Sigmund Freud did pioneering research on “defensive projection” – the crappy human habit of attributing one’s own unacceptable urges to another. Indeed, Freud would have a field day with our current Republican cultists, who seem determined to smear Democrats as pro-pedophiliac despite the incontrovertible fact that their own ranks have long been tainted by pedophiliacs.
Granted, it’s unfair to joke that GOP stands for “Gang of Pedophiliacs,” because of course most Republicans abhor child sexual abuse just as we all do. But seriously, would it not have been wise for the GOP to take a close look at its own ranks before trying to tag the opposition – most notably, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson – as soft on pedophiliacs? Does the cult have no shame? (You know the answer.)
For starters, I seem to dimly recall that former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert – devout evangelical Denny, with his 100 percent rating from the Christian Coalition – landed in jail a few years ago after pleading guilty to making illegal hush money payments while trying to conceal his history of sexually abusing high school wrestlers. This is the same guy who, during his long stint as Speaker, had publicly declared that it was “important to pout repeat child molesters in jail for the rest of their lives…We’ve all seen the disturbing headlines about sex offenders and crimes against children. These crimes cannot persist.”
I also remember, in 2016, that a slew of Republican congressmen tried to persuade a federal judge that Denny the confessed molester did not deserve jail. Former House whip Tom DeLay told the court, “We all have our flaws, but Dennis Hastert has very few. I ask that you consider the man that is before you, and give him leniency.” But the judge didn’t buy the con. He said: “Nothing is more stunning than to have the words serial child molester and Speaker of the House in the same sentence.”
But let’s not pick on Denny to the exclusion of others.
I also seem to recall that a Republican congressman named Mark Foley was outed in 2006 for sending sexually explicit messages and propositioning teenage congressional pages. However, there’s no need to harken back to seemingly ancient history, because we’ve got more recent beauts. It’s fascinating, for instance, that House Republican leaders are fine with having Matt Gaetz serving on the chamber’s Judiciary Committee – the committee that monitors the Department of Justice – even though Gaetz is an active target of a sex-trafficking investigation (including allegations that he had sex with an underage girl) that’s being conducted by the selfsame Department of Justice.
I also seem to recall, in 2018, that when Alabama Senate GOP candidate Roy Moore was credibly accused of serial-preying on underage girls (he was even banned from a local mall because he was always trying to pick up high schoolers), the lowlife in the White House actually endorsed his candidacy – and the Republican National Committee fell into line for Moore, because, as the RNC declared, “We stand with the president.”
I also seem to recall that, in 2015, when longtime Republican ally and religious right leader Josh Duggar confessed to molesting five young girls, Republican politician Mike Huckabee said that even though Josh’s actions were “inexcusable,” they were not “unforgivable.” Then, last year, Duggar was arrested and later convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography. He’s due to be sentenced next month. Maybe I missed it, but lately I haven’t heard a peep from Republicans about this guy.
I also seem to recall that Trump’s 2016 Oklahoma campaign chair, Republican state senator Ralph Shortey, was later sentenced to 15 years in jail after being convicted for child sex trafficking. Ralph used Craiglist to cruise for underage boys; according to his ads, the “younger the better.”
I also seem to recall that Trump ally George Nader, who’d worked behind the scenes with Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on child sex charges. In 2020, when Nader was spirited away, the federal prosecutor said that “Mr. Nader has had a sexual interest in minors for over 35 years.”
I also seem to recall that, last summer, a Republican strategist and Fox News guest named Anthony Lazzaro was charged with 10 counts of underage sex trafficking. He’s been in custody ever since. His new team of lawyers says he’s innocent.
And here’s a real gem: Digital strategist Ruben Verastigui, who worked for the Trump reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee, was arrested and convicted in another federal child sex probe. According to investigators, Verastigui messaged fellow pervs about his preferences. For instance (and you might not want to read this), “Babies are some of my biggest turn-ons.” He was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison on the same day that Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed for the Supreme Court.
I could easily add to this list, but you get the gist. Of course, it would be nice if the Democrats fought back on their own behalf by detailing the cult’s serial hypocrisies, but that would require growing a spine. There’s no point in asking for the impossible.