Republicans Clam Up About Jerry Falwell Jr.

Remember this? I guess we were warned.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Hey, remember the poolboy who somehow got an investment from Jerry Falwell Jr. a few years ago for a vaguely defined venture involving a youth hostel? His name is Giancarlo Granda and he now says that ever since he was 20 years old he’s been having an affair with Falwell’s wife, Becki. But was it really an “affair”? According to Granda, “Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room.”

I’m pretty sure the Bible doesn’t condone this sort of thing, but I don’t really care. This isn’t a porn blog, it’s a politics blog.¹ So I’m mostly curious about what Republicans think of all this. Here’s Ari Fleischer, formerly one of George Bush’s press secretaries:

Huh. My recollection is that Tara Reade got a mountain of coverage even though her accusations were pretty thin. To find the Falwell story, on the other hand, I had to search the New York Times site because it was nowhere on the front page.

That may change, of course, but my best guess is that the Times and other outlets will give this pretty low-key coverage, though everyone will inevitably finish things up with a 10,000 word, multiple-reporter, graphic-filled feature explaining the entire history of the Falwell clan. (The New Yorker will do 20,000 words.)

That said, how about some actual denunciation of Falwell? I may not care much if Jerry Jr. likes to watch, but supposedly conservatives do. So let’s hear it. Or is Stuart Stevens right?

¹Yes, yes, I know: that’s a thin distinction sometimes.

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate