Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Getting nasty in House District #34


 (My new American Thinker post)

Down on the border, two incumbents are running against each other in U.S. House District #34.  They are Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and GOP Rep. Mayra Flores.  This is a new district, thanks to redistricting.

The campaign has gotten nasty.  This is from the Texas Tribune:   

Gonzalez’s aggressive spending in the race shows that he’s not taking anything for granted. His campaign has spent $2.2 million as of the end of June on a robust ground game -- nearly twice the expenses of his past two campaigns combined -- and that’s before he released his first TV ad in late September. With over $1.4 million in cash on hand, he’s on his way to surpassing his 2016 spending of $2.3 million. This year is his most robust operation since he first ran for Congress in 2016, he said.

To Republicans, it’s an admission that their forays into the traditional Democratic stronghold of South Texas are scaring Democrats and that Flores’ special election was not the one-time, off-season fluke they’ve made it out to be. Flores stresses her message of hard work, faith and border security appeal to the socially conservative values of the region, saying Democrats took South Texas Latinos for granted even as the party became increasingly out of step with their values.

I guess that Vicente is not taking any South Texas Latinos for granted.  At the same time, he is getting a little too desperate and hitting a woman a bit below the belt.   

For example, he recently said that Rep. Flores can't think or speak for herself.  He also posted an edited, unappealing photo of Flores.  

What evidence does Rep. Gonzalez present that Rep. Flores can't think for herself?  The answer is simple: she is a conservative Latina.  Democrats are having a hard time accepting the fact that "Latinas" are a threat to their political control.

Why post such a photo of Rep. Flores? I guess that Rep. Gonzalez thinks that making Rep. Flores look like Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde infamy is going to turn off voters.   

Honestly, the contest for U.S. House #34 is a toss-up.  The Gonzales campaign may be stretching negative politics by attacking a woman this way.  After all, it's South Texas and people are taught to treat women like ladies down there.

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