Freedom Means Something When It Hits Our Own Lives Directly
You may have noticed yesterday that a new poll of likely Florida voters from University of North Florida has Trump ahead of Kamala by 7 and Rick Scott ahead of Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by 4— WHILE the abortion amendment is up a whopping 69-23% and the marijuana amendment is up 64-31%. [Constitutional amendments need 60% to be adopted and both of these measures are looking good.]
The poll makes me feel somewhat optimistic and I think those giant numbers for the two amendments so violently opposed by Republicans will impact the elections. It’s already hard to believe such a supremely nothing candidate like Mucarsel-Powell is so close to Rick Scott when she has nothing whatsoever to offer except the “D” next to her name… and the MAGA “R” next to his.
Former Orlando area congressman, Alan Grayson, currently the leading candidate for the open state Senate district that includes most of Osceola County, also feels optimistic about those results. “The primary reason why the abortion and marijuana constitutional amendments will help the general election campaign is that they help to restore the sense of the voters that they are in charge— that citizen participation is not an abstract concept, but a tool to improve their lives. The Democrats want people to work together, collectively through politics and government, to make the world a better place. The Republicans want people to shut up and do what Elon Musk tells them to do. The abortion and marijuana amendments help to break the spell that politics is just a poorly written reality TV show, and they demonstrate that collective measures are the only way that we have to solve the big problems in our lives— like the cost of college tuition, and how hard it is to see a good doctor, and how hot it is outside today. Even the most rugged of rugged individualists can’t change the weather by himself.”
Ben Braver is also running for the state Senate, across the state in suburbs and exurbs north and east of Tampa. He doesn’t have a primary opponent and he’s in a one-on-one match against MAGA Republican Danny Burgess, a hard core anti-choice fanatic. “Danny Burgess has a weird obsession with controlling our bodies,” Braver told us yesterday. “He wants to legislate what we ingest, how we think, and when we reproduce. When Burgess voted for the 6 week abortion ban, he started his speech off by saying that his faith teaches him to take away women's rights. He even said he'd rather lose his next election, by going against what Floridians have shown we want, than ever calming down on restricting women's autonomy. He's stuck in the 50's, he hasn't grown past McCarthy era social norms and is trying to inflict those on all of us. But Floridians don’t want an overbearing government, Floridians want Freedom. That’s why we’re voting for choice, that’s why we’re legalizing marijuana this November.”
Thomas Witkop is the Treasure Coast candidate running for the seat weird Republican Brian Mast is using as a springboard to get a job in a possible Trump administration. Looking at the enthusiasm for the abortion and marijuana amendments, both of which Mast loudly opposes, Witkop told us that “These issues will bring out folks who are disenfranchised and often don't come out to vote. They'll come out now to protect their freedoms— as Floridians we love our freedoms— and while they're at it, they’ll punch the ballot to elect candidates who support their personal liberties like me, DM-P, and the other fantastic local candidates we have. Also, Kamala's picking up huge support in Florida, having attracted more volunteers in Florida than all of the other swing states combined! Yes, she'll need to invest heavily in our state if she wants to win it, but it is in play!!
Please help Grayson, Braver and Witkop win their races, one on the east coast, one in the middle of the state and one on the west coast. Even a small contribution can make a real difference for these vetted progressives. How about $10 for each of them? Or $5. By the way, did anyone mention that Danny Burgess is weird, Trump or no Trump?
Hey, YOU wrote it. All I did was 'splain it.