The youngest Republican woman to be elected to the Senate, and the first from Alabama, chose a green long-sleeved blouse to deliver the biggest speech of her political career. The centerpiece was a cross-shaped pendant dangling from her necklace, which would occasionally flash when Sen. Katie Britt shifted her weight. This was no coincidence: What better way to convey confidence to evangelical voters than through the cross?
Britt's melodramatic delivery of last week's State of the Union address was widely criticized on social media and was mocked on “Saturday Night Live.” And then, of course, there was Carla Jacinto.
Opinion columnist
LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson writes about culture, politics, sports, and life in America.
“When I first took office, I did something different,” Britt said. “I traveled to Del Rio Sector in Texas, where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She was sexually trafficked by gangs starting at the age of 12. The senator noted that this happened in the United States, and added: “President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace.” It's despicable. It's almost entirely preventable.
But Britt wasn't completely honest about the 12-year-old girl's story. Jacinto, the activist who shared her story long before Britt took office, said she met the Alabama senator in a group with other officials, rather than individually. She said it was smuggled into Mexico, far from the US border. She said this happened from 2004 to 2008.
In other words, the woman sitting in the kitchen with the shining cross around her neck lied.
After the truth came out, Britt hopped on Fox News for damage control, still looking like a living Hallmark card, apparently hoping that an appearance of compassion could cover the tracks of her political misjudgment.
Premiering her solo show before Oscar weekend was a bold choice by the senator. But misusing one woman's personal horror as a political element in prime time is more than audacious; It's very annoying.
The question for evangelical voters, who make up a large portion of the Republican base, is to what extent politics can trump morality in the name of any conservatism any longer. Politico reported Monday that an evangelical group is spending up to $60 million to return the twice-impeached and repeatedly indicted former president to the White House, so maybe this is our answer.
The entire “Moral Majority” movement in conservative politics has always involved theatrics and cosplay. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took the matter to a new level by releasing sexually content photos of Hunter Biden during a House committee hearing. And now the future of the Republican Party is sitting in a kitchen claiming to speak truthfully to religious voters while telling an outrageous lie for political purposes.
“I serve as a spokesperson for the many victims who do not have a voice,” Jacinto told CNN. “I would really like…all governors, all senators, to be sympathetic to the issue of human trafficking because there are millions of girls and boys who go missing all the time — people who are really trafficked and abused,” she said. [Britt] Mentioned. And I think it is [Britt] It must first take into account what is actually happening before telling a story of this magnitude.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was able to take a repeated swig from a water bottle during another infamous State of the Union answer because someone was willing to deliver it to him. Producers tell you what colors and styles to wear. Camera operators remind you where to look. Nothing that happened during Brett's response was a coincidence.
Jacinto's story wasn't hard to find. But it seems as if everyone involved in producing The Senator didn't believe anyone would care about the research.
The fallout represents an embarrassment and a setback for Britt, but is unlikely to ultimately cause her any serious political damage. Her party's leader is facing an imminent trial for allegedly paying hush money to an adult film actress, and she's been found responsible for sexual assault, so, yeah, Britt's probably okay.
The same cannot be said of her party's claim to any kind of real moral high ground.
@LZgranderson
