Politicians run, but they can’t hide from scandals

Politics isn’t politics without conflicts and scandals. It’s been that way since our country came into existence. American history contains a never-ending story of dumb stuff our politicians did — and do.

For some reason I feel like we’ve gotten a bigger-than-normal dose of stories recently, judging by the number of times I’ve read a news story and cringed. Here’s a little bipartisan sample of stuff that’s gone down in the last couple weeks:

Last Friday, a story broke that Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota has allegedly been having an affair with Corey Lewandowski, a political operative and “devotee” of Donald Trump who initially managed his presidential campaign in 2016. Noem, who describes family values as being core to her religious and political identity, is married with several children. So is Lewandowski, but it’s not like that’s stopped many people before.

The alleged affair, which neither party has explicitly denied, is said to have been going on for a few years, an open secret due to the couple’s lack of discretion at GOP and Trump-affiliated events. All the sordid details are online through the bastion of journalistic excellence that is the Daily Mail. The story’s timing could have something to do with sources coming forward right around the time Noem endorsed Trump on Sept. 8, fueling speculation that she is a potential running mate.

In Colorado, Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and her date were escorted out of a theater for what was initially reported as vaping and being generally loud and disruptive to the ire of other patrons. Security footage showed Boebert flipping off staff as they walked out — a super classy gesture if I ever saw one — for which Boebert later apologized on social media. More footage was eventually released showing Boebert and her date, a drag-friendly bar owner with whom she has since broken up, groping and fondling each other in their seats. Apparently it’s too much to ask that two grown adults keep their hands off each other in public.

Oh, lord, it gets worse. In Virginia, Susanna Gibson, a candidate for the state house of delegates, is claiming that her privacy has been illegally invaded because videos that she and her husband had uploaded to an adult website were brought to the attention of The Washington Post, which reported the story on Sept 11. On more than a dozen occasions, Gibson and her husband performed sex acts live on the streaming platform for as many as 5,770 followers, some of whom were offered, uh … “private” performances in exchange for “tips.” Gibson reportedly maintained the profile on the adult site after she announced her candidacy in July 2022, even posting a picture of herself on it a month later.

Every time I hear about someone getting caught with their pants down (sometimes literally,) it reminds me why I think it best that the government be in charge of as few things as possible. Putting government in charge means putting politicians in charge — politicians whose mandate is to run good government, but whose priorities are too easily skewed by their own personal matters.

Work on a big bill can be overshadowed by a video posted online of a politician kissing someone in a bar who isn’t their spouse. Reporters might pause their inquiries on the upcoming session’s agenda if they first have occasion to ask a politician how the name of a porn site got typed as a status update on their Facebook. A voter might feel their vote is completely wasted if their candidate suspends campaigning when accusations of “misconduct” are made public. The aforementioned scenarios are described in a hypothetical context, but each has happened in Iowa over the past decade.

The private sector has its own scandals, sure. Business owners and CEOs can just as easily destroy themselves with dumb decisions that hurt their shareholders and customers. But private industry executives and entrepreneurs usually find themselves out of a job relatively quickly when something damaging is revealed. A 2019 study examining executive turnover found that misconduct and ethical concerns were the biggest drivers of executive departures.

If a scandal-plagued elected official doesn’t resign or get expelled (the latter of which is exceedingly rare) only voters can fire them. Depending on the office, that chance comes around only once every two, four or six years. And we often spike the one chance we have to oust a jagoff because we hate the other jagoff even more.

With the word “jagoff,” I’m paraphrasing Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Fetterman made headlines last week for presiding over the United States Senate while wearing a grungy-looking button-down T-shirt and gym shorts after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer directed the Senate Sargeant-at-Arms to stop enforcing the dress code.

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Criticized for dressing like the maintenance guy at a crummy apartment complex who gets free rent for being on call, Fetterman tweeted, “If those jagoffs in the House stop trying to shut our government down, and fully support Ukraine, then I will save democracy by wearing a suit on the Senate floor next week.” Well, if that doesn’t entice a stopgap funding bill, nothing will.

Some progressives love to see a brash guy like John Fetterman give an allegorical middle finger to Republicans. But that’s really all he’s been good for — when he’s present in the first place. Already diminished in capacity from a stroke suffered on the campaign trail, Fetterman stepped away barely six weeks into his career for extended inpatient mental health treatment. Questions over one’s ability to serve are never pleasant, but entirely appropriate in Fetterman’s case. Should Pennsylvanians tire of having a potato for a U.S. Senator, their first opportunity to fire him won’t be until November 2028. The Constitution doesn’t recognize a recall process for Members of Congress.

Fetterman’s issue is one of fitness. The alleged unscrupulousness of Boebert and Noem and the questionable means of earning income by Virginia state candidate Gibson pertain to conduct that is unbecoming of the positions they hold or seek. Why do they do these stupid things, then? Apparently, because they believe they can.

It’s likely that Noem actually can get away with (allegedly) schtupping a Trump sycophant while gallivanting all over the country with him to raise her national profile. Noem has a tight political grip on her state, which is so red that only 10% of legislative seats are held by Democrats. Her main opposition comes from other Republicans, such as a former state House leader who she defeated with over 76% of the vote in the 2022 primary. If Noem’s (alleged) dalliance (which has been confirmed by a number of sources) offends South Dakotans to the point that they want a leadership change, they’ll have to wait until 2026 for their next opportunity. Unless that national gallivanting pays off and Noem becomes our next vice president, which is likely on her list.

Bobert, on the other hand, survived her re-election campaign in her newly redrawn district by a scant margin, and will likely face the same challenger in a very hot race on the 2024 ballot. She and her future dates may want to save the foreplay for behind closed doors. If her trashy antics irritate voters into capping her legislative career, I’m not going to cry over that.

As for Gibson, the state candidate in Virginia — I can’t imagine the type of humiliation she must be feeling right now.

I also can’t imagine how on earth Gibson thought it possible to run for public office without the details of her and her husband’s online activity being discovered and divulged. And I definitely can’t imagine why she and her husband thought it advisable or necessary to engage in online sex work if she was planning or even considering a run for office.

Reactions to The Washington Post’s story on Gibson’s side hustle asserted that sex workers have every right to run for office. Indeed. And like every other profession, the voting public has the right — even the duty — to scrutinize that work when considering a candidate’s qualifications to serve. If Gibson is to contend she is a victim due to the public attention to her sex work, I would gently — and without contempt or condescension — encourage her to consider her own role in the formation of those events.

That is the common theme in every political scandal or conflict — those who find themselves at the center of it are usually victims of their own bad judgment, deluded by the ego and pride of their elevated status. We the voters put them there. And we the voters usually keep them there. Maybe we the voters deserve what we get.

Comments: 319-398-8266; althea.cole@thegazette.com