I try to ignore the antics of the trashiest House members, I really do, but feel compelled to share this:
(The Hill) Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) claimed in an interview posted Thursday that fellow lawmakers have invited him to an orgy and done cocaine in front of him.
The remarks from Cawthorn, 26, who in his 14 months as a congressman has developed a reputation for unpredictable statements, came in the context of a discussion about whether, in “Warrior Poet Society” podcast host John Lovell’s words, “House of Cards” was a “fictitious show” or if it was “closer to like a documentary.”
“I look at all these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life, I’ve always paid attention to politics,” Cawthorn said. “Then all of the sudden you get invited to, ‘Well hey, we’re going to have kind of a sexual get together at one of our homes, you should come.’”
At first I was confused, and not just about Cawthorn’s claim that he was invited to orgies by elderly Republican colleagues and that lawmakers snort coke in front of him. I was confused because I thought the interview was being conducted by Ronan Farrow’s JON LOVETT, and I was thinking WHY?
But John Lovell is this whole other person, apparently — author of “The Way of Men” and “Becoming a Barbarian” — so he sounds like the kind of douchebag who would interview Cawthorn.
Anyhoo, after all of the shit Cawthorn has done and said with nary a peep from the House GOP caucus or leadership, the drug-fueled orgy claims finally prompted rebukes and consternation:
Hear Rep. Steve Womack stood up, said he hardly ever stands to talk, he has to say something about this bc now he is getting Qs about which members partaking in orgies after Cawthorn suggested they are happening in DC along w/ the use of cocaine.
Told Cawthorn not there this am.
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) March 29, 2022
So, insurrection, threatening colleagues, smuggling arms into the Capitol complex, etc., is okay, but lying* about your GOP colleagues’ consensual sex and alleging drug abuse is verboten. Good to know.
Also, here’s a video of Cawthorn punching a tree for some reason:
Madison Cawthorn punching a tree for 19 seconds. pic.twitter.com/A26GtblPtf
— That Tree (@madcawdisease) June 1, 2021
*Of course he’s lying — I don’t doubt the GOP House members engage in every manner of perversion, but Cawthorn’s account of being invited to “sexual get togethers” rings as true as a Sir Story.
JMG
I didn’t know he was that close to Don Jr.
Baud
It’s refreshing for Dems not to be target of false sex based accusations.
robmassing
@Baud:
“I was talking about Dems, duh.” -Cawthorn, later today
Ceci n est pas mon nym
The tree thing appears to be some kind of tough guy thing, proving that he can chip the bark off a dead and rotted tree with just his bare hands! Amazing!
The drug-crazed orgy thing… I don’t know how to think about that. It’s so weird if it’s true, and it’s so weird to make up a lie about a thing like that.
Do they call it a “sexual get together” on the invitations? Are the invitations calligraphed? RSVP or “regrets only”?
Scout211
He’s just using that classic Republican political technique of projection. He just doesn’t do it as well as seasoned Republican politicians do. Plus, he didn’t get the memo that he isn’t supposed to turn that one against fellow Republicans.
Instead of sounding like the smears are vaguely credible, he sounds more like, “I know I am but what are you?”
I wonder about this young man . . .
Jim, Foolish Literalist
winning the thread on the first comment!
Joe Falco
Something something leopards eating my face
Old School
Stephen Colbert had a bit about Chuck Grassley hosting the orgy in last night’s monologue. (Starts at the 9:00 mark.)
ian
He is being talked to because he is making his fellow GOP reps look bad, not because they think his actions are immoral.
kindness
Let us not forget Rep. Cawthorn married a Russian Red Sparrow and then quickly divorced her.
He isn’t the quickest set of wheels by any stretch.
Scout211
@robmassing:
“So name those Democrats you look up to and admire?” asks reporters the rest of the day.
//
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
What sort of respectable lemon party expects Maddie Cawthorne as a guest?
Spanky
@Scout211:
I would tell you not to waste your time, but there’s a very real chance he’ll be a Presidential candidate some day, in a country I’ll barely recognize.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I can believe a lot of nasty things about Republican, public sex isn’t one of them. The GOPers are too homophobic to take their clothes off in front of another man for one thing.
Spanky
@Old School: I have visions of a half dozen Depends simultaneously hitting the floor.
Litlebritdifrnt
Cawthorn reminds me of all those “well yeah I was invited to join the Seals but I decided that I should pursue other avenues because the Seals are too PC these days” type of twat I met in the US on a regular basis. The thing that really bugs me is that the real RWNJ cosplayers in camo would push him and his wheelchair over a cliff without a moments thought because he isn’t tough enough, no point having a “cripple” in your fight against “The Man” and no matter how many weapons he claims to own and be proficient in (completely rubbished by his total disregard for weapons safety in his videos), he just can’t cut it with the “Manly Men” carrying in the Subway ordering a sandwich to show how awesome they are. He is trying to suck up to “Patriots” who would drown him without a second thought.
Old School
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Wasn’t nude swimming in the Congressional pool a thing?
Oklahomo
On the one hand, morbid curiosity. On the other, no. Don’t want any more details. Ever.
Kay
I think he does it for attention. He’s also dumb as a rock. There’s no method to this madness. He just likes to be paid attention to, so he lies all the time.
The quality just keeps going down on the Right and it’s going to get worse. These people never should have gotten this far.
brendancalling
I don’t want to sound ignorant, but doesn’t Cawthorne’s paralysis leave him with no sensation from the waist down, which brings associated bladder/bowel control problems, as well as sexual dysfunction? I have no doubt the guy is up to his eyeballs in cocaine, but WTF is he going to do at an orgy, film it for posterity?
trollhattan
McCarthy is going to “have a talk” with him? All is fixed, then, right?
trollhattan
@brendancalling: They’re not called ammosexuals for nothing.
different-church-lady
“Cawthorn, why the hell haven’t I been invited to any of these?!?”
Dangerman
All over San Fernando Valley, scripts are being rewritten.
trollhattan
@different-church-lady:
It’s the lunchroom cool kids table all over again.
How often did little Kevin get stuffed into his locker?
JMG
A guy on a different message board I’m on posted that Cawthorn misunderstood a business message from a group of his GOP colleagues telling him to come to a meeting “where we’re going to screw over a bunch of people.”
different-church-lady
@Kay: Speaking quite seriously, if we’re interested in hanging on to democracy, we’re going to have to dig deep and figure out what it is about sociopathy that has become so attractive to a large segment of voters, and figure out how to deactivate it.
germy
Eyes Wide Shut
Brachiator
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
RE: Cawthorn’s claim that he was invited to orgies by elderly Republican colleagues and that lawmakers snort coke in front of him.
Of course there are all kinds of shady sex parties happening in the Beltway. And some of the most homophobic GOP politicians are closeted gays.
There are probably a few Republican politicians who secretly have sex with…Democrats.
germy
@brendancalling:
He has two hands and a mouth. He could get plenty busy.
Ken
It’s remarkably easy to read the GOP responses as either “Those are secret, you shouldn’t be talking about them” or “How come I’ve not been invited to these”. But then, I have absolutely no charity in my heart for them.
dmsilev
There’s a nonzero chance that the sexual get-togethers part is true, but that Cawthorn is pissed because he wasn’t invited.
Alison Rose ???
This is his version of a girlfriend in Canada.
Ken
@germy: Also, there are any number of fetishes involving people in wheelchairs.
Er, so I’ve heard. While reading reputable psychology journals. Which is a hobby of mine. Psychology journals, I mean.
Kay
@Ken:
I think so too. I’m less persuaded it’s a lie than I was before I read the response.
germy
If any SW came forward and said “Yes, I was hired for these parties” the Republicans would disappear her faster than a warthog at a cheetah convention.
MisterForkbeard
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Well, he says he was invited to sex parties. I’d totally believe those are happening. I mean, we KNOW Gaetz and others did this.
Bring a bunch of hookers over, get drunk with your friend and pick out a lady, retire to a back room for awhile. And given what we also know about a lot of Republican sexual proclivities and how they can ignore it if it benefits them, I’m pretty sure some version of this all happened.
germy
@dmsilev:
But he says he was invited.
Maybe they just wanted him to blow up the inflatables.
The Up and Up
I would say he got an invite for a romp at Falwell Junior’s but he couldn’t swing that way.
mike t
When a lawmaker starts talking about orgies and cocaine, isn’t the natural followup question “How long have you known Matt Gaetz?”
germy
different-church-lady
@Ken: Look, I like rabbits in general, but this is one particular hole I am very much not going down.
Baud
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
I read somewhere that there are rules about when sick things are gay and when they’re not.
Roger Moore
@brendancalling:
The genitals are not the only organ that can be used for sex.
mike t
@different-church-lady:
said nobody at the GOP coke fueled orgy
germy
I believe him.
debbie
@Kay:
Please talk me down about Ohio’s redistricting bullshit. I’m so angry I can’t even see straight.
different-church-lady
@Roger Moore: The largest sex organ is the brain.
Still can’t explain why Cawthorn would be invited.
germy
Here’s something Cawthorn just retweeted:
Scout211
Viewing alert for tonight on Frontline: Another ProPublica/PBS production, The Plot to Overturn the Election.
Hoodie
@Baud: Ah yes, the Golden Rule.
germy
@debbie:
Spanky
@mike t:
Said … awww, the hell with it.
Grum Grumby
@kindness: LMAO, 2 months ago i would not have even gotten this reference but i just watched the movie recently.
germy
@Spanky:
“You’re uninvited.”
Captain C
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Roger Stone is on Line 2 and would like to know if you would like to bang his wife in front of him. Paul Manafort is on Line 3 with the same offer, and the caveat that he may have to force her to do it.*
*I assume that even if you found the offers otherwise attractive, this caveat would be the kind of deal breaker that would have you calling the cops on him.
Grum Grumby
@brendancalling: ??
Baud
@germy:
An orgy is the one place where Republicans will wear masks.
Betty Cracker
@different-church-lady: Yep, and also figure out how to communicate the urgency of that task. Sometimes I think I’m the deluded party and should stop worrying about it so much.
different-church-lady
@Captain C: Hold it, hold it, just got a text from Jerry Farwell Jr., something about “in the background during the rebuttal to the State of the Union…”
Spanky
@Captain C: And who among us could forget
Enhanced Voting Techniques
All the humping in the Families Values Party came out during the Clinton Impeachment,
Child sex; yes
Gay Sex; yes
Fucking the entire Idaho Republican Party; yes
Being found dead from an auto asphyxiation accident while dressed in a wetsuit and watching David Brooks interviews on an endless loop; Yes. (the GOP calls it Burken Balls)
But I’ve never heard of them doing in groups or any situation were someone with a cellphone can film them.
Betty Cracker
Good for her. Every Democrat should be saying this.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@MisterForkbeard: Ok that makes more sense – go off into a bed room and then do the deed. Then five minutes laters come out to high fives and ignore the hookers giggling to each other.
Kay
@debbie:
I think they’re really corrupt and so there’s a lot on the line. If they get real oversight they’re going to prison.
delk
But were there litter boxes?
Roger Moore
@MisterForkbeard:
You didn’t mention the part where the sex workers are all paid extra to dress up as members of The Squad. I’m sure any sex worker who can do a credible AOC impersonation can raise her rates by quite a bit.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Captain C: That’s cuckolding, not an orgy. I’ll grant you Crawford is the kind of dimwit who doesn’t know his kink, but still. Words mean something.
Where is the pride in perversion I ask?
At the orgies?
Ruckus
@Scout211:
I wonder about this young man . . .
I don’t. I’ve met a couple who’ve wandered down the road he’s on and it never ends well for anyone involved. And they weren’t in the US congress.
MisterDancer
@Spanky: This is also the story that led to the Crazification Factor.
It’s also the story that means Star Trek indirectly got Obama elected President.
…but it’s also a story that Jeri Ryan, from what I recall, didn’t want released; the judge overruled her petition to keep those divorce records sealed, thus these reports. I understand it was to avoid their kids getting basically re-traumatized, so there’s that to consider. :(
coozledad
Orgy Tirebiter.
different-church-lady
The tree knows what it did.
Dee Lurker
@different-church-lady: I would not so much call it sociopathy as malignant narcissism. Performative assholism designed to disrupt traditional social mores in favor of assholes.
I think there are two major contributors to the sharp rise in successful malignant narcissists:
The modern authoritarian rise can, I believe, be directly laid at the feet of the Citizens United decision.
different-church-lady
@Dee Lurker: 3. Social media.
Another Scott
Good, good.
(via nycsouthpaw)
Cheers,
Scott.
JoyceH
FYI – the FDA just authorized a second booster shot. I’m going to get mine as soon as the pharmacy allows. (I actually called them as soon as I read the article, but they need some official bulletin to give them the go ahead.)
Scout211
@JoyceH:
The CDC has to rule on it, but it should happen soon. I posted it in the COVID thread. They are specifying that this is a “permissible” booster approval, not a “recommended” booster approval.
Our primary care doc already recommended it to us.
Suzanne
Oh what the fuck EVER. The only fun drug most of those old, shuffling pieces of shit are taking is Viagra.
He’s such a transparent liar. I knew dicks like him in school.
moops
@Scout211: A follow-up question? oh my no. This the DC press pool. You will not get any such follow-up, and if you attempt it you will be cast out of the club.
boatboy_srq
Living in NoVA, and knowing what a sexual cesspool the Reichwingnutsery is in this part of the world, this is one instance where I find Cauthon quite believable.
Where he is off, in this case, is that he’s failing to distinguish between lawmakers and lobbyists, and he is lumping everyone together. Which, given how much model legislation ALEC cranks out, also makes his confusion believable here.
MisterForkbeard
@Roger Moore: No kidding.
Worth remembering that Jim Jordan got credible reports of a coach molesting kids under his care. He got those reports from the kids, and laughed it off. And the rest of his caucus doesn’t care about this at all.
There’s no question in my mind that they would keep sex parties and/or cocaine secret.
Steeplejack
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
That’s what the double wetsuits are for.
Kent
Yeah, I’m sure Dems are just dying to invite Madison Cawthorn to their sex and drug parties.
I’m sure AOC has him on her short list for party invites.
Not.
Benw
The euphemisms for “lies all the time” keep coming!
Brachiator
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
I am sure that cell phones add some danger or spice, but the average person doesn’t hear about Beltway sex parties at all.
Nina
Roger Stone got his start in the DC BDSM scene, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he’s still hosting parties with hidden cameras to get dirt on his guests.
Booger
@brendancalling: Get coffee?
LongHairedWeirdo
This article on Rolling Stone is the sort of thing that would make me want to punch someone repeatedly for being anti-vaccination: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-covid-19-office-disability-1237587/
Oh, you mean like *ME*? Or, more importantly, like me/CFS?
I want to make one thing clear: I’m not saying that long covid *IS* me/CFS. But it’s a perfect explanation for why “natural immunity” is a stone cold *STUPID* idea. Vaccines can carry risks, but they can’t mutate and reinfect you. Still, check out “Restless” on Netflix for a darn good picture of what CFS is like.
At this time, my symptoms aren’t as acute as sometimes depicted there, but the fact of the matter is, I can’t walk. I mean, sure, I can walk around the house, but if I walked a half mile out, I have no idea if I’d be able to safely make it back. (In this context, “safety” includes “a lot of pain/distress”.
And one of the worst things is, everything that fatigue (or other issues) does to your mind is only *sometimes* clear from the inside. If you’re angry, you can remind yourself to calm down. If your anxiety is keyed up to the point that any suggestion sounds like angry criticism, well, you’ll only recognize *that* after someone makes a suggestion. It’s not easy to live with for people with these problems and around.
Wyatt Salamanca
Madison Cawthorn is one sick bastard and should be sent to St. Elizabeths hospital for psychiatric evaluation along with the other members of the House wingnut braintrust Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Scout211
There could be more to this story.
He seems to be very concerned about politicians “trading in the currency of secrets” and “nasty stories” being used to “bully people.” I think he must have some very, very nasty secrets . . .
And this statement is just laughable.
hilts
Could MadCaw be suffering from Mad Cow disease?
boatboy_srq
@Wyatt Salamanca: Cauthon and the rest are predictable products of Reichwing education. Take it from someone who spent four years at a Southern-Baptist-sponsored university.
JoyceH
@Scout211: According to the Post article, Israeli data suggests that the protective power of the second booster wanes fairly quickly, so people are being advised to determine for themselves the best time for the booster, maybe in the fall with a renewed surge, etc.
As for me, I’m getting it as soon as I can. I can usually control my exposure to other people, but in April there is a two week window where I am eligible for jury duty. I called the court house, and turns out there is NO vaccine or mask mandates for jurors! I might not wind up on a jury (fingers crossed), but if I do I could wind up for prolonged periods confined with a bunch of vaccine denying anti-maskers, so I want all the protection I can get.
Miss Bianca
@JoyceH: great, now they tell us, after the mobile vax clinic has stopped coming to our county.
Skepticat
Or the neck up.
Skepticat
@JMG:
Excuse me while I clean up the coffee I just spit on my keyboard.
Another Scott
@MisterForkbeard: As we know, the GQP lies about everything; the reality is independent of their lies.
TheWeek (from April 2018):
I remember Fanne Foxe and so forth as well.
Too many powerful people think they are entitled, and act on it.
Cheers,
Scott.
Suzanne
@boatboy_srq:
Okay, THAT I believe. 100% believe that the lobbyists are banging all the time. I mean, I would.
Subsole
@Baud: I believe the protocol is that everything is fine, provided you say “no homo, bro.”
@Captain C: And Falwell on line 3.
Shalimar
I don’t doubt Cawthorn’s cocaine and orgy tales, I just suspect the vast majority of participants are lobbyists and aides. His image of Congress as a fantasy where the members constantly hang out with each other with no mention of anyone who isn’t elected sounds like bullshit.
gene108
Former Sen. David Vitter definitely would be in on an orgy scene. He’s currently a lobbyist* in D.C.
*Trump appointed his wife, Wendy, to the federal bench.
RandomMonster
Dear Penthouse Forum,
I never thought this would happen to me. I was just 26 and had been a representative for only 14 months. One night I was working late in the congressional chambers when I heard a familiar voice from the balcony.
“Have you ever joined a caucus?”
There was something about the way he pronounced that word: “COCK-us”. I confess that it gave me a thrill…
JCJ
@different-church-lady: phrasing!
And I don’t want to know what kind of hole you are willing to go down!
SWMBO
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
That tree knows what it did.
Brachiator
@Another Scott:
At least two male senators wanting to swim in the nude.
Not sure that I would want to jump into that pool.
But I take your point about male members erecting a barrier against women.
Chris Johnson
@Nina: Indeed. So, Roger Stone, also Cawthorn’s Russian ties: yeah, I think I see this for what it is.
This is a shot across the bows of the Republicans. If they don’t do what Putin needs them to do (now more than ever!) he will burn the fuck out of them. He’s got lots of kompromat on ‘his people’ who are now showing signs of disloyalty, and what he doesn’t have he could just fake, and this is a real threat. Cawthorn is just the messenger. This is a shot from Putin, saying ‘back me or else’, and I’m betting Cawthorn is his new chosen puppet (never mind Trump, who’s lost his effectiveness).
I’m sure Cawthorn has plenty of stuff, real or not, because it’s not HIM that has it. He’s carrying water for Putin, and doing his job, and the Republicans have to be brought into line before it’s too late. I am not sure this strategy will actually work any better than the invasion of Ukraine worked, but it’s absolutely what you’re seeing here.
Ken
Not that he’d consider resigning and serving them directly by, say, working in a soup kitchen.
germy
But what can they do? Can McConnell and the others announce they’re taking Putin’s side over Ukraine?
I’m guessing doing what Putin needs them to do is refuse any funding Biden requests to aid Ukraine? I thought it’s too late for that, we’re already giving support.
Brachiator
@Chris Johnson:
I see this claim very often, and I am not sure that I buy it. I can see Republicans doing anything for money, but continuing to back Putin also makes them vulnerable.
a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio
I can believe in congressional shenanigans; what I can’t believe in is that anyone with more brain activity than a bowl of lime jello would look at Madison Cawthon and think “There’s a youngster who can be discreet and careful about things the voters don’t need to know; let’s invite him to come next Thursday night.”
debbie
@Kay:
Oh, they’re going to prison. Count on it. Just as soon as I figure out how to get that done.
Dopey-o
Approximately 40% of our country wakes up and looks around for someone to hate, because hating is their identity.
Rush Libaugh’s entire shtick was fueling resentments in his audience, and mobilizing them to the polls. And it’s been downhill ever since.
They can not be cured or converted. Maybe out-voted, but that will be a constant battle every 2 years.
Chris Johnson
@Brachiator: Thing is, I didn’t say it was going to work. Just that I think that’s what’s happening. The system is breaking down. (thank fuck for that)
I think Putin owns the Republicans (some more than others) by threat and by bribery, and it’s come down to threat, and he’s not as threatening as he used to be because he’s overextended. So Cawthorn is trying to threaten the other Republicans to keep them in line, but it’s an act of desperation. And coming from him that’s even more desperate. Trump isn’t useful anymore to Putin, and I suspect Mitch McConnell’s broken with Putin at this stage, correctly identifying that Putin’s overextended.
I’m not claiming it will work, just that I think I see what’s going on there, and why Cawthorn is suddenly making threats.
Ruviana
@LongHairedWeirdo: A very interesting book about this is The Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O’Rourke. She has/had a range of chronic autoimmune illnesses and describes how very hard it was to get diagnosed and treated.
VOR
Look at the GW Bush Interior Department where they were having literal “hookers and blow” supposedly furnished by lobbyists for oil leases. From NPR:
J R in WV
This guy, Madison, is one very, very sick puppy. Uneducated and ignorant on top of really stupid and inclined to be evil whenever the opportunity rises, which in DC would be nearly every day. Self-centered narcissist with no redeeming features to offset his horrible characteristics!
And AOC and her statement about “Justice” Clarence Thomas, totally on point regarding that jackass. Failure to declare major sources of income, a wife working deeply into treasonous politics, again, no redeeming characteristics. And appointed to replace a Justice who was a hero in so many ways! So sad!
mrmoshpotato
Cocaine Mitch was probably just upset over the mention of, ya know, cocaine.
Roger Moore
@Another Scott:
I suspect nude swimming is an age thing. Apparently, it was considered standard for men and boys to swim nude until sometime in the 1960s. Exactly why is a bit unclear; different reasons were provided at different times. Why it was OK for boys to swim naked but the same reasoning didn’t apply to girls was also not explained. But I can imagine men who grew up in the era of naked swimming wanting to continue.
Another Scott
@Chris Johnson: That reminds me. Every time McCarthy gives a briefing, especially now, someone should ask him whether Putin still pays TFG:
Cheers,
Scott.
nc lurker
@boatboy_srq: could that be,perhaps,wake?
boatboy_srq
@nc lurker: Nope.
I won’t post the name here, but feel free to email me directly for details.