J.D. Vance said in public that Florida’s Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon should leave the country. That’s ironic given the fact Vance got elected claiming Biden and other Democrats had ruined this country. He ran for the Senate and won, then became Trump’s running mate and is now VP. The point is he didn’t leave the country, yet that’s exactly what he demands Angie Nixon to do. Nixon quite pointedly made it clear this country is HER home to and that she’s not going anywhere. Better still she’s used Vance’s statement against him in a fundraising email saying “This is my home. I’m not going anywhere.”
I happen to be from small town/rural America. Southern Illinois to be specific. I’m retired now. I left southern Illinois to become a Marines when I was twenty six. But back then some common expressions you’d see on signs, t-shirts etc. were along the lines of America – Love It Or Leave It, and regarding the Cold War/Russia I’d Rather Be Dead Than Red. That kind of thinking and expression wasn’t unique to where I’m from. Since then the first sentiment has continued to be expressed by people across the political spectrum. The second has undergone change, and it’s not uncommon to see on my FB feed and other places conservatives who once loved taunting Democrats as ‘Commie Russian Bastards’ and virtually shouting about preferring to be dead than Russian now saying they’d rather be Russian than Democrat.
My point with all that is that Vance’s ‘order to Nixon isn’t some new political taunt. What stands out here is how Nixon responded. As reported by Idaho Learning News Vance was went to Florida recently to stump for Republican candidates:
Vance traveled to Lakeland on Thursday, October 1, to campaign for Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections. Speaking to a supportive crowd, he turned his attention to Nixon, the Democratic nominee challenging Moody for the Senate seat.
“Ladies and gentlemen, when Angie Nixon calls herself a socialist, I think the right response is to say, then get the hell out of here. You don’t belong in America if those are your views,” Vance told the audience, according to the Atlanta Black Star and a C-SPAN clip of the remarks.
Nixon is one of a group of youngish Democratic Socialists who have emerged in recent times. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders had always (except for a few months as the Democratic Presidential nominee) identified himself as one, modeling his beliefs and policy proposals on the Democratic Socialism prevalent (and in so many countries not just accepted but popular) in Europe. Then AOC came along and it set off a Democratic Socialist movement in the Democratic Party. With more following in her footsteps and winning primaries Democratic Socialism has gained clout in the larger Democratic Party. Unfortunately conservatives ALWAYS drop the first word (Democratic) and simply say Sanders, AOC and others including Nixon are ‘socialists’ – and by association link them with the USSR/Russia they once railed against. (See? I had a reason for talking about that earlier)
Conservatives have almost always been better at branding in a way that’s appealing to Americans, while too often being totally misleading. They keep it simple. Progressives come up with memorable phrases like ‘Defund the Police’ which conservatives (and many Democrats) pounced on. What those who coined and promoted the term meant was shift funding so that police could stick to actual policing instead of being expected to also be social workers, mental health/crisis counselors, teachers etc. The problem is America has been dumbed down and something you have to take a couple of minutes to explain is problematic, hence Nixon’s (and others) problem with having to explain what Democratic Socialism actually is.
Nixon however clearly has the ability to sharpen focus to respond to attacks. Vance took a cheap shot at her and she proverbially punched ole J.D. right back in his smug mouth:
Nixon did not let the moment pass. In a fundraising email sent Friday, she wrote: “The Vice President of the United States flew into Florida and told a cheering crowd that I don’t belong in America.” Then came the line that spread fastest online: “I don’t need JD Vance’s permission to belong here.”
She grounded her claim to belonging in family history. “We built this country. We bled for it,” Nixon wrote. “We worked the land, raised the children, and did the jobs nobody else wanted to do, all while being told at every turn that we didn’t quite belong.”
She also took a pointed swipe at Vance’s rally companion, hitting him for “lecturing me about America while standing next to a senator who was never even elected to the seat she holds.” That was a reference to Moody, who was appointed in 2025 to fill the seat vacated by Marco Rubio rather than winning it at the ballot box.
Nixon closed with a simple declaration: “This is my home. I’m not going anywhere.”
Nixon has used Vance’s attack and her response in a fundraising email. The linked article doesn’t say (frankly it’s too soon to know) how much the pitch has raised. However let’s take a look at the bigger picture since this has turned into a bit of a thing. Nixon is in fact a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She’s pushed for Medicare for All, universal childcare, and taxing the ultra-rich. Despite Vance’s attempt to brand her a ‘socialist’ even X’s community-notes-style fact check, relayed by the Grok chatbot, framed Vance’s comment as being based on her DSA membership and progressive stances. IOW it confirmed Nixon is NOT a ‘socialist’ but a Democratic Socialist. Still, as I said it’s a problem for her:
Critics counter that the target and the framing matter. Nixon herself called the attack “a distraction, and a desperate one,” pointing to rising insurance premiums, rent, and health care costs as the issues Vance would rather not discuss. Whether voters see bigotry, boilerplate anti-socialist rhetoric, or both may shape how much damage, or benefit, each side takes from the episode.
In case you were wondering, Nixon is trailing GOP candidate and (appointed to fill out Rubio’s term) incumbent Moody, but given this is Florida not by as much as you’d expect in a normal year. Like Texas where the GOP nominee is in deep you-know-what Moody is ahead but things are close enough Republicans have to spend money in a state that should have required minimal resources. And, Florida is an expensive political state due to so many large media markets. Even the GOP concedes it’s going to be close and isn’t happy about it because that money and political consultant talent is needed in lots of other places.
A lot of Democrats got in a funk after 2024. One common complaint is that our Party leaders and politicians/candidates don’t fight hard enough. That’s especially true in Florida where long ago the state’s Democratic establishment more or less curled up in a fetal position in the corner. In Nixon Democrats have a candidate for major race with enough backbone to throw a political punch. Keep an eye on this because while odds aren’t good, Nixon might do to Moody what she did to fellow Democrat Vindeman – pull off an upset.
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