Posted on 08/09/2019 4:41:43 AM PDT by Kaslin
This week, Democratic Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, who chairs the presidential campaign of his twin brother, Julian, tweeted the names and employers of more than 40 San Antonians who maxed out their donations to President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.
Mind you, the federal maximum is $2,800 per individual, so we're not talking about nefarious millionaires and billionaires or political activists or public figures. The congressman curated a list of retirees and business owners whose only sin was displeasing Castro.
The congressman claims he was targeting voters who "are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as 'invaders.'" First of all, if Castro disagrees with his fellow Texans on whether illegal immigrants are "invaders," then he is free to try to change their minds. Six of the people he targeted turned out to have donated to him, as well. Instead, he decided to sic every unhinged progressive activist in Texas on these businesses, which, one imagines, employ and serve plenty of people in his community that doesn't even care about politics.
Then again, Castro has no clue if those he singled out support Trump's rhetoric on immigration or even if they support his position on the borders. Maybe some of his victims maxed out because they're happy with the unemployment rate or like the GOP's tax policy. Or maybe they see the election as a binary choice and prefer a demagogic president to a leftist congressman who feels comfortable "doxxing" his own constituents. Who knows?
Not that it really matters, of course. I may believe that Castro is a lightweight authoritarian, but it still doesn't mean I should post his family's business addresses on Twitter. Not even if it's in the public record.
Democrats like Castro have adopted a political zealotry that rationalizes virtually any tactic they deem necessary to fight Trump. Pretending every Republican is abetting Nazism gives partisans like Castro the space to rationalize maximalist, illiberal positions. This, I guess, now includes intimidation. Because the purpose of tweeting those names wasn't merely to bully those who have already donated to Trump's reelection but also to warn anyone in his district thinking about contributing to consider potential retaliatory public attacks on their businesses (or worse).
Leftist groups have become quite adept at destroying the lives of those who back causes they dislike. Most notably there is the case of former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, who had the audacity to dissent from prevailing opinions in California. He's not alone. While Eich can weather such an event, I wonder what the Texans on Castro's list will do if their businesses go under, all for the sin of expressing a political opinion.
It is true, as some readers will no doubt point out, that anyone could look up these names, as they are a matter of public record. That's a problem, indeed. For one thing, campaign finance laws are meant to keep politicians honest, not to be used as "enemies" lists by politicians. Castro, who has a far bigger megaphone than most, makes a strong case for expanding anonymity in political speech.
he obsession with transparency in campaign money is a byproduct of an obsession with controlling speech. The idea that citizens should be expected to report to the IRS before expressing their political opinions has been normalized over the years, but it's un-American and undermines free expression.
"Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority," the 1995 Supreme Court ruling in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission famously noted, because it "exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation ... at the hand of an intolerant society."
The intolerant force, in this case, is Castro, but there will be more to come.
...and probably illegal.
Doesn’t matter WHY he did it......he is a scumbag. He should be shunned if not prosecuted.
His family began La Raza.
American are murdered: <= the plan
Americans wonder WHERE IS LAW ENFORCEMENT?
(working with the doxxers?, busy against
the ELECTED PRESIDENT? or just working
for the UK and other other govt’s)
Intolerance, always leading to intimidation and more and more leading to violence, is a central creed of the Democrat Party.
On well. He didn’t get in any trouble for it, therefore it must be legal. I have no choice but to objectively judge the actions of the left by seeing if they get in legal trouble or not. This dirty trick must be completely American, legal and the right thing to do.
Headline should have read “Joaquin Castro un-American”. If he was conservative it would have.
Every Democrat is a violent totalitarian thug.
Castro should be impeached for using his office to target private citizens.
Another escalation of the Civil Cold War.
Doxxing of voters is only illegal if done by Republicans, Democrats have the blessings of too many for anything illegal when it comes to voting for them
Harsanyi has it right. Political contributions should be secret.
Castro is a major racist. Threat to America if he holds office.
Blaming conservatives for the violence and hatred they gin up without fear of criticism. Unabashed insanity.
Do you think Mr. Castro really cares about if this is going to hurt anyone or not? People like this should be prosecuted and incarcerated quickly as possible.
Is turnabout fair play? Doxxing the Nazi collaborator Soros would be enough.
So far the war had been quite civil ... Feels like that’s about to change
Since he has not been slammed into jail for this, the dems will do more and more of it.
Oh??
Soros agrees with you.
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