Dem Lt. Gov. Candidate Karla Mats Repeatedly Makes “Joke” Insulting Special Needs Students

Florida Governor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis’ campaign Twitter account, “DeSantisWarRoom,” recently posted videos showing Democrat Charlie Crist’s running mate, Karla Hernandez Mats, making some highly inappropriate jokes at the expense of special needs students. She explains that she has experience working as a “SPED teacher” (special education teacher) with an emphasis in “emotionally handicapped education.” She goes on to joke that “that by itself qualifies me to deal with the dysfunctional legislature.”

Wow, talk about insensitive. She’s basically calling emotionally handicapped special education students “dysfunctional.” Not to mention that she’s also comparing innocent special needs children with no control over their emotional and intellectual capabilities to adult politicians she doesn’t like. It’s just a really weird and insensitive joke to tell in this age of hypersensitivity and inclusion. But she apparently thinks it’s a really good joke, especially judging from all the insensitive people in the room who laughed, so she’s told it 3 different times.

I also just hate how she’s essentially using her special education kids as a political prop. That just feels so gross to me. I get it. She’s trying to separate herself from the “Karla Marx” narrative that has stuck to her following her remarks mourning Fidel Castro’s death and Tweets against local parents, as well as remove the stink of the stories about her protecting a child sex abuser in a middle school. But using special education students as props to soften your terrible image just feels so gross to me.

CHICKS ON THE RIGHT

Join the Conversation

4 comments

Share your perspective and reply to other readers.

Free account. You will stay on this page.

4 Comments

  1. TheAmerican Sep 15, 2022 at 12:31 pm

    I’ve never heard of this woman till now. I’m not better for having met her.

    If a Republican politician did this, the left’s reaction would be, “Oh, look how mean the GOP is.”

    I suppose they’ll try to defend this, though, right?

    Of course they will!

    1. Natalie Argyle Sep 15, 2022 at 3:49 pm

      I think mostly they’ll just ignore it. No need to defend it when you could just pretend it never happened. A free press wouldn’t let them ignore it. But a captured press would be complicit in ignoring it.

  2. UrbanVRWCMom Sep 14, 2022 at 10:48 pm

    This reminds me of Barack Obama comparing his bowling skills to that of Special Olympics athletes. I saw it as a backhand slap against Sarah Palin’s then-infant son, Trig, since some DS’ers take part in the Special Olympics. What angers me most is the time Jocelyn Elders said that “Abortion has had a positive effect on Down’s Syndrome”. She regards those who have it as being better off dead. This was rich coming from an individual whose “planned, wanted child” was arrested for selling drugs; no wonder Elders supported the legalization of them!

    1. Natalie Argyle Sep 15, 2022 at 3:51 pm

      And more recently, The View cohosts talking about needing abortion to be legal in order to deal with unwanted special needs children like her own family members, who are severely autistic and severely physically disabled. Basically arguing that families would be better off if autistic and physically disabled babies were aborted. It’s disgusting.