Republican star Lauren Boebert spins fables about her childhood -- but the real story is better

[SharonClark]

This is a fascinating story...

The strange saga of the gun-toting GOP congresswoman, her single mom, the pro wrestler and the corrupt phlebotomist
By ZACHARY PETRIZZO, Salon, PUBLISHED JULY 31, 2021 6:00AM (EDT)

Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a right-wing Republican and prominent member of the "Sedition Caucus," frequently speaks about her upbringing in a family struggling with poverty, describing herself as a "welfare child." Boebert has even blamed the liberal ideals held by her mother as the reason why her family was poor and required government assistance during her childhood.

But both in Washington circles and in speaking to voters in her Colorado district, Boebert has not discussed in detail exactly what circumstances landed the future right-wing firebrand and her mother in this disadvantaged situation. An investigation by Salon suggests that it had less to do with liberal ideology and more to do with her mother's failure to obtain the child support payments to which she was rightfully entitled.

Boebert's mother, Shawn Roberts Bentz, tried valiantly for years to receive child support. — and it appears likely that she and her daughter fell victim to a corrupt phlebotomist, a professional wrestler turned deadbeat dad and a negligent North Carolina child support system that allowed Bentz's case to slide through the cracks.

Boebert has occasionally been asked what role her biological father played in her family's struggles, and has repeatedly declined to answer. Exactly who her father was, in fact, remains officially uncertain: No father's name was listed on her 1986 Florida birth certificate, nor in the local newspaper's birth announcement.
. . .

The rest of the story: https://www.salon.com/2021/07/31/republican-star-lauren-boebert-spins-fables-about-her-childhood--but-the-real-story-is-better/

[Rorey]

1. Interesting

I can't fault her for things she had no control over, but I DO fault her for lying.

[Wounded Bear]

2. She's all growed up and in a position of responsibility. Excuses ain't cutting it...

[Hotler]

3. she's a dick. nt

[madaboutharry]

4. I don't care who her father is or what her childhood was like.

She is a fascist and a despicable person and it is her choice to be that way.

[maxsolomon]

9. Interesting to know the context that creates those resentments, however

She'll probably never learn from the story. Doubling down is what conservatives do.

[captain queeg]

5. Not sure blaming the mother for not getting the child support she was untitled to is appropriate

I think years ago it was pretty common for absent fathers to avoid paying. But maybe Boebert could have learned how the government can help, it certainly helped her.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I received no child support from the time my ex left the AF until

1985, roughly 11 years. It used to be impossible to collect if parents resided in different states. My ex was an electrical engineer and claimed he couldn't pay $110 a month because he had a new family to support.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Seems so Freudian. She wants to shoot her father and promotes it

via her chauvinistic allegiance to the Second Amendment.

[Takket]

7. I feel terrible for the mother...

imagine trying to raise a child as a single mom on minimum wage, getting screw out of the child support, doing the best you can despite that, only to have your child grow up and become that absolutely vile human being that Boebert is. I would be beside myself with grief every day.

[OrlandoDem2]

10. Does she tell the story with sassy voice and hands on hip?