Florida "Monkey this up" comment.

Democrats are taking the bait.  Stop.

GOP Candidate DeSantis: "The last thing we need to do is monkey this up by trying to enact a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state."

Making an issue out of the racial dog whistle is a loser for Democrats.

Ron DeSantis said "monkey this up" regarding a black opponent. Who knows why.

   1. It is entirely possible that it was utterly thoughtless and innocent figure of speech.

   2. It is entirely possible it was thoughtless but betrayed an unacknowledged underlying racial bias, one that surprises even DeSantis. It was a Freudian slip.

   3. It is entirely possible that it was a thoughtless off the cuff dog whistle comment, with DeSantis acting in the moment thinking he might do a bit of Trump-hinting, and "monkey this up" came to him as he walked to the lectern, uncalculated but intended as a bit of trolling.

   4. It is entirely possible he actually thought this out, planned a deniable dog whistle, and recognized that this would cause liberals and blacks heads to explode in outrage, and that this would racialize the campaign from the beginning, and cause white voters to close ranks.

We don't know--but let's contemplate number 4. Maybe DeSantis got lucky. Maybe DeSantis planned this carefully. Either way, this issue is a winner for DeSantis.  

The Democratic response to this was predictable. Astonishment. Complaint over the dog-whistle. Accusation. Demand that he apologize. 

Al Sharpton

It put what he said in the news, but it is not the issue Democrats intend.They think the issue is a GOP candidate doing a racial dog-whistle, shame on him.  But actually it is a different issue.  The issue is unfair and unjust Democratic political correctness. 

 

DeSantis calls himself a victim being unfairly and unjustly called a racist. DeSantis has his motives questioned and job put in danger because some people "take his words wrong" and think the worst of him.

It was an innocent remark, he said. It was a figure of speech. Democrats use the phrase, too.

The big message being presented is that white people have to be on tenterhooks at all times, be self-monitoring constantly, lest someone make a mountain out of a molehill or a totally harmless innocent comment. The political correctness police are the bad guys.

Democrats have not yet absorbed and integrated the idea that a great many white Americans consider themselves to be the primary victims of racial prejudice. White people hate being accused of racism. They resent a political environment where they feel picked on by people ready to jump on them and pull out the "racism" card. Republicans do not fully unite by affection for Trump, but they do unite under dislike for Democratic scolds and accusers.

Some Democrats will respond that we need to call out racism when we see it. Note it, call it what it is, condemn it. 

There is a problem with that.  It backfires.

American on the left

Do a thought experiment. Given that being overweight is a health hazard, a burden to others thanks to health care costs borne by insurance companies and taxpayers, consider the consequences of pointing out to people with a Body Mass Index above 25 that they are fat. "Porky." "A burden to society."  American obesity is a problem and it is true. The average American male has a BMI of 28.6, between "overweight" and "obese.")  

We know it would backfire.

But isn't it true? Yes, 28.6 is very overweight. Doesn't it cost insurance companies and Medicare lots of money? 

Overweight people don't want to be called "fatso," even--especially--if there is some truth in the charge.

Should Democrats call out racism and jump on dog whistles like the DeSantis comment? Sure, right along with calling overweight people fat.

"Political correctness" is a bigger issue than the "racism."

This issue is backfiring on Democrats, and the sooner they figure this out the more likely it will be that they stop losing the white vote.