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Republican officials open a dubious door with its latest offensive against Texas' Paxton
The NRSC wants to focus on Ken Paxton’s alleged infidelities. But what about other leading party officials who’ve faced similar allegations?
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republican-officials-open-dubious-door-latest-offensive-texas-paxton-rcna218734
For a party establishment that not only supports Cornyn but that also believes a Paxton primary victory might put Cornyn’s Senate seat in play, there was only one option: It was time for Republican leaders and officials to go after the incumbent senator’s intraparty rival.
It was against this backdrop that NBC News reported:
On the surface, all of this makes a degree of sense. Last week, Angela Paxton issued a statement saying she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds” and “in light of recent discoveries,” suggesting that there were new and relevant developments in their lives.
The New York Times reported, “The divorce petition said that the couple had not been living together since June 2024 and that the grounds for divorce included that Mr. Paxton ‘has committed adultery.’”
While those claims have not been definitively proven, they weren’t altogether surprising, either: When Ken Paxton faced a state House investigation, the probe accused him of repeatedly breaking the law by, among other things, abusing his office to hide an extramarital affair......
As MSNBC’s Chris Hayes asked the NRSC’s communications director via social media, “Is the idea here that cheating on your wife in a way that later becomes humiliatingly public is disqualifying for public office? Do I have this right?”
As best as I can tell, the NRSC has not yet responded to this line of inquir
y.It was against this backdrop that NBC News reported:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee sharply criticized Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ... amid a public divorce from his wife — state Sen. Angela Paxton. ‘What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez wrote on X. ‘No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.’
On the surface, all of this makes a degree of sense. Last week, Angela Paxton issued a statement saying she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds” and “in light of recent discoveries,” suggesting that there were new and relevant developments in their lives.
The New York Times reported, “The divorce petition said that the couple had not been living together since June 2024 and that the grounds for divorce included that Mr. Paxton ‘has committed adultery.’”
While those claims have not been definitively proven, they weren’t altogether surprising, either: When Ken Paxton faced a state House investigation, the probe accused him of repeatedly breaking the law by, among other things, abusing his office to hide an extramarital affair......
As MSNBC’s Chris Hayes asked the NRSC’s communications director via social media, “Is the idea here that cheating on your wife in a way that later becomes humiliatingly public is disqualifying for public office? Do I have this right?”
As best as I can tell, the NRSC has not yet responded to this line of inquir