An absurd news cycle deserves an equally absurd capper.

I’m 50/50 on whether to believe the claim here. On the one hand, Cawthorn is a populist whose base is eager to have its priors confirmed that the Washington establishment is not only out of touch but dissolute. He doesn’t go full QAnon — there’s no mention of children in what he says — but stories of government movers and shakers doing coke and throwing sex parties fits comfortably into the narrative about licentious elites misbehaving in ways that would appall hard-working salt-of-the-earth Americans. Maybe Cawthorn made it up because he aims to please.

On the other hand, I can believe that what he describes really does happen. Not every populist narrative is propaganda!

Madison Cawthorn affirms Washington DC is like the movie House of Cards and said people that he’s looked up his whole life who are now in their 60’s or 70’s have invited him to an orgy at their home and others have done cocaine in front of him. pic.twitter.com/iJnWMJ9PIR

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) March 27, 2022

One interesting aspect of this is that Cawthorn is part of the Marjorie Taylor Greene faction in the caucus, a hardcore MAGA guy. Those types don’t have much interaction with Democrats, I’d guess. And certainly Democrats wouldn’t be among the Washingtonians whom Cawthorn has looked up to in the past.

So if he’s telling the truth, it was probably a Republican who extended the offer to him. And probably a pretty populist one too, since the RINOs in the caucus who are forever being attacked by the Greene wing wouldn’t want to hand him any scandal oppo by inviting him to a sex party. That’s the sort of thing you do with someone you trust, not a political enemy. Ahem:

Well I’ve never seen that, but i also don’t run in the far right freedom caucus circles. So maybe? https://t.co/Frzbtg59hB

— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) March 28, 2022

Another thing worth noting is that he never says that the person who invited him is a member of Congress. He implies that whoever it was is older and has had a degree of fame for years, enough so that a younger Cawthorn would have known of and admired him, but the inference being drawn that the person in question holds office is simply an assumption.

I can think of a few guys who might plausibly check all the boxes here but it’s rank speculation unless Cawthorn names names. Which he won’t, despite the public interest in the clip above. Especially among Democrats:

Based on this interview of GOP Rep Madison Cawthorn, I just have to say, wow, the @HouseGOP Caucus is much wilder than I thought. https://t.co/LVa4QxjLeB

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 27, 2022

Is this how y’all get down, @HouseGOP? Yikes. https://t.co/G3t738Tv4F

— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) March 28, 2022

I know nothing of Beltway culture but people who do like to say that it’s far more “Veep” than it is “House of Cards.” Although I guess that depends on which parties you are and aren’t being invited to.

I’ll leave you with another absurd soundbite from the Greene wing of the caucus that emerged this past weekend, in this case from Greene herself. I get that she’s trying to accuse Pete Buttigieg and his husband of being perverts and predators with this nasty dig, but … it makes no sense on its own terms. What would two gay men be doing in a girls’ bathroom? Is she under the impression that Buttigieg is trans?

Marjorie Taylor Greene goes on a strange rant about Pete Buttigieg and says he “can stay out of our girls bathroom” pic.twitter.com/mflOliqc5R

— Acyn (@Acyn) March 26, 2022