Lawmaker’s takedown of toxicity an example for all

With appropriate outrage but impressive eloquence, Mallory McMorrow took the fight to ultra-right conservatives, exposing their hypocrisy and demagoguery

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Editorials

April 29, 2022 - 3:52 PM

Michigan state capitol

A blueprint for battling the toxic extremism currently gripping much of the Republican Party was provided last week by, of all sources, a Democratic state legislator in Michigan. In a floor speech that went viral, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow issued an epic takedown of a Republican colleague who’d called her a sexual “groomer” of children in a dishonest and indecent fundraising appeal — part of GOP’s nefarious campaign to use school children as tools in their culture wars.

It began with a fundraising email from Republican state Sen. Lana Theis warning, “These are the people we are up against. Progressive social media trolls like Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Snowflake) who are outraged they can’t … groom and sexualize kindergarteners or [teach] that 8-year olds are responsible for slavery.”

The two senators represent different parts of Michigan and have never run against each other, but McMorrow has been outspoken about opposing the GOP’s cynical “don’t say gay” legislation in Florida and other efforts like it by conservatives around the country. That, apparently, was enough to merit a mass email that calls McMorrow, the mother of a 1-year-old, a sexual “groomer” of children.

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