BEFORE YOU ACCUSE, CRITICIZE AND ABUSE

Jesus saved some of his most withering critiques for those he considered hypocrites.  “Why,” he asked (Matthew 7:3), “beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”  Or, in the words of the old saying, people who live in tin houses shouldn’t throw can openers.  Or something like that. 

Speaking of hypocrites, here’s Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who tweeted this on Tuesday: “Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot...”  Witness intimidation much?

As it happens, Gaetz represents Florida’s ultra-red 1st Congressional District, encompassing the western panhandle.  Folks in the greater Pensacola area have been willing to overlook his 16 speeding tickets (not to mention perhaps as many as eight DUI’s), and also the fact that his college roommate was found dead under “suspicious circumstances.”  Florida newspapers have even suggested that Gaetz leads a “gay lifestyle” – specifically, that he had an affair with a closeted evangelical megachurch pastor. 

How did Teflon Matt overcome those obstacles?  It didn’t hurt that Gaetz’s daddy was the most powerful politician in north Florida, which is how Gaetz was able to stay out of jail long enough to win a seat in the House of Representatives.  Gaetz loves Jesus, the 2nd Amendment, and Donald Trump, not necessarily in that order.  In other words, Gaetz is a pretty typical modern Republican.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a typical modern Republican is trying to intimidate an important witness against Donald Trump.  But the strange thing is that Gaetz decided to attack Cohen by accusing him of acting like Trump.  Gosh, is cheating on your spouse a bad thing? 

Mote, meet Beam.If you don’t approve of adultery, maybe turn your attention first to your glorious leader.Donald Trump never met a sin he didn’t like, but his favorite is adultery.He’s pretty fond of lying, too, so when Republicans in Congress and in the media say that Cohen’s testimony can’t be trusted because he lied in the past, we have a right to insist that they apply the same standard to the Liar in Chief.