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An Open Letter to the Leadership of the FDP (Florida Democratic Party) [1]
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Date: 2022-11-18
Florida's Democratic Party
As a lifelong Democrat, I am extremely grateful to the rest of the nation for making sure we held on to the U.S. Senate and gave the U.S. House a very slim margin; however, the terrible showing by the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) in the 2022 election has spurred me to write this letter. I have no faith in the FDP leadership. Florida is now a deep red state. Even Miami-Dade County, one of the few blue patches in a sea of red, has turned toward the GOP.
The problems in the Florida Democratic Party are obvious to everyone -- except party leadership. The Daily KOS put it this way: “"Blowing it Again” is one way to put it. I think that's generous. The leadership has been half-assed for years, but especially in this cycle.”
Florida has given Ron DeSantis a launching pad for his 2024 Presidential Campaign. Furthermore, the Florida GOP also gained a super majority in both the State Senate and House. Republicans now boast unfettered command over the legislative process, spelling a smooth two years for the GOP’s Christian Nationalism agenda.
Other concerns include:
1. There was virtually no counter to misinformation being fed to Hispanics (and others) by the Florida GOP. Did we set up any Spanish language podcasts? This is not that expensive and something the GOP loves to do. What was the FDP doing to address the concerns of Hispanics regarding “socialism”? Wouldn’t it have been better to talk about “uplifting the needs of workers in a free society” with an emphasis on promoting social welfare, labor unions and civil rights?
2. The communication with Hispanics, GenZ, African Americans and other groups didn’t make it clear that we actually wanted their vote. How much knocking on doors was done? In-person contact with Hispanics (and others) was essential. I know the complaint was always about money but the money we did have was not spent on community actions. Because of the awful results in Florida, if you think we didn't get enough money in 2022, wait until you see how much less money we get in 2024.
3. The coordination among various groups (DECs and other Clubs) was poor. There was no top-down strategy or messaging and some DECs seem to prefer to play politics over getting out the vote. In Sumter County, those “games” led to a serious reduction in volunteers.
4. The FDP has generally depended on people outside its borders (Bloomberg and others) to come and help organize, where Republicans have noted the importance of organizing from within a community. If we don't get our act together soon, we may as well write off any national funding for 2024.
5. The messaging was very poor. For example:
Why did the Democrats allow the messaging about crime to go unchallenged given that the violent crime rate in FL (384 per 100,000) is higher than NY (364 per 100,000). See this article in the Daily Beast: Florida’s Governor is the last person who should be ranting about crime. Ron DeSantis portrays himself as the law-and-order governor. Just don’t tell the people who got shot in his capital city on Saturday night.
The past two years have seen a significant increase in extremist related incidents in the state of Florida. See: Hate in the Sunshine State: Extremism & Antisemitism in Florida, 2020-2022. These incidents have been driven by widespread disinformation and conspiracy theories which have animated extremists and fueled antisemitism. Why did the FDP seem to ignore this law-and-order issue?
Why did the Democrats let DeSantis’s non-scientific approach to the COVID crisis go unchallenged? The result: Florida leads nation in COVID deaths for third month in a row.
DeSantis styles himself as the Patron Saint of Freedom but freedom for whom? For white Christian males and no one else?
I could go on, there are many more examples. These are just a few.
6. There was very little discussion of kitchen table issues. Instead, the focus seemed almost entirely on abortion. While this was a key issue, it wasn’t the only one. Voters are typically not single-issue voters. And, when there was discussion, it was not done in an effective manner. Democrats say they have an economic record to be proud of, but poll after poll showed it just didn’t resonate with Florida voters. The cause could be the FDP’s “throw-it-all-up-against-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks” messaging which has been on full display for months now. Poll after poll had shown that inflation and the economy were among the top issues on voters' minds. When voters tell you over and over and over again that they care mostly about the economy — the party needs to listen to them.
7. The messaging by the GOP was simple and played to people’s emotions. The messaging by the Democrats was complex and played to people’s intellect.
8. Turnout in many counties was pathetic. For example, in Palm Beach County, despite their being more registered Democrats (422,554) than Republicans (305,464), the GOP voted in greater numbers:
Ron DeSantis (278,430) vs Charlie Crist (262,594)
Marco Rubio (267,691) vs Val Demings (269,776)
9. The leadership of the Democratic Party has responsibility for recruiting good candidates but I saw little activity here. Many elected positions were uncontested.
10. Staffing needs to be at the local level, but the FDP did not even get staff in every county. Also, we need to stop allowing untrained DECs to create their own individual campaigns. This only contributes to the poor messaging and further weakens the essential ground efforts. Without coordination and leadership from the FDP we are unable to sustain any consistent campaign messaging. The FDP should look to Representative-elect Maxwell Frost for a lesson in successful Democratic retail politics.
The 2022 Florida Democratic underperformance is a testament to years of prioritizing calcified machine politics and favoring them over performance, strategy, and organizing. To win from here, the current leadership of the Florida Democratic Party must go and we must recenter the party to better value community leadership and small-d democracy. It isn't a funny joke any more when we talk about how disorganized Florida Democrats are.
Democracy is a participatory sport, not one for bystanders. The Florida Democratic Party seems to have lost sight of that standard. See: What Happened to Democrats in Florida.
The FDP requested feedback regarding their leadership, and I am requesting a reply to the issues addressed in this response
[END]
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/18/2137079/-An-Open-Letter-to-the-Leadership-of-the-FDP-Florida-Democratic-Party
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