Everyone has the right to donate to whichever cause, candidate or organization they want to without being subjected to harassment. For that exact reason, tea party groups won a lawsuit last year against the IRS for illegal and unwarranted targeting of conservative donors. You would think the left would have learned from the mistakes of this rogue government agency; think again.
Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro tweeted out a list of voters in his district who donated to President Trump’s campaign in an effort to shame them. He accused the private citizens on the list of “contributing to harmful rhetoric that targets the Hispanic community and so many others.”
Wayne Harwell, one of the donors who not only donated to President Trump’s campaign but also to Castro’s, was outraged. “I was also on a list of people that gave to Castro and if he dislikes me enough that he wants to put my name out there against Trump, I’m not going to give money to him,” Harwell told Fox News. “Obviously Castro feels pretty strongly against me.”
Lawmakers like House Minority Whip Steve Scalise criticized Castro’s tweet, calling it a dangerous move.
People should not be personally targeted for their political views. Period. This isn’t a game. It’s dangerous, and lives are at stake. I know this firsthand. https://t.co/PbxUMIOhae
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) August 6, 2019
While the names and employers of campaign donors are publicly available in Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Castro posted a list of opposing donors on social media with the intention of opening up harassment and possible danger to these private citizens. What Castro did with this list was reckless.
If Castro is going to let politics take precedent over keeping private citizens in his district safe, then he should not represent them as a congressman.