THERE. IS. NO. BOTTOM.

I have been thinking “You gotta be shitting me!” every time I read of the further adventures of Herschel Walker, Bad Taste Republican Joke running for Senator. The man is the living embodiment of every racist stereotype about African Americans you know Republicans still believe in their hearts. When they say he’s their boy, you know how they mean that.

That this inept, ignorant, likely-insane clown has been either leading or within the margin of error in competition with the amazing Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock has had me going “What the actual fuck??!!” all campaign season.

When I was a kid, Al Capp created the “Schmoo” character in his “Li’l Abner” comic strip in the Sunday paper. Kids loved the Schmoos. There was a “Schmoo” toy for kids; you inflated it and it was weighted so that every time you hit it and knocked it over, it bounded back upright like nothing had happened. I have thought of that “Schmoo” often while contemplating the Walker campaign.

He’s not from Georgia - he’s a resident of Texas! Bap! Bounce! Who cares said the Republicans.

He’s a demonstrable idiot! Bap! Bounce! Who cares said the Republicans.

He’s an ignoramus! Bap! Bounce! Hey, Republican voters need candidates who don’t make them feel stupid in comparison.

He’s done everything you say you’re against! Bap! Bounce! You think the Party of Trump worries about that anymore?

You get how it’s gone.

And then, and then....

Given the events of the past 24 hours, one could think the Walker Schmoo has finally been knocked down too hard to bounce back.

One would be wrong.

In case you have just gotten back from that trip to Alpha Centauri....

Herschel Walker has said he wants to completely ban abortion, likening it to murder and claiming there should be “no exception” for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. It’s almost refreshing that he’s stupid enough to stick to that when every other Republican is trying to whitewash their campaign, in which they all said that and believe it in their hearts but now see it’s not a winner with the sane people in America.

A recent CBS/YouGov survey found that likely Georgia voters who said the abortion issue is “very important” were more than twice as likely to support Warnock, 67 percent to Walker’s 32 percent.

Two weeks ago, Walker broke with other Republican Senate candidates when he volunteered his support for a 15-week federal ban put forth by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

“Raphael Warnock wants to protect the killing of babies right up to the moment of birth. We need to do better,” Walker told Politico in a statement. “I am a proud pro-life Christian, and I will always stand up for our unborn children. I believe the issue should be decided at the state level, but I WOULD support this policy.”

At a July campaign event for Georgia farmers, Walker was asked if he thought voters would have the state’s recently passed ban in mind when they cast ballots in November. “People aren’t concerned about that,” Walker said, according to The Gainesville Times. “People are concerned about the gas, they’re concerned about food. They’re not even talking about that. That’s not what I’m hearing about.”

Four days earlier, Walker said at another campaign stop that “there’s not a national ban on abortion right now and I think that’s a problem. I’m pro-life and I’m not going to make an excuse for it.”

While that stance may lose some voters, it has endeared him to anti-abortion advocates, who have held him up as a champion for the cause.

“Herschel Walker will be a most effective champion for unborn babies and their mothers in Washington and he has demonstrated the passion and perseverance it takes to win the critically important Georgia Senate race,” said Carol Tobias, the president of National Right to Life, whose group endorsed Walker over his Republican primary opponents in April.

The news arrived last night that Walker has supported at least one exception to that abortion ban. His own.

The Daily Beast broke the news that a woman who asked not to be identified out of privacy concerns told them that after she and Walker conceived a child while they were dating in 2009 he urged her to get an abortion. The woman said she had the procedure and that Walker reimbursed her for it.

She supported the story with a $575 receipt showing the abortion took place on Sept. 12, 2009. According to the Bank of America deposit receipt that included an image of a signed $700 personal check from Walker, he wrote her the check on Sept. 17, 2009. The check was deposited two days later. The check was in a “get well” card from Walker. The woman said the $125 difference was because she “ball-parked” the cost of an abortion after Googling the procedure and added on expenses such as travel and recovery costs.

The Daily Beast independently corroborated details of the woman’s claims with a close friend she told at the time and who, according to the woman and the friend, took care of her in the days after the procedure.

Walker, who was not married at the time, told her it would be more convenient to terminate the pregnancy, saying it was “not the right time” for him to have a child. It was a feeling she shared, but what she didn’t know was that Walker had an out-of-wedlock child with another woman earlier the same year.

Asked if Walker ever expressed regret for the decision, the woman said he never had. Asked why she came forward, the woman pointed to Walker’s hardline anti-abortion position. “I just can’t with the hypocrisy anymore. We all deserve better.”

The woman, a registered Democrat who still communicates with Walker, said he did not tell her about his plan to run for the Senate before his announcement in August 2021. Since then, however, one of Walker’s top surrogates has asked her repeatedly if she would be willing to vouch for his character, reaching out as recently as this August.

Robert Ingram, a lawyer representing both the campaign and Walker in his personal capacity, responded after The Daily Beast reached out to the campaign for comment, .

“This is a false story. All you want to do is run with stories to target Black conservatives. You focus on Black conservatives.”

Walker released a statement in which he called the story a "flat-out lie" and said he denied it in the "strongest possible terms."

"I'm not taking this anymore. I planning [sic] to sue the Daily Beast for this defamatory lie. It will be filed tomorrow morning," he said. That did not happen.

What did happen was Christian Walker, the candidate’s son, went on Twitter and had some things to say about the event, among other items.

“Every family member of Herschel Walker asked him not to run for office, because we all knew (some of) his past. Every single one.’

“He decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it.

"Everything's been a lie. Everything's been downplayed. Everything's been cutting corners, the whole thing. Don't lie. Don't put this on me. This is a candidate issue, not a 'me' issue. I wouldn't have spoken out if there weren't all these lies every day."

"You have no idea what I've been through in my life. You have no idea what me and my mom have survived. We could have ended this on day one. We haven't. I haven't told any stories. I'm just saying don't lie. Don't lie on my mom. Don't lie."

"You don't get to pretend you're some moral family dad. You don't get to pretend all these things. Talk policy. Talk normal. Do not lie."

"I know my mom and I would really appreciate if my father Herschel Walker stopped lying and making a mockery of us. You’re not a 'family man' when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence."

"I don't care about someone who has a bad past and takes accountability. But how DARE YOU LIE and act as though you’re some 'moral, Christian, upright man.' You’ve lived a life of DESTROYING other peoples lives. How dare you."

"I stayed silent as the atrocities committed against my mom were downplayed. I stayed silent when it came out that my father, Herschel Walker, had all these random kids across the country, none of whom he raised.”

"And you know my favorite issue to talk about is father absence. Surprise! Because it affected me. That's why I talk about it all the time. All of this has been a lie and you've known it. You've known."

“I’m done.”

In Georgia, conservative commentator Erick Erickson said the fallout is “probably a K.O.” for Walker’s midterm chances. "Republicans can dismiss the Daily Beast as a liberal publication. They can't dismiss Christian Walker as easily, particularly because Christian had been perceived as supporting both Trump and his dad, and now clearly doesn’t."

Nicole Rodden, a former Republican House contender, blamed party leaders for backing a candidate who has “cost the GOP the U.S. Senate for a second time.”

“Herschel has fumbled as he was about to score,” said Jay Morgan, a prominent local Republican and former executive director of the state GOP. “And the clock is running out.”

One would think this was The End of Herschel.

Like I said, one would be wrong.

Former President Trump and other influential Republicans pledged support for Herschel Walker today.

Trump said that Walker "is being slandered and maligned" by the media and the Democrats, adding that he still fully supports him in the Georgia senate race. "Herschel has properly denied the charges against him, and I have no doubt he is correct. They are trying to destroy a man who has true greatness in his future, just as he had athletic greatness in his past."

Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman, said the report "is an attempt to distract from Warnock's record of failure resulting in rising costs and out of control crime."

She tweeted, "Herschel Walker will deliver a safer and more prosperous Georgia, and the RNC will continue to invest in the Senate race."

Senator Skeltor, er, I mean Scott, the head of the Repuiblican Senate Campaign Committee, said: “Herschel has denied these allegations and the NRSC and Republicans stand with him, and Georgians will stand with him too," He went on to say that Democrats "have cranked up the smear machine" on Walker because "they are on the verge of losing the Senate. When the Democrats are losing, as they are right now, they lie and cheat and smear their opponents."

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion group, said it will stand by Walker, that the candidate "has denied these allegations in the strongest possible terms and we stand firmly alongside him."

The National Right to Life Committee said in a statement that it "stands behind its endorsement of Herschel Walker. Herschel Walker wants to protect unborn children while Raphael Warnock wants to see them die through unlimited abortion. The Democratic party knows it cannot win on the issues, so we once again see an attempted character assassination, a tactic that is sadly all too often encouraged by a compliant and willing media."

Meanwhile: The Cook Report moved its rating for the Pennsylvania Senate race from "lean Democrat" back to "toss-up," citing a surge of Republican spending in support of Mehmet Oz to paint Democratic nominee John Fetterman as soft on crime.

There. Is. No. Bottom.

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