Politics in America has long been dominated by soundbites rather than considered opinions. It’s one of the many reasons why people who seem so ill-fitted for power keep getting elected. And nobody represents this reality better than Lauren Boebert.
Boebert, who in the past year has been in the news for fondling her date in a crowded theater, is one of a new breed of Republicans who make Sarah Palin’s Tea Party look Lincoln-esque. Always keen to throw in her two cents, the politician from Colorado has a long history of embarrassing herself with the worst takes, and showing a lack of self awareness that’s almost impressive. So, it’s fair to say hypocrisy is something she’s pretty well versed in.
Take this week, for example. Boebert praised Matt Gaetz as an excellent AG pick just before he dropped out of the race, but not before the very public and credible accusations of him being involved in the trafficking of minors were made public. Not quite protecting the kids, like she claims to be in support of.
Now, she’s trained her ire on Denver mayor Mike Johnston, who has come out in opposition to Trump’s mass deportation plan. In a recent interview with Denver’s Channel 9, the Democrat claimed he is willing to go to jail over this stance, although he was also clear that he was not opposed to all deportations. A compassionate and nuanced take, which of course is why Boebert was personally offended enough by it to share an X post attacking Johnston, hanging her criticisms on a post about an illegal immigrant sexually assaulting a teen in Denver.
Linking immigrants to sexual deviancy is a long-standing tactic of the American right, despite nearly 95% of sexual assaults being perpetrated by citizens. By associating undocumented immigrants with rape, Boebert is not only pushing an incorrect and harmful stereotype, but also adding more hate to the already poisonous discourse around immigration and border security.
Boebert also did not mention that Johnston agreed he would be breaking the law, and that he was willing to be punished for standing up for his beliefs, making her post a bit redundant at best.
The irony of Boebert asking for someone to be “dealt with to the fullest extent possible under the law” was not missed by many of those who saw her post, especially as her criticism of Johnston was centered around an alleged a sex crime.
Boebert is close to a number of people who have been accused credibly of sex crimes, with some of those even being sanctioned in a court of law. For one, it’s recently come out that her son Tyler “supposedly made a sex tape” with a female minor, one of 22 counts he’s been charged with.
Then there’s her maniacal support of president-elect Donald Trump, who is a convicted felon and has numerous credible accusations of sexual assault against him, as well as enough pictures with Epstein to fill a gallery. This year, Trump famously lost a civil case against E. Jean Carroll, and has been ordered to pay her millions in damages for sexually abusing her. So, it seems Boebert only dislikes rapists when it helps her to score political points.
The internet isn’t a forgiving place at the best of times, and the attacks on her stance kept coming. One user brought up her recent Gaetz love-in, to great effect.
While it’s easy to dunk on Boebert like this, there were a few commenters who resisted the urge to go down to her level, instead trying to remind her that even those in America illegally are human beings deserving of compassion. A worthy effort, but one that’s certainly going to be in vain, unless Boebert hits her head and has a personality shift.
While we do love people taking the high road, it is satisfying to see somebody eviscerate Boebert under her own post, especially when it’s one that is using a tragedy to push her own agenda. One user pointed out that Boebert had been quiet about another murder by someone likely to be in the country illegally, as it had happened under Trump’s presidency, and the murderer had been working for prominent Iowa Republican Craig Lang.
Boebert has not replied to any of these responses and criticisms. She has also put forward no policy alternatives that would plug the massive holes in agriculture and other industries that are currently filled by cheap, undocumented labor. Then again, that would require her to engage in critical thinking rather than spewing hate, and we’re not quite sure that’s something she’s capable of.