Matt Gaetz's Ability to Survive Scandal Is Truly Trumpian

[Celerity]

Much like Trump, the Florida congressman benefits from the fact that our outrage sensors are completely burnt-out.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/matt-gaetzs-ability-to-survive-scandal-is-truly-trumpian



“I’ll give you the truth why I’m not speaker,” Kevin McCarthy told a crowd assembled at Georgetown University this past Tuesday night. “It’s because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old…”

Cue the record scratch.

In a normal world, that shocking allegation—leveled by a former Speaker of the House against a current member of the House, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)—would have dominated news coverage for weeks. Instead, it barely elicited a yawn. To be sure, McCarthy later added, “Did he do it or not? I don’t know.” What is more, the Department of Justice dropped their investigation of Gaetz over a year ago, and Gaetz flatly denies the claims. On the other hand, the House Ethics Committee is still investigating, Gaetz’s close friend pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a minor, and McCarthy’s words seem to suggest he hasn’t ruled out the possibility it’s true.

Rep. Matt Gaetz Snorted Cocaine With Megan Zalonka, Escort Who Had 'No Show' Gov't Job

Regardless, one would think McCarthy’s comments would have made a bigger splash. But we live in a post-Trump world, and particularly among the MAGA set, it takes a whole lot more than allegations like these to spark widespread furor. Our outrage receptors have been burned out. The GOP has, in the words of the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “defined decency down,” a phenomenon that aids any Republican caught up in a scandal. Since his election to the presidency, Trump has changed the culture of the GOP, normalizing bad behavior. He has also served as a magnet, attracting new scoundrels who might previously have thought politics was boring, or that they had too much baggage to run for political office.



In this regard, Gaetz’s alleged behavior makes him something of a microcosm of the Trump-era Republican Party. A recent profile in The Atlantic provides plenty of examples of this. First, unlike the old-school family values conservatism, Gaetz lets his freak flag fly, having allegedly shown his House colleagues nude pictures of his sexual conquests on the House floor, and having allegedly participated in a “Points Game” in the Florida legislature, where points were awarded based on which women a member slept with (married fellow members were worth more than lobbyists, for example). This is no longer your father’s Republican Party; the MAGA GOP is full of figures who are alleged to have engaged in some sordid stuff. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has a long list of cuckoo ravings that would be disqualifying for most pre-Trump Republicans. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was caught on camera fondling her date at a Beetlejuice production. I could go on.

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[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Stupid people vote for stupid candidates.

Says more about the voters than the candidates.