Dear Democrat,
It’s becoming more clear every day that the future of our democracy depends on who wins the next series of elections. You just can’t keep up with the insanity of the MAGA masses, Donald Trump and the remnants of the Republican Party nowadays.
“Team Normal” was the name Trump’s former campaign chief, Bill Stepien, gave to the folks who did not support the often ludicrous efforts of Republicans to overturn the 2020 election. I believe Democrats epitomize the idea of normalcy in public life. We should champion that idea and contrast it with the abnormal behavior of elected Republicans, their candidates and the MAGA masses they count on for support.
We have to accept the fact that our Democratic candidates have two opponents. The candidate he or she is running against and the MAGA masses that are very active in Florida and other states. Electing any local or state Republican expands the MAGA ideology. They are targeting local races with the intent of imposing their philosophy from the ground up.
Our candidates need to run a race focused on local issues emphasizing those at every opportunity. However, no one should ignore the fact that the Republican candidate is very likely going to support the MAGA ideology. They have no choice if they are to remain a supported member of the Republican party and that opens issues for discussion that most voters do not approve of. Failing to support Trump or DeSantis’s ideas will get them a Republican opponent in the next primary race that will toe the line.
The MAGA masses have been trained by conservative media to believe that Democrats are cheaters, socialists, baby killers, and open-border advocates. They believe we want to increase taxes on everyone and focus on critical race theory as well as “woke” ideas in public schools and elsewhere. You, we are none of those things. We have to be prepared and willing to counter these accusations with truthful presentations. While the approach taken by State Senator Mallory McMarrow in the link below may not exactly fit the circumstance we and our candidates find ourselves in, it does show how accusations can be countered effectively and head-on with the simple truth. Remember, you are none of those things.
WATCH: Michigan lawmaker says, ‘We will not let hate win’
Please consider these recent events that highlight the difference between almost all Republican candidates, the base that supports them, and typical Democrats and their candidates.
While the media spent a lot of time talking about the “Big Lie” that’s not the only evidence our ability to run elections is being jeopardized. Elected Republicans have continued to promote the unfounded assertion that the Presidential election was stolen. It could, however, be any election, even our local candidates. An example took place in Otero County, New Mexico. The county commission refused to certify an election because it used Dominion Voting Machines. Please check this web link for details.
Refuse to certify election
Also
FL Repub. REFUSES To Concede Landslide Election Loss
During the pandemic, Republicans refused to present a coherent national front in combating the spread of the virus. Science was discarded for political gain. The result was the deaths of tens of thousands of additional people and the prolonging of the pandemic. MAGA leaning states are at the bottom of almost all categories of medical care. Check these websites for details.
Republican excess death rate
Also
Medical ranking by state
Republican’s insistence that COVID was flu-like, and that alternate types of treatment worked, not only led to more illness and deaths, it drove the economy down and made the recovery even more difficult. If Republicans had presented a united front with the CDC and other science back agencies on how to minimize the spread and effect of the disease, products and labor would be more available and prices would have been less likely to rise.
Lost labor contributes to inflation
Republicans have waged a 50-year effort to reverse the trends established after WWII toward modernizing our country’s support of non-traditional lifestyles. Republican success at getting the Supreme Court they wanted will completely reverse that process. It’s going to provide them with the incentive and opportunity to pass laws that will restrict hard-earned freedoms because now they believe the court will support them. The MAGA masses define the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness very differently than most voters and certainly different than you and I.
The pursuit of life, liberty and happiness
This Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade has set up circumstances so dire we can only imagine what will happen to women’s, even children’s, reproductive rights. The notion that life begins at conception and that women should not be allowed to prevent conception using medication or devices is an underlying current within the MAGA world that will have to be faced. Shortly after Roe was overturned, a ten-year-old girl that was raped had to be taken across state lines to get an abortion. Republicans have responded by saying they want to protect all life. We all agree and they should act like they really believe that.
Rape victim flees state
and
Targeting birth control
Our ability to separate religion from government has been the bedrock of rational thought that leads to considering the needs of all citizens when laws are drafted. That separation is being eroded very quickly. The second Trump term has seen the creation of the White House Faith Office. According to the executive order it is suppose to assist faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship in their efforts to strengthen American families, promote work and self-sufficiency, and protect religious liberty. Like most efforts by this not “team normal” administration Trump chose a televangelist to head the effort. Take a look at Paula White’s website in the link below to see just how far down this rabbit hole he has gone this time. This is one opportunity she provides on her “Store” page. “And when you give a sacrificial First Fruits offering of $2025 for your year, Paula will touch and agree, believing for supernatural increase and abundance in every area in 2025!”
Office of Faith leader
Also, consider these decisions from the court.
Far right Christian quest for power
and
Prayer allowed at school
Or
Court rejects Main bid not to fund religious schools
Public schools, guided by individuals trained in teaching methods with a knowledgeable, broad-minded approach to curriculum and school environment, have been at the center of our national success. The Republican party believes that private education is a better model to advance their nationalist approach to governing. They have significantly eroded our school system first by diverting funds away from public schools and now by limiting and redirecting the subjects taught in public schools, often embracing religious dogma. With the elimination of the Education Departments ability to evaluate and fund critical services to the most needy students we can only imagine what will come next.
Religion reshapes Florida education
and
Florida vouchers fund religious education
Gun violence plagues America. Overwhelmingly, Republicans support the idea that anyone, with very rare exceptions, should be able to purchase and carry a gun. They also prevent records of gun purchases and ownership from being maintained. They also have been able to prevent gun violence from being treated as a national healthcare issue. One of the first actions of the Trump administration was to sign a law that made it easier for the mentally ill to buy a gun. More “good guys with guns”, at schools, churches, and other public places, has never worked to stop gun violence but that is the only real approach Republicans will support.
Congress lets mentally ill buy guns
And
Good guys with guns
The Republican efforts to overturn the 2020 election had many fronts but one of the most significant was the notion that the state legislatures could nullify the state’s election results. Seven battleground states actually sent alternate electoral vote certificates to the National Archives and Congress hoping Mike Pence would count them instead of the true certificates. He did not. The Supreme Court, however, agreed to hear a case out of North Carolina that could make such an action legal. That would literally turn running elections, including establishing district boundaries, over to the legislature of each state without the court, governor, or any other state agency being able to intervene. In June of 2023 the court rejected the ISL saying state courts retained the authority to oversee laws within the state related to voting and the carrying out of elections. Republicans vow to try again.
Republican efforts to reshape elections
And
The alternate elector plot
We Democrats have to stand up to the clear and present danger the MAGA masses and the people they get elected pose to our democracy.
It took the Republican party 50 years to get a court that would fully support their ideology. It took far less time for the party to bind itself to groups of supporters no politician should ever want to be associated with. They would struggle to win elections without votes from the Proud Boys, American Christian Dixie Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Sovereign Citizens, QAnon members and dozens more. There are 23 such groups headquartered in Florida. Click the link below and scroll down a few pages to see the list.
Hate groups.
At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama told Democratic candidates that they should go high when their opponent goes low. The Republican Party, influenced by Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and others, has taken the definition of low well beyond anything we have seen in our lifetimes. The base Republican voter has been indoctrinated over many years by the limited media they absorb to believe the worst about any Democrat. Be prepared and able to defend yourself and your party when it will help Democrats win their races. Beyond that, be prepared to explain why the Republican party, in its current form, has shown itself to be a clear and present danger to our democracy. Defending that democracy starts with us.
