On DeSantis and the “Bloody Shirt”

Ron DeSantis is apparently accusing the Democrats of “waving the bloody shirt” over 1/6. What did he mean by that, and is he right?

“Waving the bloody shirt” is an allusion to a campaign tactic used with some success by Republican candidates after the end of the Civil War. It was employed, as you would expect, to challenge the patriotism of Democrats who were lukewarm at best about the war.

DeSantis is implicitly admitting that there is a connection between the 1/6 rioters and the Confederacy. By attacking the use of the “bloody shirt,” he is essentially arguing that the Democrats, like the Republicans after 1876, have a moral obligation to forego protecting democracy and let white reactionaries wreak whatever havoc they like.

In other words, DeSantis is showing his true colors by associating himself with racist Confederates. Yes, in that sense, the allusion is both truthful and appropriate.