Palm Desert Mayor Karina Mayor Faces Motherlode of Backlash GOP Patriots
PALM DESERT — Mayor Karina Quintanilla is facing a potential rain of verbal attacks from East Valley Republican Women Patriots who are less than pleased, shall we say, that the novice mayor criticized a feature story, the writer and appearance of an article about the Patriot Store appearing in the El Paseo catalogue.
The headline on the article is “Political Style Reigns at The Patriot Store; This Palm Desert shop carries glittering goods to share American politics with guests.”
Quintanilla, a Democrat, lashed out on her Facebook page, writing,
“I LOVE the City of Palm Desert but I HATE that this in the El Paseo Catalogue. “The Patriot Store’s goal to share American politics with guests fuels the fire.” Talk about the #PalmDesertWay in a city where chamber of commerce posted that BLM was bringing in buses. I don’t know if it’s more painful or embarassing {sic} that as much as the other councilmembers boast like El Paseo is the only place to shop, and that it is what brings people to shop here, bragging about the luxury name brands. How in the world is it going to bring a broad range of shoppers if you don’t see green, you only see red? Shame on Aleesha Lange for writing this, and failing to understand that partisan views don’t appeal to an a broad base of shoppers, and that your personal political views don’t belong. Double shame on #ElPaseoCatalogue for publishing the extremists’ souvenirs gift shop in the El Paseo Shopping District. How can other councilmembers say that El Paseo is welcoming to everyone, when articles like this will send the message that we are not? This does not #UnitePalmDesert Earlier in my term, I sent our former city attorney an email from a resident. I reported a N@zi flag flown in a neighborhood, and said the city needed to do something about the hate speech. We went back and forth about it being free speech versus hate speech. Ultimately, nothing was done. We must make change as we move forward.”
Joy Miedecke, president of the organization, declined to be interviewed for this article.
The local nonprofit organization East Valley Republican Women Patriots moved its boutique, The Patriot Store, from La Quinta to Palm Desert in summer 2023 with the mission to supply people who are interested in politics with apparel, jewelry, souvenirs, and other merchandise.
Tourism brought the store to sunny El Paseo, where they sell goods donning the American flag. “A lot of people come here from other countries, especially Canadians,” Miedecke said in the article. “They love American politics, and they want to go home with a souvenir.” T-shirts and mugs imprinted with the flag are popular takeaways for visitors.
Working with local designers, The Patriot Store offers customizable jewelry that can be bedazzled with letters to spell whatever customers would like. “We actually have a jewelry artist here that does personalized jewelry, and it’s really cute,” Miedecke said.in the article. Other red, white, and blue accessories stock the shelves here. “We even have sunglasses with crystal American flags on the sides.”
You may read the entire El Paseo Catalogue article here: https://elpaseocatalogue.com/political-style-reigns-at-the-patriot-store/
The store also carries some Donald Trump and Steve Garvey merchandise, but that is not its sole focus.
Miedecke is calling on “as many people as possible to write into the City Council, attend the meeting or both.
The meeting is Thursday at Palm Desert City Hall at 4 p.m.
“We must stick up for all that is right and that is what we do and who we are,” Miedecke said in rallying her people. “We now are asking you to do something for us as our hearts are always for all of you and this by the way represents all of us.
You might remember that Quintanilla cried wolf earlier this year, claiming Councilmember Kathleen Kelly slapped her not once or twice but four times during a March 13 Housing Commission meeting. Quintanilla went on to claim that Kelly slapped her a second time, according to a complaint she filed that same day. Nothing ever materialized from the allegation.
Quintanilla is up for re-election in November. Chris Scott is challenging her.
Image Sources
- Patriot Store: EVRWF