Thursday, September 27, 2018

WILL GILLUM KILL 'EM WITH COURAGE, COMPASSION, AND COMMON SENSE?


If there is one single contest on November 6 (with the possible exception of the Texas Senate race) that might restore our faith in the heart, soul, and brains of the American electorate it could be the Florida governor’s race.

Florida primary voters could not have made this contest any more dramatic if they had all gotten together and hired a Hollywood script writer.

The Republican, Ron DeSantis made it clear that if you are a Florida voter and you are energized by “Build that wall!” and “Lock her up!” rallying cries, you have found your man. Anyone looking for daylight between Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump was wasting their time.

And just to put the icing on the cake, he made it clear that his Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum is a danger to the people of Florida. If (God forbid!) he ever got elected governor, he would likely “monkey this up.”

He said he was not being racially offensive. He was simply pointing out that a Governor Gillum’s far-out, radical, progressive, socialist policies would “turn Florida into Venezuela.” That was not meant as a compliment. Oil-rich Venezuela proved that even wealthy nations, like some wealthy individuals, can find a way to become destitute.

A current Republican television ad portrays Andrew Gillum as being on another planet. Ground control can’t make contact with him because he is so far out with his positions on Medicare for All, sensible gun laws, raising the state corporate tax rate to pay for better public education and higher salaries for teachers, and a $15 per hour minimum wage.

Conventional wisdom says: Do not embrace these way too risky non-mainstream positions. If a Democrat is going to win over Independents, he needs to be careful not to scare them away with radical ideas and, If there is any state that loves guns and hates taxes it’s Florida.

So Gillum is nuts. Case closed. The voters will send him back to Planet Crazy and DeSantis will stroll into the governor’s office, wearing a red cap that reads: “KEEP FLORIDA JUST THE WAY IT IS.”

Well, not so fast! Let’s add some context. Donald Trump will be on every ballot in every district and in every state, especially Florida where a vote for Ron DeSantis is a vote for Donald Trump.

According to the latest national opinion polls, Donald Trump is on a roll, but it is not a good roll for him or for any Republican candidate clinging to his coat tails. His approval ratings that were always in the 40s are now mostly in the 30s.

In the most recent CNN poll, the president’s approval ratings dropped from 42% in August to 36% in early September. You might say he had a rough few weeks. It is now clear that his base is shrinking just in time for the November midterms.

Another poll number might be especially predictive of the outcome of a number of those midterm contests. The president’s approval rating among Independents has plunged from 47% to 31%, just since August.

The political earth is shifting beneath our feet. Democrats will take back the House. Taking the Senate is still a long shot, but the fact that so many Senate races, once solidly in the bag for Republicans, are now real contests, makes us wonder how many disillusioned Trump voters are quietly jumping off the MAGA wagon.

And remember, while Floridians have tended to vote for Republican governors and legislators, they voted twice for Barak Obama. Maybe the foolishly bold Andrew Gillum is on another planet, but it might be the same planet where Barak Obama came from to steal the nomination from Hillary Clinton and go on to defeat John McCain in 2008, and then Mitt Romney in 2012.

Republican Governor, Rick Scott and the state Republican leadership rejected Medicaid expansion. They had to. Accepting it might have been counted as a win for Socialist, Barak Obama.

Andrew Gillum thinks that it just makes sense for all Floridians to have adequate health insurance. Recent polls tell us that 70% of Americans now support Medicare for All – that would be 84% of Democrats and a surprising 51% of Republicans.

Does Ron DeSantis believe that all uninsured or underinsured Floridians are Democrats? Andrew Gillum is betting that some Independents and Republicans who are adequately insured actually give a damn about their less fortunate neighbors – you know, those compassionate Conservatives.

Andrew Gillum thinks that Florida is ready for common sense gun laws. Ron DeSantis boasts of his A-rating from the NRA. Does it matter to him that 70% of NRA members and 78% non-NRA gun owners are now in favor of comprehensive background checks? Or that 70% of all Americans believe in stricter laws for assault weapons?

Is the DeSantis answer to preventing future Parkland massacres to arm teachers? How will that sell with the fed-up David Hogg/Emma Gonzalez generation and all those older folks inspired by their outrage-driven activism?

Ron DeSantis won the nomination talking a lot to Fox News – over 120 times since getting the Trump endorsement in December. Fox provided a nice safe space to preach the simplistic Gospel of Trump. Andrew Gillum won his party’s nomination having real conversations with everyone, everywhere. He has the quiet fearlessness of a man who puts others first.

His opponent has not revealed much of a platform. Until he figures one out, he will continue to pound Gillum with those “far out” labels, doing everything possible to make them stick.

And Gillum will continue to answer: “For Floridians who are struggling, these labels mean nothing.”

Courage, compassion, and common sense. Radical.
There is so much more, but for now, my two minutes are up.







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