The Republicans Want to Paint District 34 Red

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

Looks like Republicans are going to try to take a page from the Democrat's playbook. Take a young, relatively inexperienced candidate, dress thrm up in some fancy clothes, have them regurgitate all the traditional party bullet points, and get elected to the United States House of Representatives.

It worked in New York, maybe it'll work in Deep South Texas.

It looks like we may have our very own Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez running for Filemon Vela's seat in the 34th Congressional District. Only this time, the political newcomer won't be spewing progressive or left-wing party issues.

She's a Republican.

Mayra Flores is a Republican trying to get elected to Filemon Vela's seat. Vela released a statement yesterday saying he would not seek reelection to Congress. He will continue working with the Democratic National Committee to help get Democrats elected around the country.

Flores was born in Mexico and came to this country legally (a point she makes in her bio on her campaign's webpage) when she was a child. She graduated from San Benito High School and went on to enter the medical field as a respiratory specialist after receiving her Bachelor's from a local school.

Her platform is a page right out of the GOP's greatest hits playlist. At the very least, she seems to be a legitimate Republican, not one of the fake Republicans South Texas has seen in the last election cycle. Last time around, candidates whose platforms seemed to be more aligned with the Democrats ran as Republicans to avoid losing in a primary since Republicans are not quick to put up a decent candidate as a sacrificial lamb in a part of the country that almost always sees a Democrat elected.

That trend, however, seems to be changing. In 2018, Filemon Vela defeated Republican Rey Gonzalez with 60% of the vote. In 2020, Vela saw his margin of victory shrink to 55%. Many political analysts think this, coupled with strong support for Trump in South Texas caused Vela to bow out of another election cycle.

There are those who think the upcoming redistricting, which will be conducted under the auspices of the Republicans, will Gerrymander the region into a more Republican-friendly district. That may have also factored into Vela announcing his retirement.

The statistical analysis of the last election shows Republicans gained a whole lot of support in a region that has been overwhelmingly blue for a very long time.

Many Republicans think the time to strike is now. Flores was a member of the Democratic Party until 2010 when she switched her allegiance to the Republican Party. Her campaign website has already displayed attacks on Democrats, Filemon Vela, Nancy Pelosi, and President Biden. She's accusing Vela of being in Pelosi's pocket and taking Latinos and South Texans for granted, having not done much for them in all the time he's been in office.

She has a strong social media presence. She is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But running a political campaign via social media is a dangerous way to run things. Making announcements and claims through Facebook riles up the mob and helps with the spread of misinformation. For example, in one of her Facebook posts, Flores posts a meme that is titled "People who don't want a border wall." Then it includes a picture of "Radical Democrats" accompanied by pictures captioned as sex traffickers, gangs, murderers, and drug dealers. In other words, if you think spending obscene amounts of money building a wall that won't prevent people from coming over into the country anyway, you must support sex traffickers, gangs, murderers, and drug dealers. 

This kind of campaigning is not presenting facts. It isn't even presenting what you think this country needs in order to move forward. It's campaigning by fear and hate. Present the people with an idea that says if you don't support it, criminals will be camping out on your front lawn and murdering your spouse and enslaving your children into a life of prostitution.

Another meme shows what I can only assume is a baby picture of hers with the caption "I was born a conservative." If she was born a conservative, why did it take her so long to switch over to the Republican Party? Not a whole lot of conservatives in the Democratic Party, I would think.

As mentioned earlier, her platform is based on all the big GOP planks. I'll address them here.

She's Pro-God.

The one statement that gets every fundamental Christian and bible-hugging Republican to throw their support behind the candidate. I love God and if you love God, you'll realize the Democtats are going against Godly values.

She's Pro-Life.

Not much to say on this one. She's anti-abortion. Makes sense. I don't believe in abortion either, but I also understand that's a moral and religious issue, and the government shouldn't be in the business of legislating morality. Just because I believe in something doesn't mean everyone should believe in that something.

She's Pro-Family.

Ok, that's nice. I just don't see how this is a political issue. She mentions family values, but I pivot to my previous statement. There are millions of different families in the United States, each one with their set of values. Nobody should try legislating anything having to do with one specific set of values. Your values are your own.

She's Pro-America.

That's also a good thing to be. I love my country. I wouldn't want to be from anywhere else. When I was in middle school, I was a member of the Junior American Citizens club. I'd help raise the flag in the morning in front of school. I was voted most patriotic and most zealous. But your allegiance to a political party doesn't make you less of an American than a member of the other political party. The world has gotten smaller and smaller. We are a part of a global society and a global economy. We can no longer pretend to think we live in an isolationist country. What affects Asia will affect Europe, Africa, and the Americas. We can't just put America first. We need to put humanity first. We need to put the world first.

She's Pro-Second Amendment.

So am I. I own several firearms. So are plenty of Democtats. That doesn't mean guns should be as easy as they are to obtain. There is a direct correlation to the amount of firearms in this country to the staggering amount of gun violence committed against Americans. Flags are still flying at half staff for two back-to-back mass shootings. Just because you support some form of gun control doesn't mean you are a Communist or you don't want people to have guns. Gun control doesn't mean banning all guns. It probably shouldn't be as simple as walking into an auditorium, taking a gun off a table, giving the seller money, and walking out the door. There needs to be some sort of regulation.

She's Pro-Law Enforcement.

So am I. This is a no-brainer. We need police and law enforcement. Are all law enforcement officers good? No. But that doesn't mean you paint every cop with the same brush.

She's Pro-Border Security.

Who isn't? But a ridiculously expensive wall is not the answer. Walls don't work like that.

She wants to fight for Veterans.

No push back from me there. Veterans should be treated way better than they are in this country, period.

She's Pro-Jobs and Pro-Capitalism.

Good, but falling into the "the other side is socialist" trap is something Republicans like to do. If you're on the other side, you're a socialist, and if you're a socialist you're a Communist, and if you're a Communist you hate America. That's not how it works.

She's Pro-Oil and Gas.

I am pro-oil and gas, too. But that doesn't mean we can't explore clean sources of energy. Oil, gas, solar, and wind (I'm not a fan of nuclear — I've seen The China Syndrome too many times) need to get together and learn there's no magic button you can press in order to solve our energy issues. You need to press a little on every button to get ahead.

In classic Republican fashion, she doesn't mention anything about the LGBTQIA+ community, a rapidly growing community all across the country. Equal rights means equal rights for all, and that's something that people voting should know about their choice.

For the record, I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I am an independent. I see nothing wrong with taking a little from column "A," and a little from column "B." You can't boil everything down to living by one specific set of values. Your values are your own, shaped by your individual life experiences.

It's difficult when a campaign is fueled by tugging at those red, white, and blue heartstrings. It's difficult when you run a campaign based on saying your side is the right side because my values make me more American than someone who doesn't believe the same way I do. The United States of America is a country founded by people who weren't wanted in other places, so they came here to start a place where their personal beliefs didn't dictate how the country was run. It was set up to make sure freedom and choice were at the forefront of our value system. Acceptance and tolerance are key to getting along.

A few days ago, I posted something about racism on social media, and someone accused me of "race-baiting." He then went on to mention I had made comments about Mexicans he found uncomfortable, but he never mentioned anything to me about it. I then told him he should have said something to me all those months ago rather than just stay quiet and sulk. It pained me to do so, but I removed him from social media. Any time I would post anything about my political views, he had to chime in. He waa the second person I've had to remove from social media because they didn't agree with my politics. It's sad we have become so divided we can't seem to accept the fact that not everyone is going to think the same way. It's sad to lose friendships that way, but I suppose if people are going to let something like that get in the way, they weren't true friends to begin with.

We'll see just how far the Flores campaign gets. We'll have to wait and see if Rey Gonzalez throws his hat in the ring to square off in the Republican primary against Flores. Will there be yet another Republican challenger to enter the race (some grumblings have mentioned former Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos is mulling a Congressional run)? Will the trend of Republican support continue in South Texas? Will the map remain blue, transition to purple, or turn red? Will Flores raise enough money to kerp her competitive in the race? 

Will she hire a professional campaign manager, or will she be happy maintaining her Facebook page and her other social media pages? She already made an error when she posted her condolences for those lost in the tragic shooting in Colorado only to post a picture of her posing with an assault rifle in her "Come and Take It" Grunt Style t-shirt (probably not the best look after a mass shooting).

All of these questions will be answered as the campaign chugs along. One can hope she's not a second Marjorie Taylor Greene in the making.

One of those is one too many as it is.