The Denver Post’s John Aguilar reports that a Halloween party photo of Rep. Lauren Boebert set off the latest outrage cycle. The picture shows Boebert in a Mexican-themed outfit with a sombrero, next to a man dressed as an ICE agent, holding a sign with a pun that critics say mocks a stereotyped accent. The Post rounds up condemnations from Latino advocates and Democratic politicians, then notes Boebert’s camp brushed it off as, quote, a Halloween costume.
Aguilar also points out that Boebert did not answer The Post’s detailed questions and instead jabbed Democrats for voting against a short-term spending bill to reopen government, telling people to press Senators to pass the continuing resolution.
The Bullet Point Brief
• The costume: sombrero, dress, and a sign built on a gag about ICE. The internet did what the internet does.
• Latino Coalition of Weld County called it shameful and evidence of bigotry. Hot language for a hot take photo.
• Boebert’s response via spokesperson: it is a Halloween costume. Translation: she is not apologizing. Nor should she.
• Democrats pounced. Trisha Calvarese and Sen. Julie Gonzales used it to demand contrition and score points. Politics never misses a fundraiser.
• Meanwhile, Boebert points to Democrats voting no on a clean CR as families feel the pain of a shutdown. That is the part that actually affects people’s wallets.
My Bottom Line
Was it in poor taste? Maybe. Does that make Boebert a racist? No. If I had a dollar for every failed attempt at humor I’ve taken, I would be retired and on a beach with a fishing pole the size of a wind turbine. Dumb move or deliberate troll, it does not rise to the level of moral emergency.
Right on cue, the outrage machine revved to redline. Her opponents blasted fundraising emails, activists turned it into a culture war pep rally, and the algorithm showered everyone with dopamine. On both sides of the aisle, the grift is good. The click is king, and the media profits from your heightened emotions. Stop the madness! Different clowns, same circus. And yes, both teams play this game. That is how you get record numbers of unaffiliateds who want nothing to do with politics-as-performance.
Here is the real world: while the fools in your feed obsess over a costume, families are staring at a government shutdown and wondering whether the so-called adults will pass a clean continuing resolution. Focus on what matters. We have a country to self-govern, and this sideshow is not helping.
Source: The Denver Post
