Tag Archive: Florida

Republican response to hurricanes reveals their moral and philosophical bankruptcy

Written on October 9, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Good Government, Republican Messaging, Republican Myths

President Joe Biden holds briefing on Hurricane Helene in Raleigh, NC on Oct. 2, 2024

As millions of Florida residents brace for Hurricane Milton, just days after Hurricane Helene devastated Florida and multiple southern U.S. states, Republicans are playing cynical political games. On the one hand, elected officials like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are bragging about how much his government administration is doing to prepare for Milton. On the other hand, DeSantis refused to take a phone call from Vice President Kamala Harris that would keep communications lines open and help coordinate federal aid to Florida. That’s after the first priority of hurricane preparedness for DeSantis was to order the removal of all suspensions and limits on gun sales in Florida, as if that has anything to do with the matter at hand besides kowtowing to the MAGA Republican base.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and other Republicans keep lying about President Joe Biden’s actions, especially through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to assist victims of Helene, claiming that much less has been done to help them than actually has been done. At the same time, however, U.S. House Republicans refuse to vote for more funding for FEMA, or even to return from vacation to help with these emergencies.

However, all of this Republican hypocrisy and game-playing provides a silver lining for President Biden, Vice President Harris and the Democrats: in addition to the hurricanes providing yet more evidence of climate change, most of these cynical Republican actions fall into the largely Democratic frame that government assistance and involvement to help people are good and crucial things. If so, then Ronald Reagan’s infamous line from nearly 40 years ago …

I’ve always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help”

… is as dead, gone and obsolete as the Republican government philosophy itself.

Photo by NCDOTcommunications, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/V5zqWe

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Florida’s low-information voters

Written on September 24, 2024 by in Republican Messaging

Not “The Sunshine State” of knowledge

Three recent conversations that took place with Floridians offer a sampling of that state’s pool of low-information voters:

The first conversation, in a retail store, involved a customer and an employee. The employee had just said that he was about to pick up a Boar’s Head sandwich for lunch:

Customer: “Haven’t you been reading the news?”
Employee: “No, I don’t give a sh*t about the news.”
Customer: “You should. There’s a deadly Listeria outbreak involving their meats!”
Employee: “I don’t care. If it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go.”

 

The second conversation involved a salesman and a customer at another retail outlet, and went like this:

Salesman: “The price of food and everything else is so high. I’ve been cooking at home instead of buying prepared foods.”
Customer: “At least the price of gas has come down a lot lately.”
Salesman: “Oh I don’t care about gas prices.”

Here, what we have goes beyond low information and into Republican narratives that never let facts get in the way. The idea that someone (who admits he drives a lot) would care about the price of food but not the price of gas, as if his money to pay for these did not all have to come from the same pile, is preposterous.

 

The third conversation was similar to the second one. It took place in an office, between the same customer as in the second conversation, and the office technician:

Technician: “Oh, you know, the price of everything is so high right now.”
Customer: “Well, at least gas prices have come down.”
Technician: “That’s because we have an election coming.”

Here, the technician is advancing another right wing trope, that somehow the oil companies would lower gasoline prices before the election to help President Joe Biden and the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris. As if (1) the oil companies somehow favor the Democrats, who are promoting renewable energy and electric vehicles, instead of the Republicans, who are in the pocket of the oil and fossil fuel industries; (b) the price of oil and gasoline is not the result of supply and demand; and (c) the oil companies and gas stations do not charge as much as possible to maximize their profits.

This, folks, is why the 2024 presidential election is close.

Photo by Jason Howie, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/FQUaYt

 

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Record-setting rain and heat in Florida, but it’s illegal to say “climate change”

Written on June 14, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

Flooded Sarasota, FL roads after Hurricane Ian, 2022

South Florida is still undergoing a days-long, torrential rain storm that has dumped up to 20 inches of water in some areas. In the city of Sarasota on Tuesday evening, eight inches of rain fell in just three hours, something that NBC News stated only happens “every 500 to 1,000 years.”

This record-setting south Florida rain in the first half of June follows what NBC News also said was the warmest May on record in the area. Moreover, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts “above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year,” in part due to “near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean.” Something is going on, and we know what it’s called: climate change. Incredibly, however, instead of taking steps to fight climate change (such as promoting solar and wind power and electric vehicles), Florida’s Republican state government officials, headed by Governor Ron DeSantis, are hiding their heads in the increasingly wet and eroding sand. Indeed, just last month, during the aforementioned record heat, DeSantis signed a Republican bill “that erases most references to ‘climate change’ from state law.” Meanwhile, insurance companies, which do not have the luxury of denying climate change, are getting out of the home insurance business in Florida, and the ones who stay are charging the highest rates in the nation.

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Abortion measure could put Florida in play in 2024 elections

Written on April 5, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Abortion rights protests becoming more popular

Florida voters will have the opportunity to vote for abortion rights in the 2024 elections, as the Florida Supreme Court on Monday approved placing  a proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution on the ballot this November that would restrict Florida’s ability to ban abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.” The proposed ballot measure emerged after the 6-3 Republican majority U.S. Supreme Court, with three new Republican justices nominated by Donald Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, ruling that there is no constitutional right to abortion, and turning the issue over to the states. That year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis  had signed a law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Then, last year, just before announcing his ill-fated presidential campaign, DeSantis signed a new six-week abortion ban. The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday allowed even the more restrictive six-week ban to take effect, highlighting the urgency of the voter amendment.

Florida has voted more Republican in recent years since Barack Obama won the state in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. For example, Ron DeSantis was elected Governor in 2018 by the narrowest of margins, but won re-election in 2022 by quite a large number of votes. Likewise, both houses of Florida’s legislature have big Republican majorities. And of course, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Florida presidential election, and also beat Joe Biden in Florida in 2020.

The Florida abortion rights ballot measure, however, has the chance to turn Florida competitive for the Democrats once again in the 2024 elections, especially at the presidential level. Since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe, for example, abortion rights have been a major issue helping the Democrats in numerous elections around the country. Moreover, according to a poll released last month, 12 percent of voters say that abortion is the most important issue in the 2024 elections, and such voters overwhelmingly support President Joe Biden over Donald Trump. Likewise, a poll released last November indicated that 62 percent of Florida voters favored the proposed abortion rights amendment. The Florida Supreme Court’s abortion rulings (as well as its ruling approving the placement on the ballot in November of a proposed constitutional amendment allowing recreational marijuana use for adults) similarly could drive Democratic and Independent voter turnout to defeat the Republicans in certain Sunshine State elections this year.

At the same time that so many Democratic voters are galvanizing around abortion rights and women’s health, the Republicans’ success in their 49-year effort to overturn Roe v. Wade ironically could take this central issue off the table for them in the upcoming elections. Accordingly, Florida may well become the place this November where Republicans learn the adage, “be careful what you wish for.”

Photo by Fibonacci Blue, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/uxGiIf

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Republican primaries show Trump has troubles

Written on March 22, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Nikki Haley, still taking votes from Donald Trump

Last Tuesday (March 19), Florida, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio and Kansas held their Republican presidential primaries. While Donald Trump, like President Joe Biden, had previously earned the necessary number of delegates to be his party’s nominee, a look at these latest primary results show a lingering problem for Trump. Specifically, while Trump has run unopposed since Nimrata “Nikki” Haley dropped out of the race on “Super Tuesday,” March 6, Trump has not gotten anywhere near the voting percentage that he should now be getting in the Republican primaries.

In Florida, for example, Trump received just over 81 percent of the vote. Nikki Haley received nearly 14 percent, and Ron DeSantis received 3.7 percent, even though both Haley and DeSantis are no longer running. According to Newsweek:

The results suggest the former president is losing support in Florida compared with the previous election in 2020. That year, he won about 94 percent of the state vote in the primary.

As for the excuse that some votes may have been cast for Haley before she dropped out on March 6, that would not explain that (a) plenty of early votes were cast after March 6, including early in-person voting on and after March 14, and (b) not only did Ron DeSantis receive a good number of votes, even Chris Christie received nearly 9,000 votes, and each of them dropped out of the campaign last January.

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Nikki Haley’s Civil War views demonstrate what is at stake in the 2024 elections

Written on December 29, 2023 by in Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

Nimarata Nikki Haley

This past Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Nimarata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa) caused a political firestorm at a New Hampshire town hall event when she gave a shockingly evasive answer to a question about the U.S. Civil War. Specifically, a voter in the audience asked Haley, “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” The following exchange then occurred:

Haley: Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything. I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run. The freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do. What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?
Q: I’m not running for president. I wanted to hear your view on the cause of the Civil War.
Haley: I mean, I think it always comes down to the role of government. We need to have capitalism, we need to have economic freedom, we need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties, so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want without government getting in the way.
Q: Thank you. In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you’d answer that question without mentioning the word “slavery.”
Haley: What do you want me to say about slavery?
Q: You’ve answered my question. Thank you.
Haley: Next question.

Approximately 12 hours later, after sharp criticism from many quarters, including from President Joe Biden, Haley’s campaign tried to correct her blunder, releasing a Thursday morning radio interview in which Haley said, “Of course the Civil War was about slavery,” further calling the war “a stain on America.” Haley went on to reiterate that “freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people.” However, the damage was done. Now Haley either looks like a racist, or just another mealy-mouthed politician saying different things depending on the audience and their reaction, rather than based on her own principles. In deciding which is the true Haley, the following quote from poet Maya Angelou comes to mind:

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

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Ron DeSantis joins Democrats in questioning Trump’s cognitive abilities

Written on October 25, 2023 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Donald Trump speaking

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been running a distant second to Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination contest, and even dropping in the polls, for some time. Perhaps that is because DeSantis has chosen to spend his time going after the Walt Disney Company and LGBTQ people. Or perhaps DeSantis has not gained ground on Trump because his criticisms of Trump have been rather tepid. It is almost as if DeSantis was hoping that Democratic attacks on Donald Trump would be enough. The Republican polls, however, indicate that is not the case.

For years, Democrats have observed that Trump is in physical or cognitive decline. This includes his difficulties walking down a ramp, problems drinking water, sniffing, and slurring his words. (As to the latter two, some have speculated that Trump takes too much Adderall, and that he may even have a prosthesis in his palate to cover damage from years of snorting Adderall or cocaine.) In recent speeches, Trump has also appeared confused, even stating that he ran against Barack Obama in 2016 (hint: it was Hillary Clinton), and that President Joe Biden might start “World War Two” (spoiler alert: that war ended when Biden was not even three years old).

Now, finally, Ron DeSantis may be shifting his strategy to tell voters about some of these apparent difficulties for Trump. Specifically, at a New Hampshire campaign event on Tuesday, DeSantis said of Trump:

… [H]e is wedded to the teleprompter. He can’t get off that teleprompter, any time he does, he says things like ‘Don’t vote.’

DeSantis went on to say:

And so I think that it’s just shown this is a different Donald Trump in 2015 and 16. Lost the zip on his fastball, ….

It’s a pretty mild attack compared to everything that DeSantis could say about Trump, but at least he is opening this door a crack. Perhaps DeSantis will be emboldened to go further, especially if he does not otherwise gain ground on Trump in the polls. Note that Chris Christie, another 2024 Republican presidential candidate, also attacks Trump, although more on Trump’s policy failures and inaction rather than physical or cognitive problems.

When it comes to Republican ads for the 2024 elections, we know the GOP, in order to create a false impression, won’t be shy about using video of President Biden tripping on stairs or stuttering. By the same token, Democrats should make full use of Donald Trump’s increasing number of apparent physical and cognitive issues to bolster an impression that seems increasingly true.

Photo by Evan Guest, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/uHekNJ

 

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Is this the best Reddit comment ever?

Written on August 8, 2023 by in Democratic Messaging, Fox "News" Watch, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Fox “News” promoting GOP Culture War

One of the positives about the Reddit social media platform is that there are so many “subreddits,” each covering a specific topic, that anyone can either search or browse and then do a deep dive into a particular subject. For example, in the politics area, there are subreddits for folks of all political stripes, and even particular subreddits regarding certain political media outlets. It was in one such subreddit, r/TheMajorityReport (which covers The Majority Report, a progressive daily political talk radio show featuring host Sam Seder), where recently we found what may be the clearest and best comment describing how Republicans practice their cynical politics.

The particular Reddit background discussion leading to the comment concerned the appearance of Ana Kasparian of another political media outlet, The Young Turks, on Fox “News.” Ana is a former progressive who has moved towards the political right. Fox loves to feature such former lefties and use them as tools to bash the Democrats. Here’s the self-explanatory title of the Reddit discussion in question:

Fox News: Progressive journo Ana Kasparian unleashes on left’s obsession with ‘garbage’ identity politics: ‘I’m done’

After the jump, see the great comment that one Reddit user left:

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Attention Florida voters!

Written on May 23, 2023 by in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging, Republican Myths

Florida voters, renew your mail-in voting status

If you’re a Florida voter, and you vote by mail, there’s an action item you need to take: Last January, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill passed by Florida’s Republican majority legislature to make it harder to vote. Specifically, the new law cancels automatic mail-in voting status for those who voted by mail in 2020 or 2022, and requires such voters to contact their county Board of Elections and make a new request for a mail-in ballot for the 2024 elections. The new Florida law also reduces the number of ballot drop boxes and implements stricter voter identification requirements.

The intent behind these voting restrictions, sadly, is to make it harder for many voters, especially likely Democratic voters, to cast their votes. Republicans across the country know that their policies are less popular with the voters, thus they can only win by cheating, stealing elections, and/or suppressing votes. Moreover, Republicans think (maybe erroneously) that in recent elections, they typically hold the lead as to in-person votes on Election Day, but when mail-in votes are counted (often after the polls close), Democrats pull in more votes and often end up winning. This has led to conspiracy theories by Republicans that somehow such elections are “stolen,” which is silly given that, in addition to the complete lack of evidence to support the charge, in Florida and many other states the relevant statewide offices (Governor, Secretary of State, etc.), and therefore the elections themselves, are controlled by Republicans.

Accordingly, if you are a Democratic voter in Florida, please call your county Board of Elections (the contact information should be easy to find online) to make sure your voter registration is up to date and to request mail-in voting status for 2024 if desired. Likewise, remind your Democratic friends and family members in Florida to do so too. Make a plan for the 2024 elections (including presidential primaries and the general election) to make sure your vote is properly cast and received on time. If you are a Republican voter, feel free to ignore all of this as “fake news.”

Photo by Tony Webster, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/kxQ2vq

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Don’t give up on fighting gun violence

Written on May 9, 2023 by in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

Good Democratic messaging here

The gun violence situation looks very bad in America right now. We’re averaging more than one mass shooting every day. One of the latest such shootings took place in Allen, Texas last Saturday, where a gunman wearing a tactical vest with an “RWDS” (“Right Wing Death Squad”) patch opened fire with an AR-15-style assault weapon at a shopping mall, killing at least eight people, including two young children, and injuring approximately nine others. Meanwhile, Republican-run states are going the wrong way on guns, with Florida passing a law allowing residents to carry concealed guns without a permit, and a 2015 tweet from Texas Governor Greg Abbott resurfacing again this week, in which he complains that Texas lags behind California in gun purchases, and that Texans therefore need to buy more guns. To top it off, Republican Megyn Kelly, who should know better about toxic harmful behavior, tweeted the following last Saturday:

Serious q for gun control advocates: you’ve failed to effect change. Pls face it. You can’t do it, thx to the 2A. We’re all well aware you don’t like that fact, but fact it is. What’s next? Must we just stay here sad, concerned, lamenting? Could we possibly talk OTHER SOLUTIONS?

Then, after being reprimanded for her tweet, she doubled down with the following:

No YOU F off. I am sick and tired of nothing changing after mass shootings bc we get mired EVERY TIME IN THE DAMN GUN DEBATE. You have LOST. It’s DONE. For the love of God what else can be done? You are ruining any chance at change by not admitting that the gun debate is lost.

But giving up on fighting gun violence is the last thing we should do. First of all, let’s take a lesson from the Republicans, as we suggested back in 2011, and go on offense. Specifically, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that the Constitution provides for the right to an abortion, did the anti-choice Republicans give up? Quite the opposite! They embarked on an effort lasting nearly 50 years to fight that ruling, and they made steady progress at the federal level and in various states (waiting periods, parental consent, protests, closing clinics, late-term abortion bans, etc.), until, with the right combination of Republicans in the White House and the U.S. Senate to confirm enough right-wing justices, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling. Along the way, outlawing abortion became one of the Republicans’ chief unifying issues and rallying cries.

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