Rantz: WA Dem chair Tina Podlodowski trafficked in anti-Semitism on Twitter

Washington State Democrat chairwoman Tina Podlodowski went on an unhinged Twitter tirade, trafficking in anti-Semitism to go after a Jewish radio host for something she pretended he said. That host? Me.

Her ire stemmed from President Donald Trump’s question over whether or not it would be possible to study human injections to attack the coronavirus.

Showing the temperament of a partisan who may have actually consumed a Tide Pod, Podlowdowski and the Twitter account for the Washington Democrats implied I told people to consume disinfectant.

Except I didn’t. I didn’t even talk about the controversy.

Podlodowski’s deranged tweets

Last week, I tweeted the good news from the Wednesday afternoon press briefing where Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Science Bill Bryan revealed testing showed the coronavirus could be killed by direct sunlight under the right conditions during the summer.

I said this was “outstanding news” because it is, indeed, outstanding news. Only a deranged anti-Trump partisan could be mad at this revelation. Cue Tina Podlodowski and the WA Democratic party.

The WA Democratic twitter account tweeted, “Cannot believe we have to say this, but do not drink disinfectants of any kind — they are poisonous if consumed.” Then they retweeted their message, screenshot my tweet about summer weather, and reminded people I’m not a public health official.

It’s true. I’m not a public health official.

I’m someone hopeful the coronavirus can be mitigated quicker so people can start enjoying some semblance of normalcy again. The implication is that I told people to consume disinfectant. But I didn’t. I didn’t even tweet about that topic. In fact, the tweet they screenshot was sent before Trump’s comments about injection.

PSA: @jasonrantz is not a public health official. #waelex #coronavirus https://t.co/CmyVs0rosp pic.twitter.com/UWno5Loi0M

— WA Democrats (@washdems) April 24, 2020

When I called out their implication, folks immediately ratio’ed the WA Democrats telling them they’re disingenuous.

In no way shape or form did he even imply that. If you inferred that from his tweet, stop eating the paint chips.

— Bryan Suits KFI AM640 (@darksecretplace) April 24, 2020

He NEVER said to drink disinfectants! WTH is this tweet about? Talk about #FakeNews!

— jewelz (@love_JMJ_love) April 24, 2020

Either you’re stupid or you think your target audience is

— Len™️ 🇺🇸🇭🇰🇮🇱🇹🇼 (@Len1776) April 24, 2020

After getting called out, WA Dems retreated some, shifting to claim they didn’t imply I said people should consume disinfectant. They tweeted, “we were alerting people to other dangerous disinformation you were spreading. Yes, UV light kills #coronavirus, but it’s also important to #StayHome to avoid spreading it.”

In other words, they actually agreed with my position. Bless their hearts: They can’t even troll well. What “dangerous disinformation” did I send?

It wasn’t over, though. No one told their clumsy leader that their attack backfired. So she jumped in — happy to casually deploy anti-Semitism to attack me.

Podlodowski stumbles into anti-Semitism

Like a child learning Twitter trolling for the first time, Podlodowski pounced!

Not only did she quote a statement that wasn’t made (not by me, nor by the President, so I’m not actually sure if she knows what quotations are for), but Podlodowski leaned in hard to an anti-Semitic trope that Jewish people can be easily influenced by money to take positions.

So, @jasonrantz, you agree with @realDonaldTrump that doctors should try "injecting UV light and bleach" to treat #COVID19? I swear @washdems the #WAGOP and their bought and paid for media hacks get more dangerous to our lives every single day. #waelex https://t.co/bjuuLGL00t

— Tina Podlodowski (@Tinapo) April 24, 2020

Back in 2018, when Dr. Kim Schrier was running for Congress in WA-08, an attack ad showed her with a wad of cash fanned out in her hands. At the time, Democrats and the media attacked the ad as playing up anti-Semitic tropes that Jews are easily influenced by money, can be bought or that we use our wealth to buy influence and power.

Yet here we are, two years later, with the same anti-Semitic trope being used against a Jewish talk show host for cheering on a study that showed summer temperatures can help kill the coronavirus.

Sadly, there are people who do, And their lives are in danger because of it. https://t.co/dR3BvGtDTN

— Tina Podlodowski (@Tinapo) April 24, 2020

Since I’m not “bought and paid for” (which shadowy overlord does she think can so easily buy Jews?), Podlodowski decided to traffic in despicable anti-Semitism to attack a political opponent.

As I said on Twitter, feel free to quote me or disagree with a position I’ve taken. That’s reasonable and I’m happy to defend anything I believe.

But for her to so callously use a bigoted trope for some unhinged Twitter tirade? That’s rather shameful — especially from a party that declares itself so woke that they can easily identify dog whistles and coded language. But they don’t actually care about minorities (they definitely do not care about Jews); they just use us for political power.

Podlodowski’s intent wasn’t just to dismiss me in a bigoted way, it was also to inspire her Antifa-supporting base to go on the attack. Luckily, almost no one follows her on Twitter (it’s a small base), though one of her fans (a Seattle school teacher) implied I wasn’t Jewish enough (or gay enough) because I’m a Republican.

Podlodowski’s history of insanity

Podlodowski is no stranger to dishonest tactics. She has a track record of nasty politics and she’s almost always caught. It’s rather embarrassing, actually.

When running for Secretary of State, she claimed incumbent Kim Wyman wasted $11 million taxpayer dollars to hold a Republican primary despite knowing at the time that Trump had enough votes to secure the nomination. State law actually prohibits the Secretary of State from canceling a primary election. Only the Legislature can do that. Podlodowski not understanding how elections work was a big reason she was was humiliated in the race.

She’s still bitter about the loss. Last year, Podlodowski again targeted Wyman.

In a series of tweets, Podlodowski claimed that Wyman “is calling on voters not to vote in the WA Presidential Primary, due to the requirement to sign a partisan declaration.” Podlodowski argued Wyman “is simply hiding from her affiliation with Trump, is terrified of losing her seat to Democrat Gael Tarleton, and will do anything to to mask her true colors. Even by not voting and urging others not to vote.”

Except this didn’t happen. KTTH was not alone in calling out this smear. On Twitter, a reporter with the progressive outlet Crosscut called it out as well.

So, when not leaning into anti-Semitism, she’s leaning into unhinged, transparently partisan Twitter attacks.

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