jokes among friends. Still, I can understand if someone looks at those instances and says, “Yeah, I don’t think this person should be in Congress.”
As a personal matter, I’m not big on the Matt Gaetz-Madison Cawthorn “squad” that exists even though I also despise the establishment of the GOP. I feel like they try way too hard to grift off Trump’s appeal while never offering much value. Why can’t we just get more representatives like Chip Roy and Jim Jordan? Yet, the latest hit piece on Cawthorn is enough that I’ll jump in and defend him.
Read the following headline and tell me what you think it’s trying to project.
U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn gave cousin $141K in campaign and taxpayer funds, records show https://t.co/h9juGQ0LCQ
— Chris Cioffi (@ReporterCioffi) May 7, 2022
Now, if you were just a random person pursuing Twitter, you’d think that headline indicates that Cawthorn illegally funneled money to his cousin, including taxpayer funds, right? I don’t think I’m being unfair by saying that’s exactly what that headline is meant to insinuate. Saying Cawthorn “gave” the money to his cousin carries a clear implication. But what’s the real story?
If you actually read the article, which most won’t (as evidenced by the replies), here’s what it says.
U.S. House members cannot hire immediate relatives, including first cousins. But the requirement doesn’t extend to second cousins. Nonetheless, the payments sharpen the focus on the nature of the relationship between Cawthorn and Smith and raise questions from political observers about the perception of family self-dealing…
…Smith was listed as a congressional office scheduler to Cawthorn and received $32,744 between Jan. 4, 2021, and Aug. 22, 2021, according to quarterly statements of disbursements published by the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House. Smith wasn’t listed under Cawthorn’s office personnel section in the final months of 2021. Instead, he served as an “ADA aide,” a reference to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Smith was paid $28,487 for his new role between Dec. 31, 2021 and Aug. 1, 2021.
I will summarize all the extra words into one sentence: Madison Cawthorn hired his cousin as a staffer, and paid him very little over many years.
That’s the “scandal” here. It’s astonishing that something like this even made it to print, but worse is that this “news” outlet chose to lead with a headline that made it seem as if Cawthorn had been doing something nefarious.
If news agencies are interested in actual scandals regarding campaign funds being used to pay family members, Ilhan Omar or Maxine Waters should be their first choice. The former has funneled over a million dollars to the “consulting” company of her now-husband (and payments were made while they were having an affair). Her daughter was paid over one million dollars by the latter using campaign funds.
But the media doesn’t care about those actual scandals. They’d rather wring their hands over Cawthorn paying a staffer because he’s not their type. It’s just stupid. Cawthorn should be removed from office if they want to do so in a proper manner and not by spreading misinformation like this.
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