# Madison Cawthorn, controversial Republican Congressman from North Carolina, has lost the primary election **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 18, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616 "2022-05-18T14:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/221 "2022-06-17T07:53:37Z")
Regarding Boebert, first of all, I don’t really believe the “escort” rumors. Something about it just doesn’t pass the smell test (not that I have any interest in smelling any part of Lauren Boebert). But here’s where I land on this: if it’s true that she was, and has done a 180, I don’t see that as hypocritical, even if she rages against it now. People change, and can regret chapters of their lives. Now, if she were to advocate against it _while still doing it_, then I could see her as a hypocrite. Of course, part of that would seem to entail an actual admission of having had the sort of past that makes these rumors true. If there’s no owning up to it, my sympathies are a bit diminished. Does that make sense? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/222 "2022-06-17T11:54:59Z")
I hope they go after Perjury Traitor Goone next. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/223 "2022-06-17T12:51:08Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > But here’s where I land on this: if it’s true that she was, and has done a 180, I don’t see that as hypocritical, even if she rages against it now. People change, and can regret chapters of their lives. Sure, if you (generic you) own up to your past and explain your 180, then I would not view you as hypocritical. One can reasonably argue “I did this thing and I regret it, I’ve learned from my mistakes, and now I’m against it.” But that’s not even close to what’s happening here, IF any of these rumors about Boebert are true (which I have significant doubts about). ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/224 "2022-06-17T12:56:27Z")
ETA: Damn it, ninja’d > [@Superdude](#): > > But here’s where I land on this: if it’s true that she was, and has done a 180, I don’t see that as hypocritical, even if she rages against it now. People change, and can regret chapters of their lives. Sure, but if we’re just going to shrug and say people change, then no-one is guilty of hypocrisy ever. If someone is railing against X, even though they used to do X, they are obliged to mention this, and state why they were wrong before. \* And it’s not enough to say “I was poor and desperate”, which would imply it is still an acceptable choice for someone poor and desperate today. \*\* Not that I think escort work is necessarily wrong. Personally I would be in favor of legalization. I’m just saying that if a person has made the claim that it’s wrong, period, but then it turns out they used to engage in that work, there’s a hypocrisy there. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/225 "2022-06-17T17:18:19Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Now, if she were to advocate against it _while still doing it_, then I could see her as a hypocrite. The Gold Standard of Hypocrisy remains Eliot Spitzer, who made his name and his career busting prostitutes and their johns, until it was discovered that he was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/226 "2022-06-17T17:49:29Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The Gold Standard of Hypocrisy remains Eliot Spitzer, who made his name and his career busting prostitutes and their johns, until it was discovered that he was one of them. Bullshit. He made his name as a DA going after organized crime and sweat shops. If you’re talking about when he was attorney general, it was fraud and white collar crime. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/227 "2022-06-26T02:23:00Z")
Not surprising anyone, the PAC that published the allegations admits to sloppy investigation - See the following CNN factcheck - [https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/25/politics/fact-check-super-pac-lauren-boebert-escort-abortion-sugar-daddy/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/25/politics/fact-check-super-pac-lauren-boebert-escort-abortion-sugar-daddy/index.html) > [American Muckrakers PAC](https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00776062/?tab=about-committee) co-founder David Wheeler acknowledged to CNN that the super PAC had been “sloppy” and had published “inaccuracies” on its anti-Boebert website, though he said it remains confident in the “main points of the story.” His comments came after CNN reporting found that the super PAC had made at least five false statements about Boebert, along with a series of uncorroborated assertions that Boebert says are false and that CNN could neither immediately confirm nor immediately debunk. Pretty much everything of note is either false or unsupported. But I don’t think any of us are surprised, I mean, several of us would have LOVED for it to be true, because she’s a hateful person and, wait, we hate her. But yeah, sadly seems little to no confirmation of any of the major facts. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/228 "2022-06-26T03:49:59Z")
I thought it was a conservative PAC that took Cawthorn down. It was Democrats? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/229 "2022-06-26T04:56:20Z")
> [@](#): > > In emails this week and in a Thursday interview, Wheeler conceded that the super PAC was wrong when it insisted a photo of another woman posing on a bed is a photo of Boebert, was wrong when it claimed Boebert initially failed to disclose a campaign contribution from Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, was wrong to suggest Cruz had made big contributions to Boebert’s campaign immediately after she started running in her first primary, was wrong about the date of a Boebert vehicle accident, and was wrong when it published a claim that Boebert had an abortion “in the fall of 2004” – at most six months before she gave birth to a son in March 2005. Aside from the last point, though, none of those inaccuracies really speak to the meat of the story. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/230 "2022-06-26T05:05:53Z")
At this point, what story? Their credibility is shot. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/231 "2022-06-26T13:00:25Z")
Yeah, there seems to be some confusion there, probably because in Cawthorn’s case he had so much dumpster fire material in his very existence that **everyone** had something they could bring up to take a shot at him, and did, and the NC Republicans went ahead and used it, from whatever the source, to do what needed doing. **This** particular PAC, it was established upthread, had support from his Democratic opponents. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/232 "2022-06-26T13:05:06Z")
Much like a MAGAt who blithely brushes aside mountains of evidence that’s contrary to his wants, I’ll continue to believe the allegations against her. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/233 "2022-06-26T16:21:53Z")
Do as you see fit, as I said, I have ample, other, factual reasons to intensely dislike her. I’m sure the net hate against her due to the debunking is going to be a zero sum change. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/234 "2022-06-28T08:48:20Z")
I’ve been sceptical of the escort/abortion allegations but there’s so much other verifiably horrible stuff to hold against Boebert that it’s not like we really needed more to dislike her. Personally I’m hoping the obvious tax fraud is what gets her. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/235 "2022-06-28T10:30:16Z")
The most unfortunate aspect of this is that it gives fuel to the “all news is fake news!!” crowd. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/236 "2022-06-28T14:39:22Z")
I know, especially the way that those earlier more credible issues get virtually erased from public attention when the more salacious ones show up. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/237 "2022-07-05T13:38:45Z")
Lauren speaks … yet again: > **[Rep. Lauren Boebert's Terrible Take On Denmark Shooting Slammed As 'Deadly'...](https://news.yahoo.com/rep-lauren-boeberts-terrible-denmark-064309486.html)** > > The U.S. has had more mass shootings in the past weekend than Denmark has had in a decade. > “There was just a mass shooting in Denmark, a country with some of the strictest gun laws in Europe. It’s time to admit that gun laws DO NOT stop mass shootings!” tweeted the Republican gun fanatic, who once had her children pose for a Christmas picture holding assault rifles. The Twitter-verse got her 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/238 "2022-10-12T00:52:25Z")
Since this is the most recent MC thread going, looks like our boy has walked off the job: [https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1579853705960034304?t=60HXCHRXwnpktIirzwF71w&s=19](https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1579853705960034304?t=60HXCHRXwnpktIirzwF71w&s=19) > **[What does Madison Cawthorn do now?](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/10/11/madison-cawthorn-future/)** > > The defeated congressman’s next chapter may offer insight into how redemption works, or doesn’t, for a scandal-plagued Republican who still loves Trump. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/239 "2022-10-12T01:04:32Z")
Y’all guys realize the Wahington Post is paywwalled by default. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/240 "2022-10-12T01:12:15Z")
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