There are many state parties that routinely display their incompetence and unserious attitude toward governance — who show exactly why voters have relegated them to a floundering minority. The Florida Democratic Party, a party that has underperformed in an evenly divided state for the last two decades, is striving right now to make itself the face of that group.
Florida Republicans proposed and have since passed a bill that would bar schools from teaching very young children, from kindergarten through the third grade, about sexual orientation. It requires schools to notify parents about their child’s mental, emotional, or physical health. The bill is fairly straightforward: Parents deserve to know about changes in the mental health of their children and deserve to handle discussions about sensitive matters, such as sexual orientation and “gender identity,” without schools foisting such things upon 7-year-olds, as they have been known to do elsewhere.
This comes after two separate Florida families have sued their school districts for attempting to orchestrate gender transitions for their young daughters. One of the families was only told about this after their daughter’s second attempt to commit suicide on school grounds.
Florida Democrats are pathologically incapable of taking the needs of families and children implied by this reality seriously.
In the absence of any decent arguments against this bill, they went to the propaganda handbook, labeling it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Legacy media, always eager to carry water for Democrats and seldom fastidious enough to check the facts, dutifully picked it up. Absent any arguments about the merits or drawbacks of this bill, Florida Democrats have instead opted to dance around the state Capitol chanting “gay, gay, gay” to beat up on the straw man they created.
We’ve got one thing to say to our GOP colleagues — GAY! pic.twitter.com/AiXzW0chUq
— Florida Senate Democrats (@FLSenateDems) March 7, 2022
That embarrassing scene perfectly encapsulates what the Florida Democratic Party has become in recent years. The party collapsed in competitive 2018 races, even though it was a Democratic wave election everywhere else. This time around, the Democratic Governors Association has written off the state’s governor’s race, giving Ron DeSantis a pass. The only statewide elected Democrat is Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried, a conspiracy theorist who will not be in office much longer. She is trailing in the Democratic primary for governor against a former Republican governor, Charlie Crist.
The Florida Democratic Party is unserious. It is being treated as such by voters. DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio are cruising to reelection. Florida has shifted from an ostensible swing state to the national Democratic Party’s boogeyman. Florida Democrats, who as late as 1995 had a lock on the state, have become nothing more than a sideshow, and they appear to be just fine with that.
