Although he's deeply locked in the closet, Missouri Congressman Jason Smith is a homophobic, self-loathing queen. Oh, and he also loathes you. Otherwise he's just a garden variety far right Republican. Yesterday he was fuming about another royal... or two actually. He demanded that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, be stripped of their royal titles for advocating for paid family leave. Harry and Meghan live in the U.S.
Paid family leave is extremely popular across America-- except among corrupt conservatives in DC. 84% of Americans think Congress should pass paid family leave, including most Republicans. Among Republicans, 81% believe paid family leave should be extended to parents to care for a new child, 86% for caring for a seriously ill family member and 92% to someone suffering from a serious illness. And, just like normal people, Republicans agree that even if their taxes have to go up to pay for it, they still favor it (55%). Needless to say, Smith, a life-long "bachelor," violently opposes paid family leave, even though he represents the poorest district in Missouri.
The Hill reported yesterday that Smith "slammed the American-born former Suits actor in a statement provided to ITK on Friday, saying her 'latest interference in U.S. politics reignites the question in my mind as to why the Royal Family does not simply strip her and Harry officially of their titles, particularly since she insists on sending this under the pretense of being the Duchess of Sussex.'" She is the Duchess of Sussex and she is also an American citizen, born and raised in California.
Recalling her childhood in California in which she said eating out at the "$4.99 salad bar at Sizzler" was a luxury that her parents "worked to afford," Meghan wrote, "No family should have to choose between earning a living and having the freedom to take care of their child (or a loved one, or themselves, as we would see with a comprehensive paid leave plan)."
In his statement, Smith knocked Meghan for her restaurant reference and support of paid leave: "While her attempts at appealing to working class families by recalling her days of eating at Sizzler were laughable, her comments make crystal clear that the passage of this massive tax-and-spend bill is aimed more at helping global elites get huge tax breaks than helping the working families she claims to have dined with.”
It's not the first time that Smith has criticized Meghan and Harry. The lawmaker sent a letter to British Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce last year accusing the pair of "using foreign titles to campaign against President Trump and interfere with our election."
While members of the British royal family are expected to maintain political neutrality, Meghan and Harry stepped away from their official duties as full-time working members and moved to Los Angeles last year.
Asked Friday by ITK whether Smith was taking any other steps regarding Meghan's paid leave push, a spokesman said that the congressman is "reviewing all options."
If Smith wants to obsess over something useful, he might think about the raging pandemic in his district and the fact that his dumber-than-shit incumbents refuse to get vaccinated. The U.S. vaccination rate in now 57% (fully vaccinated) and Missouri's state rate 49%. Not a single one of the 29 counties comes up even to the low state average-- and of course, each was a Trump landslide county:
Douglas Co.- 22% fully vaccinated (83.2% Trump)
Reynolds Co.- 23% fully vaccinated (82.0% Trump)
Pemiscott Co.- 25% fully vaccinated (71.2% Trump)
Ripley Co.- 26% fully vaccinated (84.0% Trump)
Washington Co.- 28% fully vaccinated (79.7% Trump)
Dent Co.- 28% fully vaccinated (82.7% Trump)
Oregon Co.- 28% fully vaccinated (80.0% Trump)
Ozark Co.- 28% fully vaccinated (82.7% Trump)
Shannon Co.- 28% fully vaccinated (80.3% Trump)
Howell Co.- 29% fully vaccinated (80.3% Trump)
Texas Co.- 29% fully vaccinated (82.9% Trump)
Crawford Co.- 30% fully vaccinated (78.5% Trump)
New Madrid Co.- 30% fully vaccinated (74.6% Trump)
Carter Co.- 30% fully vaccinated (83.8% Trump)
Bollinger Co.- 30% fully vaccinated (85.4% Trump)
Butler Co.- 31% fully vaccinated (79.4% Trump)
Wright Co.- 33% fully vaccinated (84.1% Trump)
Wayne Co.- 33% fully vaccinated (84.2% Trump)
Dunkin Co.- 33% fully vaccinated (77.4% Trump)
Iron Co.- 35% fully vaccinated (77.4% Trump)
Madison Co.- 35% fully vaccinated (79.7% Trump)
Stoddard Co.- 36% fully vaccinated (84.8% Trump)
Perry Co.- 36% fully vaccinated (80.0% Trump)
Mississippi Co.- 39% fully vaccinated (73.7% Trump)
St Francois Co.- 39% fully vaccinated (72.1% Trump)
Phelps Co.- 39% fully vaccinated (67.3% Trump)
Scott Co.- 40% fully vaccinated (76.8% Trump)
Ste. Genevieve Co.- 41% fully vaccinated (68.9% Trump)
Cape Girardeau Co.- 44% fully vaccinated (70.5% Trump)
It would figure that morons like this would elect a psycho closet case like Jason Smith to represent them. I wonder what would happen if they ever found out about him!