As apologies go, “Donald Trump made me do it” fails the smell test. After a blogger paid by Vicente Gonzalez’ campaign called Latina Republican opponent Mayra Flores “Miss Frijoles 2022” and commented on her genitalia, Flores demanded an apology. Gonzalez responded late yesterday with this lame statement that didn’t actually apologize, didn’t explain why they chose this blog for advertising, and tried to shift the blame to Flores:

pic.twitter.com/Q9DOgKesLN

— Vicente Gonzalez (@VoteVicente) July 20, 2022

“We advertise on many platforms” does not answer the question as to why Gonzalez chose McHale’s blog for advertising, or even what the “advertisement” was supposed to be. Marc Caputo’s report for NBC News earlier this week on the racist and sexist smear made it clear that these kinds of attacks are de rigueur on this platform:

“Politics in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley is blood sport. It’s very personal. And they play to win,” said Colin Strother, a veteran Texas Democratic consultant.

Still, he said, the language in McHale’s blog and Gonzalez’s decision to advertise with him were surprising — Gonzalez last year paid McHale $1,000 for advertising, and the blog is full of posts with racist, crude and bigoted language, like the use of the N-word and derogatory references to women’s private parts, including Flores’ body.

“The attitude doesn’t surprise me. The mindset doesn’t surprise me. A Democratic member spending money with someone using that kind of language? Yeah, that surprises me,” Strother said. “It’s a little outside the bounds. There are other places to spend your money.”

So, again … why did Gonzalez and his team choose this platform, and what were they buying with their $1200? Flores herself notes that the words “I apologize” or any other similar form never appear in this statement, and also that the blog doesn’t have any ad space anyway:

This doesn’t sound like an apology to me.

Also, the racist pervert you hired to target me with filth has ZERO space on his “blog” for ads, so we know this is a lie.

If you were a real man, you would apologize in person and resign. Pero eres poco hombre. #CreepyChente https://t.co/5yvTvpng2o

— Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) July 20, 2022

Flores appears to be correct. There doesn’t appear to be any ad space set up at The McHale Report, at least not in its Classic or Sidebar formats on the Blogger platform. At least today, there aren’t any “sponsored” posts or clearly marked advertisements — just a long series of juvenile name-calling and puerile observations that might tickle the fancy of an average adolescent.

So what did Gonzalez buy with his $1200? It certainly looks as though Gonzalez either bought those attacks or at least sponsored this blogger’s general racist/sexist oeuvre. It’s difficult to conclude anything other than Gonzalez and his team desiring to support those kinds of attacks on a fellow Hispanic House member.

Univision seemed a bit skeptical about Gonzalez’ non-apology and explanation, although I don’t know enough Spanish to capture any nuances:

You know it’s really bad when Univision & Jorge Ramos is reporting this disgusting behavior by sitting Democrat Rep. Vincent Gonzalez and the perverted blogger he hired! @jorgeramosnews@UniNoticias

November can’t come soon enough! pic.twitter.com/jqtaWXwZWd

— Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) July 21, 2022

If Univision was skeptical, MSNBC was downright scornful of Gonzalez’ explanation and his use of a smear artist for the TX-34 campaign. Julio Ricardo Varela ripped Democrats for their “smug” assumption that they own Latino voters and need only pander occasionally to keep them in line. He’s no fan of Flores, whom he accuses of amplifying QAnon theories and sucking up to the MAGA crowd, but Varela is aghast at Gonzalez’ inept handling of messaging to the overwhelmingly Hispanic district he’s supposed to represent:

South Texas has been a solidly Democratic region, but this border region is changing and it’s becoming more obvious that Democratic votes are not a given and that they need to be earned. Even González admitted that to Chuck Todd last month after Flores won a runoff election. Republicans think they can win there in 2022 especially now that Trump and Flores have seen success. But Democrats are busy providing a crash course of what not to do when it comes to Latino voters. It makes no sense for the González campaign to think that sending money to a local political blog was an effective strategy.

Flores has promoted QAnon theories and is solidly in the camp that goes after what she calls the “woke” radical left on the daily, but she is still a formidable Latina Republican who continues to garner national attention, in large part because of blunders from Democrats such as González. …

Given the many indications that Latino voters are feeling like Democrats take them for granted, Flores’ message that she is being harassed as a Mexican-born woman will appeal to those who place community over political party.

“Satire” might have worked in South Texas previously, but sexism and racism should never be condoned, amplified or supported. Maybe the González campaign has already learned that lesson, but from the looks of it, “Miss Frijoles” could be the new calling cry for the Latino right, and that could lead to another loss for a Democrat in South Texas but Democrats as a whole.

True, but I don’t think it was just a “message” that Flores was being harassed “as a Mexican-born woman” by Gonzalez’ paid campaign blogger. Being called “Miss Frijoles 2022” wasn’t the worst of it, either:

If a Republican campaign paid a blogger who wrote even one of those slurs, every GOP candidate in the cycle would be called to comment on it. It would get national headlines and 24-hour clocks on MSNBC and CNN as a national crisis. And yet Gonzalez somehow feels he doesn’t need to apologize, probably because the national media has largely ignored this, with the notable and commendable exceptions at NBC, including MSNBC, as well as Univision. That’s fine; TX-34 voters can judge his character on the company he keeps and the company he funds without apology. Thus far he’s not even making a convincing case for MSNBC, let alone the voters of his district.