Texas Democrat names and shames his own constituents for donating to Trump – Washington Examiner

Democrats seem to be adjusting well to the Trump era. On Tuesday, for example, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro targeted retirees in San Antonio for donating to President Trump’s reelection campaign.

“Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump, etc,” the Twitter account maintained by the congressman’s reelection campaign said Tuesday. The note also lists local businesses and businessmen by name. To be clear, some of the people on this list are his constituents. Castro’s district covers the western half of San Antonio.

“Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders,'” the tweet adds.

The Castro tweet includes the names of 44 Texans who have donated the federal maximum of $2,800 to Trump’s reelection effort.

The donation information is available on the Federal Election Commission’s website. But the fact that the data is public does not change that this is an act of political targeting. There is no other way to look at it. The Texas congressman is not helping his followers make informed decisions. He is not even calling for a general boycott of businesses whose owners have donated to Trump. He is targeting Trump supporters.

Notice that both the FEC and Castro’s tweet identify many of the 44 donors as “retired.” How are we supposed to boycott retired persons?

USA Today’s David Mastio is right when he says this “seems like a dangerous escalation.” It is a dangerous escalation. It is a clear act of political intimidation. It is not so far off from saying, “Nice business you got here, be a shame if something happened to it.” This is the language of the Mafia. This is not how an elected representative in a constitutional republic should speak. It not what anyone should want to hear from the chair of a 2020 presidential primary campaign.

Yes, in case you forgot, Joaquin Castro chairs his twin brother Julián Castro’s 2020 campaign.

“Democrats want to talk about inciting violence? This naming of private citizens and their employers is reckless and irresponsible. He is endangering the safety of people he is supposed to be representing,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

He added, “No one should be targeted for exercising their First Amendment rights or for their political beliefs. He should delete the tweet, apologize, and his brother’s campaign should disavow it.”

Murtaugh is capitalizing on Castro’s garbage tweet, clearly. But he is not wrong! Castro overstepped his boundaries, thrusting himself headlong into absolute Trumpian territory.

Worse still, Castro’s tweet is not even an isolated event from the last 72 hours. It comes after a weekend of Democrats engaging in this sort of nonsense.

Protesters descended Sunday on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home, chanting “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” One demonstrator shouted, “F— your thoughts and prayers, Mitch. F— you, f— your wife, f— everything you stand for.” Another shouted that someone should “stab the motherf—er in the heart.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also sicced her 5+ million Twitter followers on some teenagers. She did this after two of them posed for a photo with a cardboard cutout of her, pretending to kiss and throttle her.

All that lead up to a Texas congressman targeting Texas retirees. The 2020 election is going to be great, isn’t it?