GOP Candidate in Critical House Race Once Wore Blackface, Flew to Michael Jackson's Molestation Trial
New York's 17th Congressional district is one of 26 House races rated as a "toss up" by the Cook Political Report—that means the polls are so close that the contests could go either way. Republicans currently control the House by just a handful of seats, so any one of these toss-ups could decide which party controls the chamber. The stakes are that high.
This week, the New York Times reported that incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler (R) wore Blackface when he dressed up as Michael Jackson for Halloween in 2006 as a college sophomore. The NYT said it obtained screenshots of the photos—which were posted to Facebook—last week. Lawler won his seat by about 1,800 votes in 2022 and his main opponent next month is Mondaire Jones, a former congressman, who is Black.
And there's more: Lawler is a Jackson superfan who, as a high school senior, flew from New York to California to attend parts of the pop star's 2005 criminal trial for molesting a 13-year-old boy. (Jackson was acquitted.) Lawler apparently made a scene in the courtroom and was thrown out, as The Daily Beast first reported last year:
J. Randy Taraborrelli, a Jackson biographer, helped get Mr. Lawler into the courtroom and recalled in his book that the young fan had been “so disgusted” by testimony against Jackson “that he couldn’t help but mutter something derogatory under his breath.” Mr. Lawler was removed from the courtroom, according to Mr. Taraborrelli’s biography, “Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story.”
In a statement to the Times about the newly unearthed photos, Lawler said the costume was meant to be “truly the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to my musical hero since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom’s kitchen.” He added, “The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind. Let me be clear, this is not that.” Sir, you literally darkened your skin like racist white people did in minstrel shows? “I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry,” he said, adding: “All you can do is live and learn.”
There's also drama with the other candidates in the NY-17 race—yes, candidates plural.
Jones is the Democratic nominee, but progressives criticized him for his endorsement in a neighboring contest: He backed Westchester County Executive George Latimer over incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) in the NY-16 primary. Latimer won and Bowman will be leaving Congress in January.
As a result of that move, the progressive Working Families Party pulled its endorsement of Jones. The WFP has its own line on the ballot in New York. Jones then lost the WFP primary to a candidate named Anthony Frascone, who will appear on the ballot with both Jones and Lawler. Frascone is a former Republican and the WFP alleges that he's just trying to spoil the race so Lawler defeats Jones.
It's a mess and I'm rooting for no one.
We're in the closing weeks of the campaign, so there's a lot of other bullshit to mention. Bonus bullets!
- In other Empire State news, New York Republicans are so desperate to block an equal rights amendment that could protect abortion rights that they're claiming it would allow non-citizens to vote. [New York Post]
- Former president Donald Trump won't participate in 60 Minutes' pre-election special, a long-running tradition for which it has interviewed both candidates. A spokesperson blamed CBS' insistent "on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented." [CBS]
- Potentially related: At a Milwaukee campaign event on Tuesday, the 78-year-old Trump "mixed up Iran with North Korea and strained to pronounce the United Arab Emirates." [Washington Post]
- Oklahoma’s far-right school superintendent Ryan Walters appears to have reverse-engineered a way to buy 55,000 Trump Bibles with taxpayer money. [Oklahoma Watch]
- Arizona has spent so much on private school tuition under a Republican-backed school voucher program that it's facing hundreds of millions in budget cuts. [ProPublica]
- After Idaho state Senator Dan Foreman said discrimination doesn't exist in Idaho, he told Native American candidate Trish Carter-Goodheart to go back to where she came from. [Boise State Public Radio]
- Disgraced lawyer Rudy Giuliani sent a text about the coup to a wrong number. [The Guardian]
- Florida Gov. and whiny little shit Ron DeSantis (R) refused to meet with President Joe Biden following a hurricane for the second time in two years. [Politico]
- When asked on a podcast if he’d made amends with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said, “I don’t hang around with pedophiles.” [Mediaite]
- The Nevada GOP is very mad about a 40-foot naked Trump marionette. [HuffPost]
This has been your weekly Barf Bag, thanks for reading!