Soon after taking office in 2021, Rep. Lauren Boebert quickly became one of Congress’ most controversial members. Six months into her first term, The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank wrote a column describing the far-right Colorado Republican as being “lost in a cacophony of crazy.”
In the years that followed, Boebert’s reputation managed to get worse, culminating in an incident last year when the Colorado Republican attended a family-friendly “Beetlejuice” musical production in Denver, only to get kicked out of the venue for “causing a disturbance” at the show. The lawmaker denied any wrongdoing, right up until surveillance footage from within the theater proved that she had obviously acted inappropriately.
A year later, Boebert managed to switch congressional districts and win another term, at which point she managed to fall into yet another mess of her own making. The Hill reported:
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) briefly offered videos on Cameo, a website on which public figures sell personalized videos to fans, before the page went offline amid questions about whether it would have violated House ethics rules. An introductory video from Boebert was visible on Cameo as of Monday morning, and a screenshot posted by a Semafor reporter showed her charging $250 per video.
“Hey, Cameo, it’s your girl from Colorado, Lauren Boebert. I am so excited to be joining another platform where I can connect directly with supporters from all over the world,” she said in the video. “Whether you or someone you know needs an America First pep talk, if you want to surprise friends or family with a message for a special day, or if you just want to know my thoughts on whatever’s on your mind, Cameo is the place to connect with me. You can book a video now on my Cameo profile, and I will be seeing you and talking with you soon.”
A spokesperson for Cameo confirmed to The Denver Post not only that Boebert’s account was authentic, but also that she was the first sitting federal lawmaker to use the platform.
A Cameo spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the Boebert account to The Denver Post, noting that she was the first sitting member of Congress to join the platform. But it’s not because the other 534 members on Capitol Hill are shy. The New Republic explained that Boebert’s Cameo account appeared to violate House rules. First, there’s an outside income limit of $31,815, so she’d have to watch how much money she makes, and second, under House rules, members are prohibited from receiving honoraria, defined as a “payment of money or thing of value for an appearance, speech, or article.” Now, if Boebert was having her Cameo proceeds go to her campaign account, that would probably be in line with House rules, but that is prohibited by the video platform.
Or put another way, the existence of Boebert’s Cameo account was likely to result in a House Ethics Committee investigation, which probably helps explain why the account disappeared after one day.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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