Ever since Rep. Madison Cawthorn, at 26 years old the youngest member of Congress, spoke of “perversion” in Washington — claiming lawmakers had used cocaine in front of him and that at least one had invited him to an orgy — he’s been subjected to a number of leaks clearly intended to embarrass him. Party photos in which he’s wearing women’s lingerie. Video where a male staffer (whom he is alleged to have given improper payments) grabs his crotch. And now, a clip that appears to show Cawthorn naked, in bed, humping another man’s head.
These opposition drops have fueled speculation that Republicans really do have coke orgies and mean to bury Cawthorn for talking about their libertine lifestyles. Publicly, top GOP figures from his home state of North Carolina have disavowed the scandal-prone young man ahead of his looming primary battle, which is shaping up to be a tough one. But the timing of this turn — and the kind of material being used to discredit Cawthorn — says rather more about a generational schism within, and the direction of, the party that now seeks to rid itself of a liability.
Leftists and liberals didn’t need to see Cawthorn in women’s clothes or messing around with his bros to decide they hate him. The history of sexually predatory behavior with women, the flirtations with Nazism, the habit of trying to board planes with a loaded gun, the inciting role in the January 6th Capitol riot and the long trail of dangerous conspiracy theories he’s promoted would all seem disqualifying to a reasonable person. But apparently none of that bothered Republican leadership, so long as Cawthorn was a fresh new firebrand spouting off on their behalf. It didn’t even particularly matter that he couldn’t be bothered to show up for votes.
Then, after mentioning that “the average age” at his workplace “is probably 60 or 70,” and that these elders he’s “always looked up to through my life” are actually kinky and hedonistic, the hammer falls. Cawthorn’s enemies, though aiming to capitalize on recent trends in conservatism, used an old playbook: homophobic smears. Except that to most anyone younger than the Baby Boomers coordinating this attack, the imagery released so far is indicative of Cawthorn’s essential frat-boy straightness, which makes juvenile humor of “gay” performance. The old geezers are exposing the most predictable and irrelevant aspect of his character.
The nature of this career sabotage tells you what the high-ranking figures of our gerontocracy understand, as well as what they don’t. They know, for one thing, that the younger someone is, the more digitally exposed they are — the intel for a compromising dossier can be quickly gathered from the cloud. They also know that Cawthorn, an outspoken transphobe himself, is vulnerable to the gender panic Republicans have lately stoked with hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills nationwide. Yet they don’t quite have a grasp of what’s truly damaging for a twentysomething or thirtysomething politician. Millennials and Gen Z can hardly be shocked by pictures of a man partying in women’s underwear; to us it’s perfectly natural, and certainly nothing akin to the ethical violations or hate speech that ought to cost Cawthorn his seat.
Before they went after one of their own, Republicans ran similarly out-of-touch offensives on the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and senate candidate Beto O’Rourke, surfacing video of the former dancing in a music video with college classmates, and photos of the latter when he had been in a punk band, as well as a mugshot. Both efforts backfired when the 40-and-under demographic said, “So what?” and “That’s pretty cool, actually.” A culture gap that has everything to do with age has changed the time-honored tradition of muckraking; what may have occasioned piercing scrutiny just 20 years ago is now met with a shrug, and a past that included fun, rebellion or revelry is not only acceptable in a candidate, it’s endearing, as every strategist should have figured out when Obama’s admitted drug use didn’t dent his popularity.
In Cawthorn’s case, the “dirt” also lacks impact because 1) he’s incapable of experiencing shame; and 2) everything we already knew about him is much, much worse. Neither the left nor the far right has taken the latest photos and videos as proof of his unsuitability for office — only the aged establishment would view them that way — and, just as Cawthorn prefers it, the focus remains on who is exposing him.
That his extremist loyalists and some of his fiercest critics should agree it’s a plot carried out by envoys of the GOP brass isn’t so strange when you consider that this is a moment of the young recognizing the old. To expel the most junior member of the House, the gray-haired lifers are counting on a classic gambit which has shown diminishing returns as a generation with new attitudes and political savvy comes to the fore. If it fails again, they may have to retire it at last. Or, if they’re feeling generous, retire themselves.
Miles Klee
Miles Klee is MEL’s resident tank-top dirtbag, shitposter and meme expert. He’s also the author of the novel ‘Ivyland’ and a story collection, ‘True False.’
