Lauren Boebert and the American Muckrakers

[Thtwudbeme]

I am enjoying following this one- of course I want Boebert to go home and make crappy BBQ and shoot her silly guns and leave the rest of us alone, so I am rooting for the American Muckrakers.

That said, it's interesting also to read the naysayers on DU: "oh she said that didn't happen... it's been debunked."

Not so fast...here's a link, but also look at the other things this group is making accusations about. I'll put that link in the comments. Everyone is focused on her "being a stripper" or "abortions" but those are just two things on their website. BTW, I could not care less if a woman chooses to have an abortion or work as an escort- I care very much that Lauren works to hurt other women and deny healthcare to them. I don't want to hear a damned thing about "slut shaming"....I would defend any woman's right to a safe medically supervised abortion.

https://news.yahoo.com/rep-lauren-boebert-wants-sue-234228296.html

From the article:
Despite a damning letter from Rep. Lauren Boebert’s legal team denying all of the accusations against her, David Wheeler, the president of American Muckrakers, said his organization is fully prepared to defend their claims in court.

“If she really wants a civil lawsuit against us for defamation, bring it, because we haven't told anything that we did not believe to be true,” Wheeler said, adding that they would like to depose everybody involved, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Boebert’s family members.

“We will get to the bottom of whether we're lying or she's trying to lawyer us to death.”

[Tetrachloride]

1. What does Cruz have to do with this ?

[AllBlue]

5. The Muckrakers are claiming

that Cruz met Bobert when she was working as an "unlicensed escort"
and encouraged her to run for office, later offering her campaign a
six figure donation that was not properly declared...

The stories are all over google.

[dawn5651]

9. read the link..koch brother introduced him to boebert when she was a escort

[Walleye]

2. She does not deserve the benefit of the doubt. Judging by her public behavior

I’m ready to believe almost anything about what she does in private considering what a terrible person she is in public

[Thtwudbeme]

3. Well of course- me too. That said, if the allegations are false

and her character was defamed- then she is welcome to prove that in court.

I HOPE she sues- but I suspect she will not for some reason. I would love to see the discovery aspect of the trial.

[Walleye]

4. She will not sue. She is a public figure. She has to take it if she dishes it out

[HAB911]

6. Were they correct about Cawthorn?

[Thtwudbeme]

7. They were. Of course Cawthorn tried to pass his videos and photos off as

"youthful silliness," and that may have worked....except he is only 26 years old.

It SHOULD have been enough for voters to know that he lied about his accomplishments (military school, the para olympics), that he dropped out of college after flunking out the first semester (because he was upset about something crap about a girl he was dating)...that he lied about his wreck (his friend did not abandon him, nor was he declared "dead" at the scene)...but, oh hell no. It took some drag photos and a seemingly "homo erotic" video to turn those voters off.

NO one SHOULD give a flip if Lauren had abortions or not- that is her personal business. If she was a paid escort, she should have been properly registered with the state. The voters SHOULD care about her education, her experience and her tax records. I personally want to know how in the hell someone that young with a hole in the wall BBQ joint makes 600,000 + a year.

I had friends and worked for a couple of guys that had a hole in the wall small restaurant in the wealthiest part of Charlotte, NC. Immensely popular joint for years- and they both took home about 90 grand a year.

[HAB911]

8. yes indeed

[Eugene]

10. Bring on the discovery. Let's see what they've got.

American Muckrakers are working a space where some of the stuff is true and some of it is too good to be true or just unprovable (e.g. Spanky and the pee tape).

That said, Ted Cruz and the alleged campaign cash are very interesting.

[dalton99a]

33. +1

[dawn5651]

11. i believe muckrakers i have read the document on boebert.

i hope boebert is dumb enough to take them to court...inquiring minds want to know if she is blackmailing ted cruz.

[SouthernDem4ever]

12. All this publicity just makes her more popular with the Christian right

it worked for trump didn't it?

[Thtwudbeme]

13. Not hardly. It did not work for Cawthorn either. Trump was different- he had decades of being

seen as a "successful businessman." He had a brand- I remember seeing his big black helicopter flying over Asheville NC back in the eighties and thinking, "wow!"

He had one helluva reputation that was undeserved. Hell even his kids couldn't figure out when things started just...going downhill for them. Trump spent a very long time cultivating his brand- and so during the election when he said something to the tune of "shooting someone on 5th Ave." or whatever it was....he wasn't kidding.

Boebert? has nothing. Zero. A dubious past- couldn't finish HS....somehow managed to hold it together to buy a restaurant and come up with this "rootin' tootin' wild wild west" gun image. She ran on that.

Frankly, she doesn't have the millions and the fans and the media to keep her out of the shit show she created.

[multigraincracker]

16. Seems MTG and friends are backing away from her.

That may say a lot.

Lets stick to "follow the money". Cruz never donated more than five or ten grand to anyone, including tRump, yet gave her $125K. Makes me go Hmmmm.

[2naSalit]

22. +1

[Scrivener7]

14. The Muckrakers seemed to know what they were doing with Cawthorn. If I remember correctly,

they released the story and some photos, and then when C denied it, they released even more damning photos.

They know they are going to face a lot of blowback with these types of stories. It would be REALLY stupid to have gone to press on this without ironclad receipts, and they just don't seem stupid.

I'm waiting for the next round from them and I hope it comes, because if it doesn't that will give Boebert a teflon coating, and we really don't want that.

[Sympthsical]

17. It reminds me a bit of Mary Queen of Scots

When Mary was finally brought to trial for plotting against Elizabeth I's life, Francis Walsingham had plenty of evidence against her. She was obviously guilty. However, Walsingham gilded the lily and introduced a lot of fake and forged evidence into the trial. This allowed Mary an uncharacteristic opportunity to take a moral stand and go full indignant.

Of course, it was a monarchy, and Mary had no chance whatsoever of prevailing. However, it made everyone just uncomfortable enough that they sent her back to confinement and finished the trial without her. They had her, but they were starting to look bad.

With Boebert, they included fake stuff (that pic that obviously isn't her), and so people have already gone, "Well, what do they really have here?" They're giving her a leg to stand on.

So unless they have more that is ironclad and irrefutable, they've given her something with which to assail the entire thing and they start looking suspect.

Unless they have a lot more, they could end up helping her prospects with the Right rather than damaging her.

[paleotn]

20. Mud sticks. You can't get it off. True or untrue, it doesn't matter.

It's public perception that matters. And that can be shaped by truth mingled with untruth. Sometimes complete falsehoods. Repeat after me...liberals = high taxes for everyone, liberals = hate the military, liberals = loss of "freedom." Completely false, but that's the perception of +40% of the population after decades of Republican muckraking. Thinking? Logic? That rarely factors into public perception.

The decision before us is, are we going to accept the reality of what politics truly is and bring "guns" to the "gun fight?" Or are we going to opt for the Sisters of Blessed Mary the Meek tack and have our asses repeatedly handed to us? Me thinks the former. I'm sick and tired of the later. Oh sure, we can pat ourselves on the back about how honest and above board we are at our concession speech. Sorry, not me.

[Sympthsical]

24. She already looks terrible in public

It's always important to remember in things, particularly in politics, that we're not usually the audience for this or that thing. It doesn't matter what we think.

Even without the recent allegations, I'm not sure my opinion of Boebert can go much lower.

It's about what Boebert's base thinks. If she can credibly lay claim to a persecution card, it can easily be all she wrote on this stuff. People are tribal in politics, and they don't need much to be instigated to close ranks.

Relatedly, I never understand where this perception of, "We're so meek. We never fight dirty!" comes from. It's this weird little thing we tell ourselves that I've never seen pan out in all my adult years. We fight plenty dirty when it suits.

There comes a point where there are so many exceptions to what we tell ourselves about ourselves that it's really just the rule. Not that I care. But I don't get the self-affirmation in the mirror thing people feel the need to perform about it.

[IronLionZion]

15. It's amazing how Republicans look for the worst candidates they can find

and their idiot voters still elect these weirdos

[paleotn]

18. The naivety of some here amazes me. Politics is a very tough business....

Has been for like...forever. Thus, some of the attributes for long term success are... crocodile skin, incredible self control in public and a limited number of skeletons in your closet, because someone is definitely going to rummage through your closet. Particularly if you're a political enemy or if you just piss them off. It is a rough, nasty business that cannot be reformed. If you think it's run completely above board by the Sisters of Blessed Mary the Meek, you're in for a very rude awakening.

It's like they watched Schoolhouse Rock and thought THAT'S how politics actually works. The basics, sort of, but doesn't even touch on the reality of it. See the knock down, drag out political wars between Adams, Jefferson and Hamilton. And that was right out of the blocks! Between two guys who were buds from their days in France and the Continental Congress. And we think OUR press is bad. Back then, start your own paper, bash your opponents unmercifully, true / not true - it doesn't matter. Sue me MF'rs!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. Gotta love autocorrect. NT

[paleotn]

21. HA! Hate it. Thanks!

[shrike3]

28. Politics is bloodsport, according to Bill Clinton, I believe.

[Strelnikov_]

23. I really feel sorry for her, with all this coming out

The level of desperation that would drive one to sleep with Ted Cruz, for money, is horrifying.

What that poor woman had to go through.

[brooklynite]

25. If by Naysayer you mean: "Don't believe something for which there's no evidence", count me in.

And defending your claims in court would seem to mean "months from now". No reason they can't provide the evidence they claim to have now.

The simple bottom line is that Lauren Boebert isn't vulnerable and imagining that unsupported allegations will change that means you're focusing attention on her and not on Republicans that actually ARE vulnerable.

[Thtwudbeme]

27. I never asked anyone to "believe" anything. I simply stated that people should wait

and see how this plays out.

Many DUers are too quick to state "this has been debunked." Have you even looked at their website? There's more there than the "salacious stuff."

You have no idea if there is proof or not at this point. Why is it so very hard for some DUers to write or just think, "we'll see?" or at least, "I don't know."

That's where I am with Boebert- I don't know. However I DO know that her arrogance, lack of education and experience are going to work against her.

[brooklynite]

29. There isn't any proof until they provide proof.

A press release don't rise to the level of evidence.

And the problem we have are the people that DO believe it before it plays out, and debate the implications on that basis.

[Thtwudbeme]

30. So, which is worse? People who claim that the information has been "debunked"

or the people that "debate the implications?"

In other words- why fall into either camp? Wait. Say, "isn't that interesting." Write, "I don't know."

Me? I am following it. You? Seem to have already formed an opinion based on your perceptions.

[brooklynite]

37. The opinion I have formed...

...is that Lauren Boebert is almost certain to be re-elected (based on hard data), and therefore I'm focusing on more races that are actually competitive until some evidence comes my way to change that assessment.

[Thtwudbeme]

38. How is reading about something in the news

"focusing on an election?"

Seriously? I am in NC- and I know you are in NY. I doubt reading about something is going to change the outcome of an election.

I WAS focused on Cawthorn- that little twit is three counties over from me.

[brooklynite]

40. And the difference is that actual evidence was presented about Cawthorn.

[TwilightZone]

36. "Have you even looked at their website? "

The website that looks like a third-grader threw it together in an hour? That website?

Good for a laugh, anyway.

[Beakybird]

26. Wasn't one of their pictures not younger Boebert but another woman?

[TwilightZone]

31. Yes, but we're just going to ignore that.

Have to keep the conspiracy theory alive, which usually includes ignoring any evidence that it's nonsense.

This one is nonsense. Parts of it were debunked almost immediately by the (left-leaning) Daily Beast, among others.

https://democraticunderground.com/100216803828

[Thtwudbeme]

35. Not so fast

In addition, we posted an updated press release on June 15, 2022, at 5:44 PM, without a picture we have been told is someone else. We have contacted the Daily Mail to confirm the identity of the photo as our source still claims it is Boebert.

No one knows yet.

[LeftInTX]

34. Yes and the actual pictures of Boebart don't prove she was an "escort"

Everyone knew she had a checkered past. She was a HS dropout and s single parent. She posted some pictures on a "modeling agency" website. But lots of people post those kind of pictures on that site.

Even if she was an escort I really don't think voters will care.

The Cruz angle is more interesting, but that would be more of a Cruz story than a Boebert story. However, they need evidence to back it up.

"Cruz meets young women in questionable circumstance (fill in blank...escort service, strip club, party, waitress,..there are lots of possibilities some are more risque than others) Encourages her to run for office etc..." However, we need more documentation.

[Thtwudbeme]

39. That's the angle I found most interesting. As far as her being an escort

the only thing I care about is that it just exposes more of the lunatic party members for the hypocrites they are. Publicly.

You should see our half witted college dropout Lt. Gov in NC. The guy is a freaking loon- and is obsessed with "gay porn books" in school media centers. I am a media coordinator- so I follow that jerk constantly. He also dropped out of my alma mater.

[LeftInTX]

41. I don't think her hypocrisy will make a difference up in Colorado

It's Colorado and they tend to be a bit "mind your own business" type of Republicans. Maybe if she was in a bible belt state, it would be different, but in Colorado, they probably elect her because she "will keep the govt off their backs".

Her outspoken positions are simply that and it gives her national exposure and attention. She can get away with being hypocritical, because the voters up there are focusing on other issues. If she is voting in congress the way they want, then they're happy. They could probably care less about her theatrics.

I really don't think voters in Colorado care all that much about whether she had abortions or was an escort.

They really need to be exposing MTG

[TwilightZone]

32. "Liberals Rush to Spread Bogus Lauren Boebert Escort and Abortion Rumors"

https://democraticunderground.com/100216803828

It wasn't debunked because she said it didn't happen. Parts of it were debunked almost immediately because the "proof" was bogus, as reported by the Daily Beast and others.

Ignoring evidence to the contrary of one's already formed opinions is central to keeping a conspiracy theory alive.