The same political group that helped reverse US Representative Madison Cawthorne’s re-election bid in North Carolina is now targeting Colorado’s West Slope provocateur, US Rep. Lauren Boebert.
While the Political Action Committee – American Mookers – circulated a video in which Cawthorne could be identified, Sylt’s claims against Boebert are much more tenuous.
The root of the truth lies in a rumor of an ATV accident in Utah, although Boebert’s spokesman disputes the key details. Other allegations, including working as a paid escort, are completely anonymous and based on heavily modified sources. The Denver Post could not find any information or witnesses to support those claims. However, some news outlets go along with this story, and the allegations continue to circulate widely on social media.
David Wheeler, a former Democratic nominee for the North Carolina Senate, said he could not disclose his sources, but said voters could view and listen to audio recordings online and read text messages he collected. .
“They can make up their mind on whether they think it’s true or not,” Wheeler told The Denver Post.
He then asked Boebert to directly and specifically deny the allegations.
But one political scientist questioned whether American retractors would have too much of an impact on Boebert’s bid for a second term.
Even an ethics complaint submitted by the committee to Colorado’s attorney general hasn’t gained much traction yet. State officials are still investigating whether the Congresswoman broke any laws by cashing in on a large amount of mileage reimbursement from her own campaign.
Others, such as comedian Toby Morton, take a more traditional – albeit modernized – approach to attack the character of far-right politicians by creating websites bearing their names and highlighting aspects of their personal, professional and political lives.
Morton’s websites targeted Republican U.S. Representatives Devin Nunes (who resigned this year), Alice Stefnik, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan and, of course, Boebert.
“We both want to get him out there,” said Morton, a Colorado native and former South Park writer, of American Muckers. “They have their point of view and I have mine.”
Rather than leveling allegations against Boebert, Morton’s site mostly uses his own words, tweets, and comments against him.
Through it all, however, Boebert maintains a firm hold on its vast West Slope district, which also includes the pueblo. Campaign finance data shows that so far, it has raised and spent more money than all of its challengers.
He tweeted a candid response on Tuesday evening to some of the allegations by American muckers:
Fact Check: Not true.
Fake News. Four Pinocchio.Too…
You all need Jesus!— lauren boebert (@laurenboebert) 15 June 2022
“Fact check: not true.
Fake News. Four Pinocchio.
Too…
You all need Jesus!” he wrote.
Like Boebert, the American mucker is the main weapon of choice. Twitter, Although member of the general assembly The committee has 1.4 million of its 26,000 followers.
The committee launched the @FireBoebert account a year ago, soliciting any and all tips that could harm her and Cawthorne’s re-election efforts.
Among the evidence the committee gathered and published was a video of a naked Cothorne grinding up against another man.
Cawthorne lost his primary election in May, and American backers turned their attention to Boebert.
Greetings! @RepBoebert – please accompany @RepCawthorn about us. We look forward to getting to know you better. https://t.co/8cu97fIFb3 pic.twitter.com/SpyCfDfNQS
— Fire Boebert — Tipline: (970) 610-6001 (@FireBoebert) 19 May 2022
“We formed an alliance and fired Madison Cawthorne in May 2022,” the Twitter bio currently reads. “Now, it’s time to fire Lauren Boebert.”
US muckers first made waves in Boebert’s campaign in June, publishing allegations of an all-terrain vehicle accident in 2020, weeks before US Representative Scott Tipton was ousted in the district’s primary election.
The committee claims that a drunk Boebert jumped out of the driver’s seat of the vehicle moments before the accident, leaving his sister-in-law, son and dog still inside. The allegations are linked to a recorded phone call, supposedly with that sister-in-law, confirming the details. However, she did not respond to multiple calls or text messages from The Denver Post.
There was an accident, Boebert spokesman Ben Stout confirmed. But it was in 2019, not in 2020. And the Congressman was not drinking. He said that aspects of his sister-in-law’s injuries were exaggerated or outright false.
Among other things, American muckers also alleged that Boebert was an escort, a claim which Stout dismissed as “completely false”.
“If it’s true, then release the evidence,” he said.
While the allegations spread quickly on social media, particularly Twitter, Donald Green, a professor of political science at Columbia University, questioned whether they would have any effect on Boubert’s campaign.
Green said, “Before you raise your arms, if you are a supporter of (Boebert’s) or lay your hopes, if you are an opponent, it is advisable that the content of the actual effect is unclear. “
Green said perhaps the most important factor would be whether Republicans in former President Donald Trump’s political camp somehow turned on Boebert. they have not.
“In Cawthorne’s case, that was the key element,” Green said. “It wasn’t just Never Trumpers saying nasty things about him. Even Trump supporters started to wonder if this guy was going to be the millstone around their neck.”
Instead, those Republicans may instead begin to rally behind Boebert, defending him against the claims, Green said. Furthermore, eyewitnesses coming forward to corroborate the claims or make new and substantial allegations are unlikely to suffer from the allegations of Boebert’s campaign.
Wheeler said his efforts are not meant to tell voters what to do.
“Our job is to get information about Lauren Boebert that hasn’t been properly exposed,” he said. “We are focusing on information and facts about Lauren Boebert that we think voters should know.”
Morton, who is from Evergreen, said he is not under the illusion that his websites are going to change the world, but he hopes to encourage unaffiliated voters to turn against Boebert. His website, thelaurenboebert.com, describes him as a sympathizer of the racist and right-wing conspiracy group, QAnon. It also looks at Boebert’s criminal record and that of her husband, as well as other aspects of her professional and political life.
Plus, Morton said, he enjoys the work.
“I did it because it was funny and it made me laugh,” he said. “I’ll still keep doing it, even if it doesn’t do anything.”
