If you’re a long-serving African-American state senator and someone sends out a tweet implying that you and another African-American lawmaker are illiterate and incompetent, we would not hold you responsible for your reaction. Amid the debate over Medicaid expansion this past legislative session, in response to the Democrats’ lawsuit over the House’s decision to adjourn early, State Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Thanksdadville) tweeted, “This lawsuit reads like it was researched and drafted by Sen. Joyner and spell-checked by Sen. Bullard.” Joyner simply called it a racist barb and moved on.
