Matt Gaetz at a campaign rally (image from Gaetz' Facebook)
Matt Gaetz at a campaign rally (image from Gaetz’ Facebook)

As long as the Republicans control the House of Representatives, some of the looniest people ever to hold office in American history will be empowered. Many of them represent districts that are so heavily Republican that they can act as extreme as they please. We’re getting a reminder of this now. The man who is all but certain to represent the Florida Panhandle in Congress is getting shredded on social media for trying to use the tragic death of one of baseball’s young stars to make a cheap political point.

Matt Gaetz currently represents the 1st District in the Florida House of Representatives–essentially, the area around Fort Walton Beach. However, he is currently slated to get a major promotion. He is the Republican candidate for Florida’s 1st congressional district, which includes most of the western Florida Panhandle. This district is easily the reddest district in Florida and one of the reddest in the nation. Barring an unprecedented national Republican meltdown, he is well on his way to Congress.

Gaetz is a tea partier from central casting. His campaign slogan is “Fight Washington, restore America!” He bills himself as a “constitutional conservative” who opposes abortion, gun control, and Obamacare, and never met a tax cut he didn’t like. Before running for Congress, he was best known for leading the opposition to any changes to Florida’s “stand your ground law” in the aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s death; he famously vowed that he would not change “one damn comma” in the law. He is also an ardent Donald Trump supporter, and firmly supports Trump’s insane proposal to build a wall along the border. Hmmm–does he know that in all likelihood, that wall will likely never be built?

Well, Gaetz apparently decided that he couldn’t wait until after he is officially elected–or rather, acclaimed–in November to establish his wingnut bonafides. Early Sunday morning, Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident off Miami Beach. Fernandez is best known for making three attempts to flee Cuba before succeeding in 2007. On that attempt, he dove into choppy waters to rescue his mother after she fell in. He debuted with the Marlins in 2013, and was the National League Rookie of the Year. At the time of his death, he’d already made two All-Star Games, and had racked up 589 strikeouts.

Within hours of Fernandez’ death, Gaetz felt that he had to use his death to slam athletes who have opted against standing for the national anthem.

Gaetz has it backwards. Fernandez risked his life to escape a cruel Communist dictatorship where Colin Kaepernick and others who don’t want to stand for the anthem would likely be packed off to a labor camp for years.

So it’s no wonder that Gaetz is getting deservedly shredded for using a tragedy to mock those who exercise their right to protest. Keith Olbermann spoke for most of us when he let Gaetz have it.

From there, the online smackdown began in earnest.

https://twitter.com/champcreed/status/780049608793788416

https://twitter.com/theycallmehoon/status/780050693721878528

Gaetz responded by tripling down, saying that anyone who knelt during the anthem was an ingrate.

Twitter was not impressed.

https://twitter.com/trillballins/status/780057224987181059

https://twitter.com/FredCharles1911/status/780059032484581377

https://twitter.com/mooneybaron23/status/780063287312420864

It’s a safe bet, though, that even as Gaetz is getting shredded nationally, a good number of FL-01’s residents are standing up and applauding. As I mentioned earlier, this is easily the reddest district in Florida. It has not supported a Democrat for president since 1960. However, it continued to elect conservative Democrats until the 1994 Republican Revolution, when Joe Scarborough took the seat in a landslide and swept all of the district’s seats in the state legislature. Now, this district would vote for a comatose Republican.

Gaetz is 34 years old, and in all likelihood will grow old in this district. That may explain why he is under the impression that he can act as extreme as he pleases. After all, the only way he’d have to fear being held to account at the ballot box is in a 49-state Democratic landslide. Maybe it’s time to disabuse Gaetz of this delusion. Just because he will likely have this seat for as long as he wants it doesn’t give him the right to embarrass himself, his district, and his state. He needs to apologize to Fernandez and his family. Now.

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