He had been endorsed by the malignant demagogue and therefore was a favorite to win the Republican nomination to run for retiring Sen. Pat Toomey's seat in Pennsylvania. Sean Parnell seemed to have it going for him until his violent relationship with his now ex-wife surfaced, and Donald "Lying Loser" Trump's endorsement won't do him any good now. Yesterday, faced with a court ruling that his ex-wife would retain sole custody of their children, Parnell quit the Senate race:
"The judge’s order last week, made public in court documents Monday, outlined in detail the allegations of domestic and other abuse Laurie Snell had made against her estranged husband, and concluded that 'Parnell did commit some acts of abuse in the past.' Parnell has denied the allegations. [snip]
Snell has accused Parnell of multiple forms of abuse before their separation, including choking her and hitting one of their children so hard he left a 'full handprint' mark on the child’s back. She testified that Parnell has thrown chairs across the room toward her; pinned her down and screamed profanities at her; called her crazy in front of the children; and once dropped her off on Interstate 79 when she was six months pregnant and told her to get an abortion." (our emphasis)
Some Republicans have skeletons in their closet; this guy had an entire collection of them. And "told her to get an abortion?" That's Trump and Christofascist-level hypocrisy. Apparently, Republican leadership in the Senate wasn't sold on Parnell (perhaps his wife spoke to them), and they declined to stand behind him. When will we see "Pennsylvania Republicans In Disarray" stories in the media? Not likely.
Dems, on the other hand have a couple of good choices in populist Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Marine veteran centrist Dem Rep. Conor Lamb, whom President Biden has touted in local appearances. As for Parnell, given his domestic abuse background and general toxic male character, he has a promising future in the Republican / New Confederate / Active Shooter Party.
(photo: Parnell and his cult leader. Better turn those thumbs down. Twitter)
