When a grown ass man wants to fuck a 17 year old, then its fair to question just how young they'd be willing to go if no one would know.
"When Facism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." - Unknown
Pedophile has a specific meaning...it regards pre-pubescent children.
Technically, this would classify as "Ephebophilia"...
What Gaetz is doing is criminal and gross...but it's not pedophilia.
Joe Average isn't so hooked on terminology. Joe will call it pedo because that's what he's heard of.
Let's not get too sidetracked off of the fact that Republicans just can't seem to stop shagging kids and teenagers while trying to posture as law and order loving religious fundamentalists.
- Christopher HitchensPopulists (and "national socialists") look at the supposedly secret deals that run the world "behind the scenes". Child's play. Except that childishness is sinister in adults.
A little off topic but correlates with what you said that Republicans are the champions of bigoted anti LTGBQ+ laws and the Bible yet they are generally caught either sucking or having their dick sucked in some bathroom stall be it in an airport, office building or wherever their secret gay lovers will meet them.
Trump has lifted their mask now they are just hateful SOBs no more family values or any of that BS just power. The evangelical base sold its soul to the devil along with any illusion of morality when they stand blindly behind a cheating, porn star banging three time divorced racist. It was never about morals to begin with it was the excuse they used to hide the fact that they are horrible human beings.
@Endus has imo put this as clearly and succinctly as I have ever seen or read, anywhere:
It should be the answer to each and every horrific thing we continue to see the Republicans do.
In news that will be surprising, then not surprising, then obvious in the span of ten seconds, the biggest source of damning info about Greenberg is...Greenberg.
Yep, he wrote out a pardon application from Stone and listed alllllllllllllll the things he and his friends, like Gaetz, did.
And then, law enforcement seized it.
Folly and fakery have always been with us... but it has never before been as dangerous as it is now, never in history have we been able to afford it less. - Isaac Asimov
Every damn thing you do in this life, you pay for. - Edith Piaf
The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. - Orwell
No amount of belief makes something a fact. - James Randi
Lawful Evil characters follow the law out of fear of punishment. They legit thought they would never be punished.
It could be stupidity, but I believe it's more likely a cold malice-driven almost sociopathic need to indulge their pedophilic desires, knowing what they were doing was wrong (i.e. not insane) but believing they could hide from the system from any consequences -- plus the belief that, while Trump was in charge, Trump's friends could do whatever they wanted, and get away with it.
D&D alignment-based arguments or not, because real people are more complex than a 3x3 grid, if anyone asks themselves "would I still be doing this, if people knew I was doing this?" and the answer is "no I wouldn't", it's because one of two things would happen.
1) The surprise party is ruined
2) People would think ill of you for knowing what you're doing
Also: if I remember the timeline correct, Greenberg asked for the pardon from Stone after the idea of blanket pardons had already turned agaisnt Trump. Meaning, if Greenberg wanted a pardon for taking children across borders to pay money to have sex with them, he had so have Trump say "I pardon Greenberg for taking children across borders to pay money to have sex with them" and not "I pardon Greenberg for any and all crimes".
Now please understand, I am not saying these people are smart. I mean, the smart thing to say is "Well, we're both in politics and want to take a child across borders to pay her to have sex with us. Wow, can you imagine if someone found out? Maybe we'll just stick to doing what we feel is right for the country, and not do the thing that could put us in prison and/or fired". But what they did do, was cold, calculating, and deliberate. Taking a child across borders to have sex with that child is not something you do on a whim, and of course much more planning is involved when you don't want people to find out you took a child across borders to have sex with that child. It was an intentional, pre-medidated, Lawful Evil character choice.
...unless you meant "why didn't they delete the messages?" in which case yeah, that was stupid.