One of the worst developments in politics in the last decade has been the creation of “HQ” accounts by left-wing candidates for office on social media. Seemingly run by Gen Z interns, these official campaign apparatuses are doing their best to “own” their opponents with a mix of mockery, poorly edited videos and cheesy memes. Who can forget the spread of “Dark Brandon” by the “Biden HQ” account?
With Biden leaving the race, this account was quickly transformed into “Kamala HQ” and has only gotten worse. On Sunday, the vice president’s aides published a post quoting Republican Senator Thom Tillis (NC) about the politicization of Hurricane Helene.
SEE ALSO: Speaker Johnson weighs in on Harris-Biden response to Hurricane Helene
CC: @realdonaldtrump pic.twitter.com/xd9DjuLG3V
— Kamala Headquarters (@KamalaHQ) October 6, 2024
For Republicans, Tillis isn’t exactly a star among conservatives. He is often seen as too moderate and unwilling to stand up to Democrats on arduous issues. In this case, he did what many long-time Republican senators do, which was to make a statement about being “above it all” in the middle of a political fight that will happen one way or another.
Still, he didn’t like that Harris took his quote out of context. In perhaps the most animated way I’ve ever seen him say, Tillis blasted the vice president and said he was talking about her.
Vice President Harris: I’ve talked about politicians like YOU using this disaster for political posturing. You claim to be “working 24/7” while not even plugging in your headphones for a staged photo op. Where were YOU when Ft. Freedom troops stood by for days? #ncpol https://t.co/azzKEA6yLx
— Thom Tillis (@ThomTillis) October 7, 2024
I’m not going to suddenly become a fan of Tillis, but the fact that he spoke out like that counts for something. The risks of the 2024 election are becoming increasingly clear. I don’t expect Donald Trump and someone like Tillis to ever really get along, but if the alternative is a government led by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, now is the time to shake hands and move on.
Harris has repeatedly politicized Hurricane Helene, from the issue of climate change to scripted photo ops involving her as president. Meanwhile, local people are suffering while the federal government is once again falling brief in its response. This election is about real risks that go far beyond personal and tactical differences. Tillis seems to understand this, at least at the level necessary to speak out against Harris and her dishonest Gocha attempts.
With all that said, I ask a question about Tillis’ quote: What was the point? I understand that some Republicans like to be seen as statesmen who don’t engage in political machinations. However, that is not the real world. As I said above, this has always been a political issue. The only question was whether the GOP had the courage to fight back and win the argument. Kamala Harris and the Democrats would never resign not Politicize Helene.
