# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![loriloolee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5fc32e/32.png) [@loriloolee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loriloolee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/241 "2022-10-12T01:18:33Z")
Thanks for the link ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/242 "2022-10-12T02:06:20Z")
Wow. Not that I ever considered him a decent human being, but this article brings out more disgust for him. First the pushing of religion on the floor of the House, and then spitting “chaw” on the sidewalk. 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/243 "2022-10-12T11:04:26Z")
"“I don’t hear from anyone that there’s any great interest in what Madison Cawthorn is doing.” A great unintentional (?) burn. ---
**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, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/244 "2022-10-12T11:28:03Z")
Thank you – one thing we often see from lame-duck members is that they may even **leave** the post before the term is up to take their next job, maybe sticking around long enough so there’s no need to fill the vacancy for just one or two months. No such thing for our boy. He’s collecting that sweet sweet paycheck until the last day. But another thing that does happen, is if a member creates an actual vacancy, the office becomes “the Office of the Xth District” with the basic staff now working for the House continuing to do basic minimum services until a replacement is sworn in. By staying in office, OTOH, as the hiring authority for his office he can just reduce his staff to near nothing or close branch offices at will and use the expenses allowance on himself. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/245 "2022-10-12T12:07:18Z")
I realize that this is a thread about Cawthorn, but this story just had an update as well. Boebert never filed her lawsuit (go figure - a blustery threat of a lawsuit from a Trumplican). Instead, the group she threatened to sue has filed a libel suit against her: > **[Rep. Lauren Boebert sued for libel by American Muckrakers PAC - Colorado...](https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/lauren-boebert-sued-for-libel-american-muckrakers/)** > > David Wheeler of the American Muckrakers political action committee is suing Rep. Lauren Boebert for libel and slander. ---
**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, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/246 "2022-10-12T12:24:46Z")
[continued Boehbert aside] I dunno about that. There’s a feeding-the-troll risk when doing this – as I said before it then turns into a fight over the salacious claims, and the previously known valid issues get forgotten. I am having a bit of a hard time cheering them on. [/Boehbert] Going back to Cawthorn, we see here one thing with some of these over-the-edge MAGA types. They seem to see Congress as just some sort of highly paid platform from which to be “influencers” for the MAGA brand (with the assumption that, like Trump, being elected officials will mean FaceTwitGram will **have** to keep them on). Not to be doing any real legislative or constituent-service work: “I got elected to this here office to Pwn The Libs”. He did not even feel a need to be consistent in policy or attitude since like his idol, it’s all about whatever gets a reaction **this second**. Oh, and carrying a plastic water bottle as a spitoon as he wheels around the building? Jeebus, man… cut that out, dude, it’s nasty; and what, on top of the weelchair you also want ruined teeth and mouth cancer? Or is that it, that you figure &^%$ it, might as well just not care any more? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/247 "2022-10-12T12:45:05Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > “I got elected to this here office to Pwn The Libs”. He did not even feel a need to be consistent in policy or attitude since like his idol, it’s all about whatever gets a reaction **this second**. I said a while back that it’s a great job for a grifter. A guaranteed base income from their congressional salary, plus whatever they can con out of the rubes, with no one expecting them to do any real work. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/248 "2022-10-12T12:52:22Z")
And he would have had the job forever just by acting like an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/249 "2022-10-12T13:02:36Z")
…and since he had a budget for hiring a staff, he could have out-sourced the “acting like an adult” part of the job. He just needed to not act like a spoiled child _in public_. On the plus side, though, we’ve finally answered the age-old question, “How stupid does a politician have to be to be thrown out of office?” 😃 “Bob Everyman is an idiot, but he’s no worse than 180 millicawthorns, so he’ll probably be re-elected.” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/250 "2022-10-12T18:58:29Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > By staying in office, OTOH, as the hiring authority for his office he can just reduce his staff to near nothing or close branch offices at will and use the expenses allowance on himself. As always, follow the money. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/251 "2022-10-12T21:05:37Z")
I’m not sure how he can really spend his office budget on himself. He can’t buy champagne and Lamborghinis with it. I imagine the reason he has so many staff vacancies is because they’ve all fled the sinking ship. ---
**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, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/252 "2022-10-12T22:04:39Z")
Travel & dining expenses. Can’t do fancy lux vacays but can avoid paying his plane tickets out of pocket if he can remotely associate it with “work”. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/253 "2022-10-12T22:17:58Z")
I predict that the next time he’s in the news, it’s because he’ll be found dead somewhere not exactly befitting an ex-congressperson, i.e. a homeless shelter. As for chaw, I once saw a replica of the Iowa Statehouse, back when it was in Iowa City, and they had strategically placed spittoons because that’s what people did back in the day. But not in 2022! (Millicawthorn - good one.) ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/254 "2022-10-13T03:17:31Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Travel & dining expenses. Can’t do fancy lux vacays but can avoid paying his plane tickets out of pocket if he can remotely associate it with “work”. I guess. But members’ official expenses are subject to rules and oversight to ensure they’re not treating themselves to taxpayer-funded vacations. For a guy who was riding as high on the hog as Cawthorn, a few months of Southwest vouchers and government-rate rooms at the Holiday Inn Express almost seems like salt in the wound. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/255 "2022-10-22T16:03:20Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > members’ official expenses are subject to rules and oversight Rules and oversight are for the other people, not for MAGA supermen like Cawthorn. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/256 "2022-11-18T12:27:17Z")
Bump: > **[Madison Cawthorn vacates offices before end of term; constituents' calls go...](https://news.yahoo.com/madison-cawthorn-vacates-offices-end-125406718.html)** > > Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., has apparently vacated his Washington and district offices nearly two months before the end of his term. Looks like this greasy little weasel decided to bail out of his job entirely after losing the election. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/257 "2022-11-18T14:26:33Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > [Madison Cawthorn vacates offices before end of term; constituents' calls go unanswered](https://news.yahoo.com/madison-cawthorn-vacates-offices-end-125406718.html) > > Looks like this greasy little weasel decided to bail out of his job entirely after losing the election. Reminds me of Sarah Palin. > **[Sarah Palin's Lame Duck Defense](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarah-palins-lame-duck-defense/#app)** > > Would Serving Out Her Term Really Be a Waste of Time Because She Won't Seek Reelection? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/258 "2022-11-18T14:36:31Z")
It just goes to show that he was NEVER in politics for anything other than self-enrichment. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/259 "2022-11-18T22:10:09Z")
To be fair, being represented by nobody might constitute an improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616/260 "2022-11-19T00:36:55Z")
Does anyone know if Cawthorn is still drawing a Congressional salary, or receiving money that’s supposed to be going toward housing or paying staff at his office? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madison-cawthorn-controversial-republican-congressman-from-north-carolina-has-lost-the-primary-election/964616.md?page=14)