A lot of Republicans hate Matt Gaetz

| 11:43 pm EDT April 1, 2021
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

There’s one problem Matt Gaetz wouldn’t have right now if he were a nice guy. He wouldn’t lack support from powerful members of his own party. It turns out that a lot of Republicans, from former White House functionaries to colleagues in Congress, hate his guts.

Gaetz is under federal investigation for sex trafficking and sexual relations with one or more women under the age of 18, charges that could send him to prison for decades. He’s panicking, and it appears that not many people — not even Tucker Carlson! — care very much.

There’s a reason. If Gaetz appears to be an arrogant, swaggering, entitled, self-important pissant little jerk, well, that’s because he is. And when people like Gaetz fall, they fall hard, with no one around to catch them. After all, it’s hard to catch a guy when your hands are busy doing other things — like applauding.

Business Insider reports that not long after the story broke, “White House and GOP officials who loathe the loquacious and pugilistic Gaetz were gloating.” It doesn’t matter to a lot of Republicans that Trump liked him. Gaetz treated a lot of people who weren’t named Donald Trump like second class vassals. As one senior former White House source put it, “He’s the meanest person in politics.”

One national Republican campaign consultant put it this way, “The Congressman is one of those that came to Washington to make an impression for fame and fortune rather than accomplishing anything in Washington for his constituents.” While that may sound true of most Republicans, there’s an important difference with Gaetz. Your ultimate aim may be nothing more than self-promotion and enrichment, but you’re not supposed to look that way. Gaetz lacks the subtlety to understand this.

But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. Few people in Washington liked Donald Trump at first either. Once Trump became sufficiently powerful and got the backing of millions of Americans, most Republicans sold their souls for him. Don’t think for a minute they wouldn’t do the same for Gaetz.

I can’t stand to even look at most Republicans. Their evil drips from them. But Gaetz is a special case. It’s easy to imagine him in the uniform of an SS Gruppenführer. Had he been born in Germany in the early part of the twentieth century, can there be any doubt that he would have grown up to be a virulent Nazi? Even some Republicans notice this.

So it’s a good thing Gaetz is going down now. Little cockroaches grow up to be big cockroaches. And big cockroaches sometimes — in the case of Donald Trump anyway — become president of the United States. So goodbye, Matty. Have a nice long fall. I hope the ground that comes up to meet you is every bit as hard and unyielding as you are. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.