The Florida primary elections results are in, and in November, Floridians will have the single most stark choice on the ballot, a requiem on “Trumpism” and all it stands for, in a state notorious for vote shenanigans, both traditional domestic-type (See. the Non-Recount, Bush v. Gore), and the Russian-type (See Gucifer 2.0 release of emails in 2016), always in favor of the Republican. The choice Floridians presented themselves in the race for governor could not possibly be sharper.
The Players
In one corner, the Democrat, Andrew Gillum, a black man who was a Hillary Clinton delegate in the 2016 National Democratic Convention, and also endorsed by Bernie Sanders in the primary. Gillum won a huge upset over the “DNC’s choice” Congresswoman Gwen Graham, daughter of the former Senator. Graham’s votes against the Iran deal and for the Keystone XL pipeline solidified her “Third-way” Blue Dog bona fides, which lost out to the late push by the Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Gillum. Gillium now stands one huge step away from being elected as the first African American governor in the Deep South. (And the panhandle, Tallahassee, is very much the “Deep South,” even if the area from Orlando to the Keys is more eclectic and Caribbean in nature.)
Meanwhile, the Republican is a three term Congressman of the Trumpiest-type, Rep. Ron DeSantis. Indeed, we knew he was on the Trump train for all its glory back when he attempted to fire Mueller through Congressional action, six months into Mueller’s investigation. He also ran a creepy commercial in which he involved his family and teaching a child the merits of a “wall.” We knew all of that before he did the ultimate “I’m a Trumper” by tossing aside the racial dog-whistle handed to the candidate upon securing the victory, in favor of a racist bullhorn: From Vox.
Florida’s gubernatorial general election isn’t even a day old, but it has already found its first controversy after Republican Ron DeSantis claimed that his opponent, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum — potentially the state’s first black governor — would “monkey this up” if he wins in November.
DeSantis’s comments came during a Wednesday morning interview on Fox News after winning the primary on Tuesday. While discussing his Democratic opponent, DeSantis also called Gillum “articulate,” a term often used to backhandedly compliment black people whose intelligence seems surprising or out of the ordinary.
DeSantis’ spokesperson addressed the controversy by pointing out how patently obvious it was that DeSantis was using the extremely common phrase “monkey-up a state” as an obvious metaphor for letting a black man sit as governor. Actually he did not do that, he stated that DeSantis’ phrase had no racial overtones at all. Because, who among us doesn’t refer to something as “monkeyed-up” at least once a day? Anyone? Especially when we’re around our black friends? Just joshin’? Anyone?
See?
Trump; “Super-Sized”
Straight out of Trump’s bag, DeSantis doesn’t have time to be PC, like the “articulate” challenger, Gillum, who is a lay-about and has all the time in the world, no one in the DeSantis’ camp would say, or even needed to say – it’s all out in the open. That is the point, no one is even trying to hide what is happening down in Florida, it is out in its bare glory, the choice Floridians face. DeSantis used the racial slap because he could, because lately, it’s been proven effective – and some just simply love it.
Gillum, being a Democrat who just now appeared with Chuck Todd on Meet The Press Daily, and noted that he aspired to govern a state with “good jobs” that paid more than minimum wage, had health benefits, an allowed a family to even go on vacation maybe once a year. Hearing talk like this led to the reflexive use of the “S-Word” from the DeSantis’ camp – that Gillum is a socialist. Again, we see the choice laid out for all to see. Gillum had noted that wages aren’t rising for the vast majority of Floridians – stating the obvious, as this is the case across the country. You know, most low ranking deputy sheriffs in the small counties haven’t seen their wages rise, they’re getting poorer by the day, yet vote to keep it that way, despite the fact they damn well deserve more! This is what I’m talking about.
This is the choice.
Near every single white Floridian working-poor man knows his wages are not rising, but feels near powerless to change it. When poor women? Pffft, Even worse. The racist dog whistles are a scientifically-studied tactic, an attempt to both stoke the white working-poor anger, and relieve any fears he or she might have that he or she most certainly remains above the social standing of the average black man, regardless of wage. Being white still counts as a privilege in Trumpland. They damn well don’t want to lose that privilege.
A Dilemma
I live in the south. In so many ways, I love the south. I am constantly attempting to sort through in my mind how to handle the fact that the very nice white guy that helped me tie my daughter’s basketball hoop to the back of our pick-up, the “real man” (I am the least mechanical person on Earth, terrible. I am not a “real man” down here, and admit it, meekly), that very nice guy who took five minutes out of his day, on hot pavement, to help out a stranger, how do I square that guy, whom I found both so giving, and modest, also likely voted for Trump and would hate this column with frightening intensity? It would lead that person to likely hate me with the same intensity. I simply refuse to give in to the liberal call to lump every Trump voter together as identical in their views. I see why some do, but refuse to do so. I see too many good people helping my family and daughter to live a life with that outlook. For now, I can keep a divide, but the pull to tribalism is increasingly strong. Many of them would see me as the enemy.
Two Roads
Regardless, much of Florida is like where I live, and they face a choice of momentous importance. As far as I am concerned, the Republican apparatus, from judges, to party hacks, to the politicians themselves, realize they are a shrinking minority, and thus must do all they can to reduce the emphasis on democracy itself, making voting harder and harder, playing games with the Russians – as we see there was increasing cooperation withe the NRA, possibly the Saudis, even Israel, to influence our elections. Gerrymandering taken to extreme limits in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Mitch McConnell tossing aside all minority procedure that used to compel compromise in the Senate. The Republican party, as its members become increasingly small, increasingly extreme (calling for better wages is not socialism, folks), and increasingly emboldened as to testing the limits of constitutional norms, looks far more like the fascist governments now found in Russia (with commensurate graft and corruption), dedicated to protecting party over country, and disdainful of all the gains made in equality over the last sixty years. That is who they are, politically, not individually, and that is who DeSantis represents all too perfectly.
Meanwhile, from the little we know about Gillum, he seems like a normal person; one who wants a better economic environment for all in his state. That means respecting civil rights, demanding equality for women, demanding a living wage, demanding health care in the richest nation on Earth (all other countries worth mentioning do it nationally, why not us? We do for people over 65, why not all?). But, this pragmatic – and proven successful, see e.g. Roosevelt, Franklin, Kennedy, Johnson, Obama, progress for all, and pulling back on the exponential rise in inequality – this is now seen as radically “leftist” (that’s what we’re called now, with serious hatred, “leftists”). It is “socialist” – the idea that we should tax the companies making an absolute fortune, to better society, the idea that we damn well have the right to regulate, to prevent abuses, from economic to environmental, it is not an affront to freedom when done right. This is us, Gillum, and representative of a return to sanity, normalcy, a rejection of Trumpism’s pull to the extremes in authoritarianism.
And it has to happen in Florida, of course, scene of the original sin. Where a recount overseen by the Republican candidate’s brother was shut down by authoritarian rule, a Supreme Court hopelessly conflicted – one of the five votes cast on behalf of Bush by the Supreme Court, was cast by Scalia, a man whose son worked for the Bush legal team, and another, Thomas, his wife worked deep in the Republican apparatus. Democracy was declared to be the problem, the “harm” in the recount was the time it took to recount, as if possibly getting it certainly right was not worth the time. This is the reasoning of people willing to throw democracy overboard whenever sheer power will do. They did it because they could.
Authoritarianism Marches, nay Explodes.
That ethos has exploded since that time, the pull to authoritarianism. Voter I.D. suddenly became a “thing” all over the South, originally, and spread from there, the Tom Delay re-districting just years after a census, nothing but a blatant grab of six house seats, done in broad daylight. The SCOTUS overturns the Voting Rights Act, a mere six years after it was unanimously re-upped by Congress. (How about THAT for activist judges). Oh, and Citizen’s United, a case dreamed up at a Koch retreat with Scalia and Thomas present, a case where the Court requested the parties rebrief the questions raised, such that the Court could give the winner, Citizen’s United, more than what they asked for? The Court wanted to give corporations unfettered rights to donate to political campaigns, money as speech, corporations with first Amendment Rights, corporations with shareholders from around the world. Or, McConnell, blatantly stealing a SCOTUS seat in broad daylight, a crime that will only be remedied by a strong president and Democratic majorities in each house, adding two seats to the Supreme Court.
See?
But, What Now?
It is all at play in Florida – all of it. Will Florida kick the Trump ball further to the right, further to “Fuck it, we’ll do it because we can?” Will corporate money, Russian bots, weird and sudden “problems” arising in Broward County voting precincts, all rear its head, again? A Republican win by less than 1%, one that no sensible liberal will trust whatsoever. Is that where we’re going? I know if Gillum wins by one percent, it is almost self-proving that the weight of the vote overcame all the shenanigans we can simply “cost-in” right now.
Please, no matter where you live, get involved. You may think it won’t impact you, but I assure you, it will, down the road. The symbolism will ripple out like a tsunami. The first deep South black governor? Or, a man so like Trump that there’s no practical difference?
Phone bank from Alaska, via computer – it’s possible. Donate $20. Bernie showed us what the power of numbers can do, when enough people send $20, it offsets one hell of a lot of Kochian, Adelson and Mercer money. Write your local newspaper. Write a blog. Or, dare to speak of it out loud, to a group of mixed people, talk – it used to have real impact. Don’t hate, nothing ever ever ever good comes out of it, never, suppress it.
It matters. It is laid out for all to see. I dare say that 2020 will follow whatever we see happen in Florida. Florida is “us” all mixed in. Florida has everyone, from us poor whites, African Americans, to the powerful wealthy, and every ethnic group that makes the U.S. the world’s essential nation.
It is “us” and I propose “we” show our best. No matter where we live.
P.S. And I do believe we can do it while acting local, too.
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