We awoke this morning to another hard-hitting story targeting Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado in national media, the cantankerous freshman from Rifle who has in less than two weeks in office managed to scare the hell out of her new colleagues and deepen urgent questions about security at the U.S. Capitol. A lot of the details in this story about Boebert’s lengthy criminal record readers have seen before–but it’s the source today, the conservative-leaning New York Post, that’s turning heads:
The 34-year-old lawmaker, who beat her district’s very conservative Rep. Scott Tipton in a primary upset last June, has a rap sheet unusually long for a member of Congress.
And her track record of thumbing her nose at law continued this week after she tussled with Capitol Police officers over her refusal to walk through newly installed House metal detectors… [Pols emphasis]
While the lawmaker was eventually allowed to enter the House chambers, she is facing growing questions about her role in assisting the deadly riot on Capitol Hill Jan. 6. Just hours before the violence, she tweeted, “today is 1776.” In the days leading up to the unrest, Boebert made a spectacle of her intention to remain armed in the Capitol, earning another rebuke from local law enforcement.
The link between Boebert’s criminal record, generally small-scale misconduct and failures to appear but still betraying a good deal of disregard for the law, with the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th and Boebert’s refusal to submit to metal detectors installed outside the House chambers in its aftermath, is not one we’ve seen explicitly made in major media.
But it’s a very good point, don’t you think?
There is a damning parallel to be drawn between Boebert’s demonstrated contempt for the legal system on a small scale–like failing to appear in court for minor cases, or thumbing her nose at the Garfield County public health department–and the lawless mob that believed storming the U.S. Capitol was an acceptable way to resolve their dispute over the 2020 elections. Boebert’s case recalls the controversial law enforcement “broken window theory,” where an environment of minor infractions creates a climate ripe for greater ones. Or to employ another common law enforcement analogy, Boebert’s petty lawlessness is a “gateway drug” to something worse.
Either way, revisiting Boebert’s criminal history in light of the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, violence Boebert stands accused of helping incite with her bellicose rhetoric on social media and baseless challenges of the electoral slate as her first act in Congress, is absolutely fair and needs to happen.
As for why the East Coast’s most notorious pro-GOP tabloid is going there, that’s anybody’s guess.
Perhaps Boebert offended a powerful New Yorker’s sensibilities.
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The Post has nothing new to report. But, Rupert's semi-rabid right-wing tabloid?
When is Pols going to throw Joe a little love and attention. It’s starting to resemble the National Inquirer of Colorado politics. “Oh gosh what did Qbert do today?” Qbert might get the clicks but it’s going to be Joe and Diane who gets their licks in as an impeachment managers. Move on guys. Share something that doesn’t involve this ditz.
The latest from Joe, in his own words.
Got a 404 error when trying to link to your article.
Sorry. That one was a little tricky. Seems that you can't always delete everything to the right of a '?' and have it woik.
Seems to be working now.
Worked perfectly. Reasonable comments from the No 8 in House leadership. He is a wonderful example of public service to help all.
Reasonable and responsible.
Joe's been doing a great job and will continue.
For CO to have 2 impeachment managers on this crew should make us proud that we have the best people in the best positions.
and then there's QBert
Rep. Crow did an excellent job as an impeachment 1 manager. Hard to believe there a sequel was necessary.
Hey …that is my congresswoman you are talking about.
She may be batshit crazy, dangerous as a box full of scorpions, the familiar of roughnecks, rednecks, and long necks, ignorant as a wet stump, dishonest, overly aggressive…and with lousy fashion sense, but…she is the the only one we got over here in CD3.
😉
We like to keep track of her…even if it is painful. It’s like passing a car crash on the highway…hard not to look.
Bingo, Duke. We don't see stories about planes landing safely and car trips taken without incident.
I live in CD3, too. #GlockBarbie is going to be a nightmare the next couple of years.
I am in Delta, and it seems from what I have been hearing, is we need to push to have her resign…I have just begun to email Qbert..I have been reluctant because I think she would abuse the power of the office to retaliate…that is the kind of person I believe she is…
Most (if not all) recent resignations have been forced over charges of sexual harassment. Others for ethics violations which did not apply for the last four years.
It may come down to a pressure campaign from the local press (already happening?) and from other members of the CO caucus.
There is a congresswoman in IL already catching an earful from all directions due to a Hitler comment.
If QBert continues to refuse to abide by local gun regulations that is going to be a problem.
Not exactly throwing her under the bus, but her comms director just quit, and at least said the decision was reached "following" the events of Jan. 6. Lyin' Ted Cruz' comms director recently quit too.
Hard to imagine a tougher job then communicating what they are trying to do without being an accomplice.
Charlie Sykes, at The Bulwark, considered the US House Republicans and emerged with this breakdown …
Anyone hazard a guess (or creatively describe) the Colorado Legislature's Republican caucuses?
How's this:
The RINO(s): You could make an argument there's only 1 member in 2021, but maybe a couple more based on one's perspective about what's not "right" enough.
Laissez-Faire is Everywhere: The most important issues are property rights, low taxation, and less regulation of business, whether motivated by self-interest or not. It's the less-radical largely suburban branch.
The Rurals: Have to say here that I love rural America, though not always the politics, and wish the folks playing urban-rural divide could seek detente because we all depend on each other. CO rural GOPers might have some legitimate gripes about the overall state power structure, but its members play cards of victimhood and divisiveness too early and too often, and they'll use urban-generated revenue even if they don't acknowledge it with great emphasis.
The Grifty McGrifter(s): Again, might only be one member truly abusing rank-n-filers who will tithe to various nonprofits despite really hurting for money, but there have been others and will be others.
The Nouveau Radical: Their basic views aren't entirely new to them, but certain out-there positions have gotten less closeted over the past 4 years, or even more recently, thanks to a certain administration in Washington. So, they're loud and proud right now, not to mention too often maskless where they should be masked.
The Good Ol' Good Ol': Republican lifers who have faithfully attended caucuses and assemblies for decades, and aren't really radical at heart, but can recite the top 10-15 conservative positions like most of us say the alphabet.
Well said. We're not independent, we're inter-dependent. We've become co-dependent on this useless narrative of us vs. them. It's The Big Lie.
I've lived in rural America long enough to know a thing or two. A lot of it is great! Find a remote patch of land somewhere and you can mostly do what you want. Random danger is usually pretty rare, compared to the city, as long as you don't seek trouble. Roads aren't normally congested. Gorgeous landscapes, wildlife, a lot of turf that's pretty unspoiled. Anyone who wants to trade this for the I-25/I-70 interchange can, I guess, but why?
There was a little incident yesterday, that at least Q’bert’s lawyers should have been paying attention to.
A US Attorney, I believe in AZ, said in a charging document that they had evidence that attackers were planning to “capture and assassinate” leaders of Congress. I think this involved the Q’AnonShamon insurrectionist, and said that some of the evidence was in his own writing.
Then, the Trump DOJ quickly scrambled out and said “No, No, No”.
If there were people who were actively trying to capture and assassinate Speaker Pelosi, and if they were reading Q’bert’s tweet giving the Speaker’s location despite security instructions not to do so, then Q’bert could find herself very deeply wrapped up in the case of charges to capture and assassinate Pelosi.
By this point, the government has a lot of these people’s phones. And regardless, we learned from Snowden that the NSA has a motto of “collect everything”. So, the evidence should be there for Biden’s AG and the US Attorneys Biden picks. I’m just hoping there aren’t any 17-minute, Rosemary Woods style erasures in key places in the Republican tradition.
Before the ultra conservative Parler was excommunicated, a data researcher scraped up all the public data on the site. Since then, some amazing maps have been developed using Parler's GPS data.
Another photo of Qbert with hands on hip but this time it wasn't her hands.
There’s been a lot of info posted here & there about the Parler data. One is that Parler collected metadata from its users such as name, id and even a DL photo in addition to GPS data on photos and videos.
But Lawfare posted (https://www.lawfareblog.com/parler-breach-and-capitol-rioters):
conflicting accounts but that’s OK.
I trust that the capitol was equipped w/cell phone tracking devices as good or better than your local Macy’s or King Soopers probably are to track people and movements. This would add the elevation data necessary to put specific people on a specific floor at a specific time.
There is no such thing as privacy unless you put all of your devices in a faraday bag or just leave them at home.
Just wondering if Rep. Boebert hosted capitol visits on January 5th. 30 Democrats have asked for an investigation, no names of legislators were listed. Because of COVID, capitol visits have been quite rare since last March, but it was claimed that on the 5th, there were many. One Representative asked “Reconaissance?”
On Friday Night’s Stephen Colbert, a video clip was shown of a woman entering a window of the capitol with a megaphone giving others already in the building directions on which way to go (something like “go to the door on your left and …. ).
Just wondering if Rep. Boebert hosted capitol visits on January 5th. 30 Democrats have asked for an investigation, no names of hosting legislators were listed. They indicated the only way you can get a tour now is with a congressional rep or senator invite. Because of COVID, capitol visits have been quite rare since last March, but it was claimed that on the 5th, there were many. One Representative asked “Reconaissance?”
She says she didn’t give any tours to “outside groups or insurrectionists”…which still leaves a little wiggle room. And she went ballistic on Rep. Maloney after he remarked, on Nichole Wallace’s show, that there had been suspicious people touring Jan 5. Then Boebert had to backtrack, because Maloney hadn’t mentioned her specifically. Protesting too much, perhaps?
Meanwhile, the Twitter thread of Democrats who didn’t give Capitol tours last week is growing….and hilarious.
Why, pray tell, would her comms director resign faster than a Scaramucci? She certainly hasn’t changed since her campaign. Could he know something about her actions that are, say criminal? Enquiring minds want to know.
The timing of the resignations of both Boebert’s coms director and young intern Weston Imer is…interesting.
Nice to see you posting again, JADodd.
Dailykos has an article up that purportedly identifies bullhorn lady as Qbert’s mom who was given a tour of the Capital on the 5th. There were vigorous pushbacks in the comments about confirming the assertIon and the real dangers of false identification but if bullhorn lady is her mom then it hollows out her defense that she was only giving tours to family members.
I’m glad that you were the one who brought up that conspiracy theory, GG. I’m following it, but it remains to be proven. Both Boebert and Shawna Roberts-Bentz ( Boebert’s mother) have denied that Roberts-Bentz was present at the Capitol riot.
Anyone seen confirmation if Capitol video cams were operational on 1/5 and 1/6?
IBT News has side by side photos.
Dead ringer.
Agreed. It seems to me that the first photo is the bullhorn lady sans (visible) megaphone. Hat is same color pink and is being worn w/the same pattern of wrinkles in both pics. Coat collar matches. Sunglasses match. Facial features seem similar. Let facial recognition really determine that.
But to link this lady to QBert's mom is too big a stretch for me. I don't blv it. Bullhorn lady is too articulate and intelligent to be QBert's mom who you can find on the net in various places discussing (for instance) things that she and her friend hate. It's ignorant patter. I can't connect those two women for that reason alone.
My $0.02
All white people look alike to me.
Other sources have side by side photo comparisons and commenters say there is likely a difference of 30 pounds and 40 years … or maybe it was 40 pounds and 30 years.
Until there is something official or at least good enough for media lawyers to approve, I'm willing to wait rather than buy into speculation of presence OR absence.
The FBI certainly has facial recognition software than can say match or no match. They could show expert evidence at a trial showing the faces with dots and triangles on them and showing how many points of agreement there are between the two like they do with fingerprints.
I’m waiting to get the Trump fascists out US Attny offices and get Biden’s team in. That’s when these investigations will get a lot more interesting.
This is the official FBI poster to be on the lookout for the woman with the pink hat and bullhorn. She does not appear to be Shawna Roberts-Bentz, Lauren Boebert’s mother.
If these allegations are confirmed by the Insurrection Investigation than it makes Qberts tweets about Pelosi’s whereabouts that much more ominous. It might have been a conspiracy of fools but that doesn’t make their actions any less dangerous or the need for consequences less important.
I agree, GG. If these allegations are justified, then a case can be made for a charge of treason, perhaps…or sedition certainly. Add to that, accessory to murder.
Ouch…that's gonna sting.
Out here in the real world, created by decades of Tough-On-Crime politicians and aggressive, ambitious prosecutors, if you are doing something foolish, for foolish reasons that you think explains it, and this foolishness has involved you in the middle of a serious crime, an ambitious prosecutor is going to come down on you like a ton of bricks.
She/He wants another conviction on their tally sheet for promotion, and the very best you can hope for is to cut a deal where you testify against the rest of the gang. The prosecutor might see you as a possible weak link and witness. But, you should take the deal quickly, because when the gang starts offering to testify against each other, the prosecutor won’t need you anymore.
Cong Maloney talking about Boebert right now on MSNBC. Will look for a video later.
Here it is.
Damn! That's going to get Q-bert's dander up bigly.
Which in turn will probably cause her to hurt herself even more.
Q’bert needs to figure out real fast that she just got promoted from Rookie League up to the big leagues. Now people will fact-check what she says and call her on it. Rep. Maloney has obviously learned this lesson, but I think he came up through the minors and could learn at lower levels of politics.
This is Big League Hard Ball, and she’ll need to learn fast. But to all appearances is incapable of learning and likely to stick to what got her here.
John King leaving Inside Politcs.
Meet the Press is back live on Sunday mornings
re: John King.
Not so much. CNN describes the shuffle as
Weekday IP is not on my menu usually. Gotta have an hour or two or three or four every day for reading and research. That's usually it until Deadline WH comes on.
I'm happy to see Abby step up to hosthood.
It would be confusing if John King were to host Inside Politics with Abby Phillip, and Abby Phillip were to be hosting Inside Politics with John King. I’m glad they did it the way they did.
🙂
“As for why the East Coast’s most notorious pro-GOP tabloid is going there, that’s anybody’s guess.”
The foreign election interference scheme known as Rupert Murdoch has quite noticeably been trying to pull all of his media back from the edge. People like Ghouliani and S. Powell have been pulled from Fox airwaves, and I noticed that they ran the required retractment videos after the voting machine companies threatened major lawsuits. Murdoch’s right-wing WSJ has also been joining the Murdoch Buckpeddle trying to get away from having advertisers consider them to be seditionists. The NY Post is now also following the orders from the boss.
Now there's a great American love story for ya. Some skeevy pervert waves his pathetic little pecker at kids in a bowling alley, one of the kids says "yum yum gimme some," and a romance for the ages is born.