The Daily Beast had a story yesterday – and had the “receipts” to back it up, literally. The story was about a former girlfriend of football great Herschel Walker who is running for the U.S. Senate from Georgia who said he paid for an abortion for her in 2009. But it’s not a “he said/she said” thing – she showed them receipts for the procedure from the abortion clinic, a copy of the $700 check Walker sent, and a "get-well-soon" card. And evidence of their relationship. The Daily Beast also talked with a friend who helped take care of her after the procedure and confirmed her story. To be clear, I don’t personally care one whit if Herschel Walker paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion. Or paid for abortions for a dozen former girlfriends. I do care about hypocrisy. And I care about lying. I care too when people hide behind how religious they are, how much they supposedly love the Lord as a protective excuse to cover their transgressions, but also just because it has no place in politics. And I most especially care that, although it’s absolutely legal for him to do so, Herschel Walker has no business being a United States senator because the job is really, really, really serious. And Herschel Walker is not. Appearing on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox “News” – as cushy a venue to deal with the issue – Walker was asked if he'd ever sent a $700 check to the woman in question. I’d say that his answer was word salad, but that isn’t much of a description since it covers most answers that football great Herschel Walker makes. “I send money to a lot of people,” he said – which is very nice (if true), though doesn’t answer the question. He added that the reason he gives money away to others is merely that he wants to help them. A lovely thought from someone who helped a woman get pregnant and kindly paid for her abortion. Which also explains the Get Well card. And then, of course, he brought up his Christian faith because…well, there it was lying on the table. “I got into this race because I love the Lord Jesus Christ,” he intoned. For most people, that’s the reason they go to church. Most people run for the U.S. Senate because they’ve been in politics for years and want to do something about health care and infrastructure and national defense and the national debt and sending the good air to China. Okay, in fairness, football great Herschel Walker at least got the last one right… Again, I don’t care if he paid for an abortion or not. But I do care about how people answer questions. Even if their answer is “That’s personal, and it’s none of your business.” And the thing is, it’s really not a tough question to answer -- "Did you send $700 to pay for an abortion ever for anyone?" Yes/No are the options. “I send money to a lot of people and love Jesus” is not on the list to pick from. Further, although The Daily Beast isn't giving out the woman's name because she asked not to be identified, Mr. Walker can agree to meet with them in private and be shown the check and asked, "Did you write this check you signed to your former girlfriend?" Yes/No. “I just like to help people” isn’t one of the options either. Now, is it possible that this is all made-up? It is possible that a dog might perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto badly at Carnegie Hall next month, so sure. Is it likely? With a signed check, abortion clinic receipt, Get Well Soon from Your Abortion card signed with his "H" flourish, and confirmation from a friend, no, not very. Especially when your answer to the "Is it true?" question is, "I got into this race because I love the Lord Jesus Christ.” Later, Walker did pretty much the only thing he could do – he released a statement calling the story a "flat-out lie" and denied it in the "strongest possible terms.” And then, of course, as is obligatory in today's GOP, said he would sue – "I'm not taking this anymore. I planning [sic] to sue the Daily Beast for this defamatory lie. It will be filed tomorrow morning," he said. Now, sometimes, it's very proper to sue. Of course, why he says he’s suing The Daily Beast” and not suing his former girlfriend who made the charge and provided the signed check, abortion clinic receipt and Get Well card is a question between him and his God. But, of course, the lawsuit isn’t going anywhere. Not just because of the whole, y’know, First Amendment thing because The Daily Beast clearly made an effort to substantiate what they wrote – but because the very last thing Herschel Walker would want is to be deposed under oath and testify under oath in court. Just like Trump’s threatened $475 million lawsuit of CNN for “defamation” is not going anywhere because the very last thing Trump wants is to be deposed under oath and testify under oath in court. But he can raise money off of it. Just like Herschel Walker can raise money off his maybe-lawsuit. And it shows he Really Means It – except for the whole not wanting to be depose under oath thing. And it’s a great way to distract from the story. It can’t be true because I said so, and because I’m suing, and because I love Jesus. Y’know what another good answer would be? “Yes, I paid for an abortion 13 years ago, and afterwards it sickened me when I thought so much about what I’d done, and what everyone does who gets an abortion, and growing from that is what helped me get closer to my Lord Jesus Christ. And made me want to run for the Senate.” But instead, football great Herschel Walker came up with, “I send money to a lot of people. And want to help people. And I got into this race because I love the Lord Jesus Christ.” And then later realizes, “Oh, yes, I’m going to sue the publication that printed what my former girlfriend told them with documentation.” What Walker's attorney came up with, even before the thought came to Team Walker about filing the lawsuit, is accusing The Daily Beast of trying to "target Black conservatives." Because, yeah, that's what the story is about. Now, if he had added "God-fearing" he'd at least have had something to hide behind. What Hershel Walker does with his life is his business. What he does if elected to the U.S. Senate will be ours. No matter how much he loves the Lord. While putting a gun to his ex-wife’s head and threatening to kill her. And putting a knife to her throat and threatening to kill her. Repeatedly. And threatening to kill girlfriends. So, yeah, hypocrisy and lying fit in there, too. But he loves Jesus. And Trump. And good air that we can send to China.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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