The renegade Vernon Jones, the former state representative of Georgia now a conservative firebrand, casts a glance from those molten eyes while some dirt gets pushed on social media. Jones had some words for Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, Democrat, for her statements regarding the alleged Democratic Party search for a “Safe Whiteboy” candidate for president and accusing Republicans of being racist. This post was a major fuel thrown into the blaze, as Republicans and Democrats alike entered the fray.
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Jones went wild tagging the DNC, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the NAACP in his rant, claiming all these DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) stuff were just designed for “White liberals.” And then quoting that Black Democrat: Crockett claimed that “the party was sidelining minorities for the sake of a candidate who is easier on the eyes,” that is to say, White. The biggest irony is that Jones perceives Crockett herself accusing the Republicans of the very thing her own party is against: any non-White candidacy.
Were the responses? Of course, all across the map. Some like Abigail van Buren snapped back with a curt reply to Jones, “Probably why you lost on Nov. 5th,” referring to his unsuccessful congressional bid. Others entered meme territory: Roy Hernandez joked that Crockett would mount that “safe white girl” campaign as lots of good fun before the day concludes. Tyler was all in and said that he would be in the front of the line for a third-term Trump ticket. Classic.
But it was not all clownery. Mr. Thomas Veil remarked on how disingenuous Crockett’s change in speaking style felt since she got her feet wet in politics. Meanwhile, Suzie Locus even queried, “Isn’t ‘white boy’ an racist term?” Then there was Sgtgrandpa, basically affirming that it just vindicated the Democrats as the real racists-anywhere notwithstanding.
Jones himself upped the ante by posing a poll for the “safest Whiteboy” nominee, offering David Hogg, Rahm Emanuel, and Rachel Maddow (ha!) in view of the good-natured assault on gender debate. The subsequent responses veered just as wildly, with guesses ranging from Gavin Newsom to Josh Shapiro, or, as one commenter brilliantly asserted, “D…they kept him out of the ‘Maryland Father’ faux hoax.”
What really is strange is how this seemingly harmless exchange rapidly degenerated into a full-blown clash of objects. Some like Mary Rose seem just tired of all of it and cautious about why Crockett is being given so much attention by the media. Then, there is James Hoelzeman, who describes her as a “blatant racist.” What follows are all the stock-boosting bots and self-pumping attempts to dominate the whole thread with their silly get-rich-quick schemes.
Jones’ tweet was intended to stir the pot, and it has managed to do just that. Whether he is successfully calling out hypocrisy or just stirring up drama is debatable, but one thing is for sure: the debate around race, representation, and political strategy is not going away anytime soon. And with 2024 election just heating up, expect more fireworks on both sides.
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Are we still asking who is playing the race card here? That would depend on whom you ask. But one thing is for sure: this conversation is not done.
