In GOP circles, one of the most prominent names showing up in current debates is former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. That’s not because there’s a lack of valid news. Hunter has clearly been involved in a number of activities that call his more famous father’s influence into question. But one recent story showing up in the news seems to have nothing to do with recent American political drama. The New York Post featured a story this week that dragged the entire saga into tabloid territory. It primarily had to do with his frequent visits to “gentleman’s clubs” and his alleged taste for illicit drugs. (NY Post)

The woman suing Hunter Biden for paternity was a stripper at a Washington, DC, club he frequented around the time he was dating his brother’s widow, sources told The Post.

Biden was repeatedly seen at the Mpire Club in the capital’s historic Dupont Circle neighborhood — where Lunden Alexis Roberts, the alleged mother of his love child worked under the stage name “Dallas,” the sources said.

“He was well-known,” a source said of Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic front-runner to challenge President Trump next year.

Look… I understand this is probably a bit distasteful for Thanksgiving and not a popular topic, but the fact is that these stories have little to nothing to do with the 2020 Democratic nomination process. Was Hunter Biden a “problem child” in his family for political purposes? Almost certainly. Of course, you could say the same thing about George W. Bush’s daughters at times. Heck… if you went and asked any of my relatives about my time in the Navy they would certainly be able to come up with some embarrassing stories. (I was a sailor in my late teens. Give me a break.)

What Hunter Biden did as an adult with other consenting adults may be a very legitimate cause for concern among his relatives and those that care about him. But it’s really not a political story. Much like other children and relatives of prominent politicians, they didn’t ask to be thrust into this spotlight and they shouldn’t be pieces on our political chessboard. But when they cross over the line and get into the game, things change.

Unlike stories about smoking crack and dallying with strippers, Hunter Biden’s “jobs” with foreign companies where he made vast amounts of money with no apparent qualifications for those positions are an issue. And they are an issue because he never would have landed such positions without the influence of his very powerful (politically and internationally) father.

If Hunter Biden was sucking up major salaries from companies in other countries with close ties to their governments, that’s an issue. And the evidence points to the fact that this was the case. But yet again, that’s not a piece on the political chessboard for Hunter Biden. It’s a question as to whether or not his father arranged it while he held power in the Executive Branch of the United States government. These questions are definitely worthy of exploration in terms of what Joe Biden did for his family in the course of serving in the executive branch.

But as to whether or not Hunter Biden was bedding some strippers and doing crack? I doubt Joe Biden ever sanctioned such activities and it’s really not part of the current debate.