By nearly any measure, Herschel Walker is unqualified to serve in the United States Senate. In today’s political climate, though, that hardly makes him unique.
However, that brings us to Florida’s own Rick Scott, who brushed off allegations from The Daily Beast that Walker paid for his girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009. But now that he’s running for the U.S. Senate from Georgia, a key component of Walker’s platform is that abortion is murder and should be completely banned — even if the mother’s life is in jeopardy.
The woman in the Daily Beast report backed up her claims with a signed $700 check from Walker and a receipt from the abortion clinic.
That doesn’t matter though, because Scott, the National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman, went for the old misdirection play to support his guy.
“This is just Textbook 101 for the Democrats,” Scott told radio host Hugh Hewitt. He compared what’s happening with Walker to the unsuccessful attempts by Democrats to keep Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh off the U.S. Supreme Court.
“They know they’re going to lose. Herschel Walker is running a good race. He’s a great candidate. Raphael Warnock is Joe Biden. And you know, it’s just lie, cheat, and smear. That’s what the Democrats do,” Scott argued.
Let’s pause for a moment because there’s something else to consider.
In each of the cases above — Thomas, Kavanaugh and Walker — the allegations of sexual misconduct came from women. Do you ever notice when that happens, Republicans smear the women?
Christine Blasey Ford alleged that Kavanaugh raped her. During her testimony at his confirmation hearing, she wondered aloud “whether I would just be jumping in front of a train” and “would just be personally annihilated.”
That basically happened.
Donald Trump, who has issues regarding sex, mocked her at a campaign rally as the crowd cheered and egged him on.
And now Rick Scott dismisses the signed check, the abortion receipt, and a get-well card from Walker as Democratic drivel.
My guess is that if we could inject Scott with truth serum, he would admit that he believes Walker did what was reported. He doesn’t care though, because Walker would be another useful tool for Senate Republicans to manipulate on policy issues.
Walker has been caught in multiple lies, such as the one where he said Trump never claimed the election was stolen. He claimed he worked in law enforcement and the FBI but did not. The former University of Georgia football star doesn’t appear to grasp any issue more complex than an off-tackle football play.
He promoted a mist he said would kill any COVID-19 virus on a person’s body.
Scott calls this person “a great candidate.”
His son, Christian Walker — a conservative activist — said his father is a fraud.
“Family values people? He has four kids, four different women. Wasn’t in the house raising one of them,” Christian Walker said.
“He was out having sex with other women. Do you care about family values? It was silent lie, after lie, after lie.”
That doesn’t matter to Rick Scott though.
Control of the Senate could hang on the outcome of this race, and power is all Scott knows or cares about. If that means attacking the credibility of the woman who brought this to light, well, that’s just collateral damage.
Politics as usual, and it’s Textbook 101.
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Joe Henderson is a columnist for Florida Politics and veteran Florida reporter.
