When Joaquin Castro took to Twitter yesterday, I doubted he expected the blow-back to come. Castro, brother of presidential candidate Julian Castro–not to mention Democratic representative from Texas–crossed the line. Instead of joining his fellow liberals in calling for further limiting the Second Amendment, he decided it would be good to doxx 44 Texans who had the audacity to support President Trump.

Yes, you read that right. Castro took to Twitter and named 44 men and women who contributed the maximum amount of $2,700 to Trump’s campaign. Not only did he name them but he also gave their place of employment, noting some were retired or homemakers, etc.

What could his motivation be for such a tweet?

The same as each Democratic candidate who stood before the cameras and used the tragedies in El Paso and Dayton and called for more gun control–before all the facts surrounding the shootings were known. He did it to fan the flames of Trump Derangement Syndrome. He did it fan the flames of hate, despite his own comments in the tweet (which I will not post here because it has the names and employers of those contributors embedded it it.)

According to Castro, “Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’”

In other words, they are just as bigoted and evil as Trump is.

As has been noted by some Twitter commenters, the information Castro posted is public record. However, one has to ask why he tweeted it, especially within days of two mass shootings. It isn’t difficult to imagine that he, as campaign manager for his twin brother’s presidential bid, did so to help win votes. In fact, Castro himself made that justification after being called out for his actions.

Yashar, I respect your work and writing. I’m certain that NY Magazine and Huff Post have printed similar graphics with name and employer many times before because it’s not private and it’s publicly reported. There’s no private addresses, phone numbers, etc. No “call to action.” https://t.co/TxjoTITDbI

— Joaquin Castro (@Castro4Congress) August 6, 2019

As others have said, his claim of there being no “call to action” rings hollow. There is a big difference between a paper or other media outlet releasing the names of political contributors. Having it happen so soon after the shootings, and having their employers included in the release, is a call to action. You see it in some of the responses to the original tweet calling for boycotts of those businesses. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn threats have been sent to those donors and/or their employers. But Castro says there was no call to action.

Remember, he is a member of the same party as one assumes CNN’s Joe Lockhart is. Lockhart, a former press secretary to Bill Clinton, had this to say before the last Democratic debate:

Anyone who supports a racist or a racist strategy is a racist themselves. 2020 is a moment or reckoning for America. Vote for @realDonaldTrump and you are a racist. . . Don’t hide it like a coward. Wear that racist badge proudly and see how it feels.”

If that’s not proof enough there is a campaign to not only denigrate Trump supporters but stir up hatred for them, look to the Washington Post. The supposed bastion of journalistic integrity published a piece on “the psychological phenomenon that blinds Trump supporters to his racism.”

There are more examples, but you get my drift. And it is against this background, inflamed by the emotional rawness that followed the shootings this weekend, that Castro sent out his tweet.

One of the questions surrounding the tweet that needs to be answered is if it rises to the level of doxxing.

According to the Urban Dictionary, doxxing is “publicly exposing someone’s real name or address on the Internet who has taken pains to keep them secret.”

The definition has been expanded over time to this:  “search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.”

Intent. What was Castro’s intent in publishing the list as he did. He says there was no call to action but does there have to be? I say no, especially not in the current charged atmosphere of our country. Any reasonable person (a common legal test) would know that at this time and in this place, releasing that information over a social media platform like Twitter could and would have negative impacts on the people in question.

What happens to those donors who might possibly lose their jobs if a few liberals harass their employers for days on end? Will Castro care?

I doubt it.

Why do I doubt it? Because of his initial response to being called out. Because he has not, at the time I’m writing this post, taken the tweet down. Because his brother has not fired him from his position as campaign manager. In other words, both Castro brothers are, in my mind at least, culpable for anything that happens to these men and women who had the temerity (at least in the eyes of the Castro brothers) to support Trump.

Or, as Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign said, “At the very least @Castro4Congress is inviting harassment of these private citizens. At worst, he’s encouraging violence.”

Joaquin Castro has never made his disdain for the President a secret. Recently, he’s been making the rounds condemning Trump over his border policy.

So it is no surprise he’d have few, if any qualms, about doxxing Trump supporters.

Still, where is the outrage from Julian Castro over his brother’s actions yesterday? How about the other Democratic candidates or leaders of the party? Has there even been any? Bueller? Bueller?

Can you imagine the outrage that would drown out all other stories in the news cycle had it been someone from the Trump campaign releasing that same information for a bunch of Kamala Harris’ supporters? Or how about if he did so for AOC supporters or Bernie-bots? The libs would be lighting their torches and grabbing their pitchforks to go marching on the White House.

But let it be Joe Schmoe from Texas who was foolish enough to support a president who refuses to bow down to the Pelosi and company and no one gives a damn. Okay, to be fair, there are those who care, as can be seen in the responses on Twitter and in a few media outlets. But the movers and shakers in the Party are silent. Julian Castro is silent. And Joaquin is gloating.

And it’s Conservatives who are the bad guys, who are inciting violence and hatred.

Maybe it’s time for those same liberals decrying the “deplorables” take a long, hard look in the mirror. Of course, if they do, they might not like what they see.

As for Joaquin Castro, you, sir, owe each of those donors an apology and you should be held responsible for any negative fallout from your ill-conceived tweet.

Featured image: Joaquin Castro, official portrait, 113th Congress (cropped).jpg.

Licensing: This United States Congress image is in the public domain. This may be because it was taken by an employee of the Congress as part of that person’s official duties, or because it has been released into the public domain and posted on the official websites of a member of Congress. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.