comment: >
  
  Florida is showing what will soon be spreading across the nation. Democrats are in shambles and Republicans are running wild. Citizens United will run this country and the republicans have no problem spending dark money.
context: From the story,
  
  More than two months after enduring humbling midterm losses, Democrats in Florida are in a state of disorder, with no clear leader, infrastructure, or consensus for rebuilding, according to interviews with more than a dozen organizers, former lawmakers, donors and other leaders.
  These factors have compounded their worries about Democrats outside Florida all but writing off the nation’s third most populous state, which was once seen as a marquee battleground. Democrats have struggled there in recent elections, hitting a new low last fall when Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won a second term by nearly 20 points and carried majority-Hispanic Miami-Dade County, which a GOP gubernatorial nominee hadn’t done in 20 years. Republicans also secured a supermajority in the state legislature. >
  
  It mirrors an experience we feel in Texas. 2nd most populous and it feels increasingly hopeless to be competitive here even though Republicans are more brazenly corrupt. >
  
  Huge, highly concentrated in-state money plus oodles of out-of-state money destroy the confidence of the opposition's small donors. >
  
  Don’t forget the Gerrymandering. You don’t get a nice right wing stew without some ‘technically legal’ district manipulation in the mix. >
  
  That’s what’s happening in Ohio. It was once a “ swing” state. But Republicans have gerrymandered the hell out of the voting districts. >
  
  How would gerrymandering affect whether a state is a swing state? >
  
  gerrymander districts have the most extreme candidates, who can act without consequence. >
  
  Swing states refers to the presidential election. Gerrymandering has nothing to do with it. >
  
  Here’s an idea:
  1. Don’t nominate a washed out has-been republican as your party’s representative for the governor’s race. 
  2. Actually spend money on ads and mailers. >
  
  That's not the issue.  The issue is that one side is playing fair, and one is saturating the media, especially Spanish media, with blatant fucking lies.  And the dem's whole thing is that they are better than that.  But in a game with no rules, or at least one with rules not being enforced, the people with no morals will win. >
  
  Nope. I didn’t see a single ad on tv after the primaries in support of a democrat. And why the hell was a republican on the democrat ticket? You’re just completely wrong. >
  
  It will take me years to get over the fact that someone in the state leadership thought it was a good idea to throw support behind Crist for governor. >
  
  They really didn't like Nikki Fried - except that she was the only Democrat to win in 2018 (helped, of course, by a number of factors, but still) and could have really taught the party something. She still probably would have lost against DeSantis, but probably not as badly - and the Democrats might not have gotten murdered down ballot like they did.
  Instead, Crist lost by over 20 points. The US Senate race was a similar trouncing. Republicans have supermajorities in both the State House and State Senate. The Congressional map was a partisan disaster at the start but every potential tossup race was win by Republicans.
  The Florida Democratic Party appears to have died after the 2000 Presidential election and 2022 is a culmination of the last 20 years of continual failure. Crist was a spectacular failure on the party's part, even if you expected a DeSantis win from the start. >
  
  Still think Nikki Fried could have beat one of Rubio or DeSantis with adequate funding >
  
  Fried was polling equal to or worse than Crist against DeSantis. It didn't really matter who the Democrats ran, they were going to lose. The only difference is that Fried might have lost by a smaller margin.
  She couldn't beat Crist (and lost by nearly 30 points) - she wasn't going to beat DeSantis. >
  
  The problem is that many of the Dems that made Florida purple and turned the state to Obama are leaving. The message of telling Florida Dems to stay and live with the abusive ex doesn't work anymore. Those that leave for a better environment are being replaced by conservative caravans aka retirees and their grandkids. >
  
  It's also not helpful that the trash is taking itself out of the blue states and going to Florida for the "freedom" >
  
  The Villages is one of the fastest growing communities in the nation. It is a republican shithole where they write letters to the editor and complain that children are riding bicycles in the streets and that they moved to The Villages to get away from that craziness. I'm 100% serious. Jimmy Buffett is building yet another retirement community. 
  None of those retirees have any interest in education, the environment, or any future at all. They are at the end of the road and they intend on going out drunk, angry, and with as much money in their pockets as possible. 
  Florida has turned into a cesspool. >
  
  They might not care about the environment, but over the coming decades it's going to care about them. >
  
  That's the point.  They won't make 'the coming decades'.  Maybe just one of them, at a stretch. That' why they don't care. >
  
  Some of them are only in their sixties or seventies.  That's enough time to see a hurricane or two wipe away the retirement villages they built over drained swamps. Considering recent storms, decades is also probably optimistic. 
  They'll keep moving there, but some of them - and probably more than they think - are going to get fucked. >
  
  They don't think they'll live through it, is the point.  Whether they do or not is irrelevant. >
  
  Florida is Florida. De Santis is going to run that state into the ground. The whole no AA studies is just a sign of how racist and ridiculous this man is. Yet, he has massive support still smh >
  
  Florida: Not only where woke comes to die, it's where everything comes to die. >
  
  When moving to Mississippi is worth mild consideration... >
  
  I live in Mississippi currently. Born and raised in florida. I actually can't believe how bad florida is when i go visit. >
  
  Oh shit... dude, that's super disheartening. >
  
  I’m here to tell you, it’s still better than Mississippi. >
  
  Maybe. I probably live in one of the nicer parts of the state so that helps. 
  I'm also from Daytona Beach which has become horrid, so its probably comparing extremes. 
  But as a general rule, Mississippi is probably still worse >
  
  Yeah, Daytona is… special. :) I live in Jacksonville, so it’s not much better, but I do like the beaches. In many ways, this area, not to mention St John’s County (Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine) has gotten more conservative, while the downtown has gotten more liberal and younger. >
  
  Yeah, i technically grew up in Ormond Beach, but the entire NE of florida has swung HARD right in the last decade or so (coincidentally the time ive lived in MS).
  I'm sure theres no relation between the states politics and the shit hole its become though.... >
  
  Democrats don't have strong leadership on the ground in Florida. If the national party hasn't sent someone down there to work on the ground game with the grass-roots organizers, then they're doing Florida a disservice. >
  
  National Dems have abandoned Florida.
  In 2018 they spent $38m here. In 2023, it's wasn't even $2m.
  FL Dems are on our own (mainly reasons of our own making) >
  
  Sorry but it’s honestly wasted resources at this point that could be better spent in NC, GA, AZ, and Nevada. Florida isn’t much of a swing state anymore and dems don’t need it to win 270 >
  
  Even Republicans know that's stupid math. They still try at least somewhat in Dem-leaning counties and states. It's such a stupid calculus to say, nah we're not even gonna bother because we can't organize properly. A few years ago the Dems would've thought the same thing about GA, but then you had people who actually know how to organize and mobilize involved and all of a sudden GA is a swing state electing Biden and two Democrats to the senate. >
  
  Georgia became a swing state in part because demographics were shifting in Democrats’ favor. Is that happening in Florida? >
  
  Georgia became a swing state because of a 25 year plan that grassroots organizations worked hard for. I think "demographics are shifting" is a pretty easy cop out for groups that don't want to do the work. See: groups swearing by "Texas will turn blue" but don't do any work to make that happen, just assume that it will eventually happen because of the demographics. >
  
  It’s true that you can’t have successful elections without grassroots organizing. But you also can’t have successful grassroots organizing if the demographics aren’t there. Both are needed. Nowhere have I said that demographics alone are to blame for Democratic wins. Obviously the organizing has to happen in order to take advantage of those demographic changes. >
  
  Ohio Democrats say..... Welcome to the pointless party, pal! >
  
  I work in FL Dem politics as a media consultant. Most of the time it feels like we're pissing in the wind. >
  
  Stop. Nominating. Relics. Of. The. Past. >
  
  Run Charlie Crist again because that’s worked so well the past 10 times >
  
  Florida will be increasingly under water going forward. The Republicans can have it. >
  
  Giving up on Florida makes a Democratic presidential win much more difficult. >
  
  Ah but many of the reds in Florida come from other states, meaning those places get a little more blue. Granted the effect is diminished because of the concentrating effect. But as soon as Florida becomes reliably red, then the red drain from other states can't give it any more Republican political power, though it continues to sap it from elsewhere. >
  
  Most new Floridians are from NY, NJ, and CT. States that can't get any bluer than they already are. >
  
  True but NY and CA have large populations. Smaller states would be far more affected. I don't have any numbers here so I'm done at this point. But I did recently look up the population of Wyoming because my (Republican) in-laws were talking about the electoral college. Turns out Wyoming has fewer people in it than the county they live in in Georgia. >
  
  Florida is going red. Climate change will gobble up its cities, leaving a small redneck enclave of creepy vans and a meth based economy. >
  
  They will just blame "the gays" for climate change. It'll drive 'em harder to the right. >
  
  Back when The Gays lived in fear, the climate was cool.  /s >
  
  Someone's predicting the future all too well, here... >
  
  This is when you go grassroots, it's going to take patience but the boomers will die the younger generations already see the destruction of the GOP.  Younger people can't raise a family in Florida it's to expensive, the schools are for shit and the job market sucks. >
  
  What's the point of trying to be patient winning a state that will be mostly obliterated in our lifetimes? >
  
  With the cost of housing and rent skyrocketing the affordable north and central Florida areas will no longer be attracting the retirees from the north states. With a constant need for replacements for the elderly de santis is having to really try to push out democrats and draw in republicans with his fascism. With a grass roots Democratic movement the state could easily go purple with the regular churn of the demographics here. A strong populist progressive movement instead of a Dino like Charlie Christ would be a good start. >
  
  Southwest Florida rent on a 1 bedroom apartment is over 2000.00. Most jobs pay less then 15 an hour and require first, last and a deposit. People are moving out because they cannot afford Florida anymore. My neighbor just sold her house, she is a snow bird, for 4 times what she paid. We also just found out it is going to be an air b&b. >
  
  I'm over on the southeast side, Palm Beach County; it's the same story over here on the rentals. I lived out of state for 20 years and moved back just before the pandemic to care for aging parents and now I'm stuck, can't afford to move back out >
  
  No plan probably explains their failure in that case. >
  
  organize, organize, organize >
  
  Today in blaming democrats for the republicans destroying democracy... >
  
  No, the FL Dems really are a disaster >
  
  Yes. The FDP has been clueless, they can be blamed for party failures >
  
  And has been for decades now. How the hell do you have Rick Scott be the CEO of the company that committed the largest convicted medicare fraud in history and not drive him into the ground with that in his FIRST gubernatorial campaign? >
  
  Mother nature has a plan. The gop is too dumb to stop it. Problem will solve itself. >
  
  Riddle me this: what do Florida Democrats promise to do that will make life better for Random Joe and Jane, the sixty year old couple with family out of state?
  Joe and Jane are retired and no longer have kids in the home, are pretty religious but not fanatical about it, passively support equal rights but don't consider them a major issue, are uncomfortable around transgenders but would rather ignore the issue entirely, and are comfortable enough financially.
  This is the type of conservative that could be won over by appealing to important day-to-day issues, but the Democratic party doesn't really have much in the platform for them. >
  
  Why bother, let Florida crash and burn, then pick up the pieces after. 
  As a former and long term Florida resident, democrats are wasting their time. Way to many old people who blame everything on Biden, gays or democrats. I was there during hurricane Ian, my mom lives in a 55 plus park. All of them emerged after the storm blaming Biden because the power was off. Mad they could not buy lottery tickets. >
  
  People still fighting with insurance companies after Ian. DeSantis in the insurance companies pockets also Florida Pier & Light gave him kickbacks. Floridians complain about all of it but too stupid to realize DeSantis had a hand in all of it. Republicans have run out state over 20 years and still a mess. I’m not even touching on the environmental disasters and now we’ve got these stupid culture wars that these idiots eat up. It’s like the people are getting dumber here. We are sliding back in education and other stats. Pretty soon Mississippi will overtake us in every metric that counts! >
  
  It was not that long ago Florida was pretty much a Democratic state. It can be again. It will require a lot of work, some quality candidates at all election levels, and a herculean effort to get out the vote - particularly the younger voters. But it can be done. It won't be easy but it can be done. >
  
  Seems Democrats didn’t have a alternative candidate to Bill Nelson >
  
  Florida is a lost cause considering all the old folks are moving there in mass.  Frankly Dems shouldn't put much money into it, let it burn from within.  Focus on flipping Texas, at least that state is getting more blue. >
  
  We’re trying to be more blue, but we still have idiots running the statewide dem party and poor candidate selection. Doesn’t help the GQP here in Texas has made congressional districts absolutely diluted save for a few areas. >
  
  The issue here is that alot of republicans migrated to Texas and Florida because of the pandemic. In doing so, they destroyed the democrats chances in those states, but opened the doors for democrats in other states because they left. I hope democrats in those states can escape up north, but in my opinion it will take a very long time for democrats to be competitive in Florida and Texas. >
  
  What a pathetic excuse for a political party, where are the dems who want to fight for the left in Florida? This past election didn’t see a single ad for the dems but I definitely saw 1000 for the right. They don’t even try in FL and that’s why they faceplant every time. It’s like “please believe in us because we don’t even believe in ourselves” andrew gillum was a sorry excuse for a candidate also, the left in Florida needs a TOTAL overhaul and reconditioning on what it means to run for office >
  
  They had 20 years to see this coming. Get your shit together. Get some advice on organizing from Stacy Abrams. Just do something, anything. >
  
  Republicans did take Stacy Abrams advice and that’s why Rs won most of Florida’s most urban counties.
  Dems should be concerned about Rs in other states modeling this success. >
  
  The Florida Democratic party is controlled opposition at best now 
  source: Am floridian >
  
  I’ve given up on Florida. Such a lost cause. >
  
  On the national level I do think it's time for Dems to start charting a path to the White House that doesn't involve Florida. It's not really purple anymore, it's deep red.
  Having said that I think it's because of the Republicans leaving the blue and purple states to move there since COVID, so they can always pick up the states that are turning more increasingly blue and purple thanks to the Republicans leaving.
  As for the state level Dems, it's looking grim. Florida was once considered a swing state, in recent years though the Dems really don't have a chance. Similar to the rmajority of the southern states. >
  
  It doesn’t help when the governor vetoes a district map drawn by the state legislature to erase blue districts. Like, he knows he can’t do that but he also knew he just had to deliberately drag out the lawsuits until after the election. The fact that he got away with that still makes no sense >
  
  
  he knows he can’t do that
  
  He knew that he'd get away with it. >
  
  The plan is always the same for Democrats, come in once Republicans have starved Governance into a economic coma and try and fix shit. Republicans demonize fixing shit, and complaining about how expensive it is to fix the stuff they broke, get re-elected, rinse, lather, repeat. >
  
  You have defined why the number of NPA's are growing. >
  
  They got Wassermanned. >
  
  Do something for god sake these people are literally taking over right in front of you and all you do is dither. >
  
  Sounds like they are going the way of the Alabama Democratic Party. No plan no outreach and get fucked every election. Here’s an idea how about getting non voters engaged instead of fickle suburbanites. It’ll never happen though. They care more about donations that winning. >
  
  Is pulling out of Florida entirely a reasonable option? Like let republicans run the place for 4 years straight unbridled with no opposition. Would the people still support republicans if it became SO OBSCENELY obvious they are detrimental to normal folk? >
  
  Republicans have ruled Tallahassee uninterrupted for nearly 3 decades Florida is getting what it votes for >
  
  
  The beating will continue until moral improves >
  
  They’ve reached the “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore” stage >
  
  Just give it 20 years.  Tons of change as boomers move on to the next great universe to fuck up.
  For now, however, focus on the initiative process.  If dems can't take control of the legislature within, they certainly can play a huge role in Florida's state initiative process, and get the legislature they want passed from the outside. >
  
  There is multiple issues happening at the same time. It will be hard to tackle all of the underlying causes of this shift. Conservative migration to the state, apathetic voters, larger Hispanic shift to conservative ideologies, voter roll purges, conservative courts, misinformation, etc. Thinking its going to change anytime soon is naïve and a waste of resources. >
  
  Ok, so what's your plan? >
  
  Abandon Florida and Focus on shoring up GA and PA >
  
  I'd like to think things will change (somewhat) when the boomers "age out".  I don't think the pendulum will swing to the other side, but I think it will be less disparate.  I have to think Dade going full GOP is more about money/wralth and less about demographics like culture or race. >
  
  They sound like Democrats alright.
  Republicans are often so heinous it seems like it should be no big thing to counter them with concerted, organized effort, and yet Democrats seem not just incapable but almost uninterested in even trying. >
  
  DNC is doing nothing to help local or statewide wide elections.  I hate the DNC. >
  
  This is the simple fact that Democrats suck at working from the ground level to build up those states. I hate the GOP but one thing they did right was target very local races and put in a ground team in even deep blue areas. Right now for example Texas Democrats have issues with the national party as they come to Texas and just drain it for money and then abandon it. 
  The national party needs to speed years rebuilding and lots of long term effort to rebuild. It has to accept multiple losses as it will take a while to regrow. >
  
  When the best you have a gubernatorial candidate is Charlie Crist, I don’t know what you expect. He sucked when he was a Republican, sucked when he ran as an independent and sucks as a democrat. >
  
  Florida is doomed because of the huge number of rich white boomers moving there to die. 
  Look at The Villages, they vote over 80% Trump. That's the demographic of rich white boomers, and over a million have flocked to Florida. 
  Running Crist is a huge mistake. The loss of Cuban support is a problem. But overwhelmingly the demographics are just shit. 
  I see a lot of people compare Florida to Texas. They couldn't be more different. Texas is filling with young educated people and rapidly turning blue. Republicans there have lost 80% of their state wide vote margin in the last two decades. If Democrats don't run a washed up has-been like Beto they have a real chance of winning Texas. >
  
  It's also been gerrymandered into oblivion. >
  
  The only people doing worse than FL Dems are California Republicans. The plain fact is that demographics aren't destiny and Democrats win or loose based on their economic message. Democrats' economic message to Florida is muddled around climate insecurity and fear concerning the "inevitable" wave of new migrants that will flood in, which locals don't want. Democrats are nice to Cuba when most of Florida's hispanics are the spawn of Cuban exiles. Democrats' core strengths, namely the gigantic NASA facility and it's associated science spending, are not well utilized by candidates who focus on racial awareness instead. Meanwhile, Republicans are pursing some progressive objectives - taking away Disney's private government, planning new nuclear power plants and approving America's only private passenger rail route. Democrat policies concerning those are unclear.
  And again using the other coast for contrast: Republicans have all these problems worse in CA where they are almost entirely irrelevant due to a very financially conservative, although still Democrat, Governor. Newsom is DeSantis's rival not because he's a good progressive but because he is equally ruthless and pragmatic. >
  
  Just here to say, I refuse to give you my email to read your story. >
  
  So……. Make a plan? >
  
  The demographic will change drastically over the next 15- 20 years when all the Boomers start dying. Florida is also going to be hit hard by rising sea levels and climate change. Maybe it's best to just leave it alone for now. >
  
  Interesting point. In Michigan, a lot of boomers retire to Florida and other sunbelt states. Now, Michigan is a deep blue state with legal cannabis and several other progressive amendments, but surrounded by red states. I can only assume they lost enough people over the past 20 years that the demographics changed enough to move the needle. >
  
  The connection with these two states astounds me.
  I say this as a Florida man with a Michigan girlfriend >
  
  Who cares? In 25 years Florida will be under a foot and a half of seawater.
  Florida is where stupid goes to gather. It'll always be Republican. Best bet would be to fence it off now, before the water rises. >
  
  Hadn't considered that. Need to get the wall built asap. >
  
  Just need to send Bugs Bunny down there with his saw >
  
  So, did the Florida democratic party establishment come from New York? Maybe they all went to ball dropping school together. >
  
  Eventually people will tire of Desantis and realize he’s just pushing a culture based agenda and not actually helping anyone in the state l. I hope lol >
  
  The state is full of Trump 2020, Trump Won, Trump DeSantis 2024, etc flags and supporters everywhere you go. >
  
  I haven't seen a Trump flag since 2020. It's very regional. >
  
  Here in Texas (and probably everywhere) it's a very sharp urban/rural divide. In Austin near election time a handful of houses had Beto signs in the yard and there were a decent number of cars with Beto bumper stickers with occasional Trump ones (likely from people outside the city) and almost all the signs were gone right after the election. 
  I drove through a rural area to go to Houston months after the election and it may as well have been a different world. Seemed like every single house and almost every car had a "TRUMP 2020/TRUMP 2024/THANK YOU GOVERNOR ABBOTT FOR SCHOOL CHOICE" sticker, sign, or billboard. Idk if it's lack of things to do, but they're infinitely more engaged than people in cities are. >
  
  Lack of things to do, fearmongering propaganda, and limited perspective. It's the same shit in Florida. I know people in their 30s who have never left the state and maintain they could never live anywhere else. >
  
  If the Democrats had that big of a lead in Florida, Republicans would be increasing crime as much as possible to blame the current administration, but you can see why Democrats aren't using that tactic. >
  
  What does the leadership care? Sure, it'd be nice if there was a "D" next to their name, but as long as it's the rich donors in charge, they're happy. >
  
  So current dem strategy is to write off Florida to global warming? That doesn't make much sense and is incredibly defeatist. >
  
  Classic “we’ve done nothing and we’re all out of ideas!” >
  
  Paywall >
  
  Just leave, El Niño is about to turn these one in 100k year unprecedented weather events into a living nightmare for a few years. Come back to rebuild. >
  
  Run on sanity! >
  
  Sounds like SC Dems with higher stakes. >
  
  I feel the same way here in Arkansas. >
  
  Reminds me of what happened with California’s Republican party. >
  
  I will never understand why the democrats decided to just sacrifice so many states. >
  
  Left that shithole of a State >
  
  At some point I just stopped contemplating Florida as a purple state. It’s been ruby red for some time and with the things the electorate is alright with in the state (see the “anti-woke act” among other things), I don’t really see that state pulling to the left for a while.
  Georgia is the new “Florida” it would seem. A battleground state that Dems shown momentum in. >
  
  For fucks sake, go on tv and yell at republicans. So many issues. About real problems. Approach republicans the way they would if they believed lies someone was telling about you. We are all mad. Yell at the real enemy and folks will hear you. But don’t whine >
  
  This has happened to both parties several times during my lifetime.   Whenever a party wins a big election the other side freaks out like this . >
  
  Stop running conservatives maybe >
  
  It was game over when they ran Crist for governor >
  
  Stop running the same people. Beto and Crist need to move aside. >
  
  The current national democratic platform just does not work in southern Florida for the large subset of voters that vehemently reject anything that sounds like "Socialism" or "Communism".  Florida democrats don't know what to do to gain support of these voters. >
  
  Despair? Get to work on changing things! It’s starts by making sure people can navigate the rules of voting. >
  
  Buggs Bunny had the right idea, saw that state right off and shove it out to sea. >
  
  As a Democrat I feel like "there is no plan" is just how we roll. >
  
  That has not been the case over the past four years or so.. Dems have been disciplined, productive, and unified. >
  
  On the national level, maybe. Not at the local level where this counts. Where is the equivalent of "Mom's for Liberty" that's taking over school board elections right now? Dems are behind the eight ball and playing catch up at the local and state  level. They were hoping they could coast and hope that demographics would do all the work for them, but the Republicans got busy. Dems need to do this, too.  Hopefully Dobbs will light a fire under some butts. >
  
  Let the Republicans have it. Let them suffer. Let them stew in the shit that piles up to their eyeballs due to unrestrained GOP corruption. For the good people of Florida reading this, i.e. not Republicans, get out ASAP. Don't let your kids start their lives in FL. Even if the GOP somehow doesn't destroy the state, climate change will. >
  
  Democrats are failing from the national level. There is no leadership, no plan for cohesiveness. States are left on their own. They need to get their sh*t together. >
  
  Give up on Florida and focus on states we can actually win, Georgia, Arizona, and North Carolina. >
  
  I mean, isn't it sorta of the same with Republicans in California? This country needs a peaceful national divorce. Dems and Cons don't want to agree with each other. Even when they are agreeing on something, they won't accept it. It's strange to see play out in real life. People just blow up and want the other side to just agree with them blindly. >
  
  This is something different. Voters in CA just don't like the GOP, it's not for a lack of organization that they're ineffective. FL Dems are a shit show. >
  
  I'm not sure that might be a subjective idea. You can't generalize a group of people for convenience. >
  
  I'm talking about the people that run the Florida Democrats, and this is well documented how unorganized they are. >
  
  They need to become pro gun, less perceived taxes and more ambiguous on being pro choice. Once back in power then start becoming more progressive again. >
  
  How hard is it to campaign against an authoritarian who seems to be trying to offend every person under 40 in the state? In a state where cost of living is high and becoming a disaster?
  Florida is not a well run state. >
  
  DNC should be putting everything they’ve got into PA GA AZ NM NC and TX. >
  
  Notice to anybody living in Florida: leave now >
  
  Given the obvious legal and ethical shit show DeSantis is running if the Florida Dems can’t make gains they deserve their fate. >
  
  I mean it's not like a third party is going to do anything, so something's gotta be done to revive the Dem apparatus. >
  
  Or, the DNC could wait and see if they get their shit together on their own and spend money on better organizations in the meantime. 
  That attitude seemed to deliver benefit in the midterms, so it’s tough to argue it was a bad choice. >
  
  They won't deliver on their own, and the DNC has been skating off of local organizing that's been done in AZ/GA/WI >
  
  imo FL Dems need outside support, part of what gave Darthsantis his win here was out-of-state PACs dropped most of his massive $72M warchest on him: something like $12M was raised in state but another $60M was donated from outside, I think Crist only raised $14M total, something like $3M from out-of-state and $11M local donations. Local Dem officials no doubt need to get their shit in order but it won't be possible without support from a national level. >
  
  Absolutely right, but the problem is national money flows into campaigns like Deming who had an enormous war chest, to the neglect of state level races where that money is 1000x more effective. >
  
  DNC and all the other acronyms need new leadership from the top down. 
  We can fight, or we can roll over, and I hope to Alien Jesus it’s the former. >
  
  DNC has new leadership. Jaime Harrison was elected to the chair in 2021. He's 46. >
  
  Harrison is part of the problem. How much money was wasted on his race against Graham, and then you go and put him in charge of the whole operation. Florida is not a lost cause. We aren’t Mississippi. We just need direction from the top down. >
  
  They might have better luck in another state >
  
  Sometimes you just have to amputate… >
  
  Bugs Bunny had the right idea over half a century ago. >
  
  Start educating their citizens to not vote for human traffickers. >
  
  Yup…You are f’d because you didn’t do shit. >
  
  Florida is a done deal. Better chance of flipping Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Or even Texas than Florida. It’s a bad use of campaign assets to spend them in Florida chasing the unattainable >
  
  Florida is lost. We'd be better off trying to flip Texas over FL. Best to focus on pushing Georgia further blue, maintaining AZ, and trying to flip North Carolina and some other states to offset the declining populations in the Midwest and NE. >
  
  Its so sad. Do they not even want to try? their just going to leave the decent people to suffer  under the reign of a tyrant. Desantis has plans to turn the right of the USA into Florida for sure. You let him fester here and he will go over the state line. >
  
  What Democrats really need to start doing is rethinking how federal government becomes involved.  This will then carry over electorally.  What I mean is that first.  The federal government is spending a lot of money on states with natural disasters.  That is something that is tragic and its understandable to want to help.  But the issue I have with this is that money being spent in my state of Minnesota which I pay taxes on a federal level I don't get that money back really.  What ends up happening is that my money is paying for people in Florida/Texas/Alabama/Mississippi and a lesser extent South Carolina/North Carolina and the eastern seaboards to help with defraying costs of natural disasters.  That money is something those states and residents do not have to worry about.  But then here in Minnesota we have temps that get to -10 F in the winter and we have to plow our roads, we have to heat our homes and we have to deal with inclement weather but we get no reimbursement for it reallly.
  The point I am making is why do democrats constantly bend over backwards to help those states when a natural disaster happens.  To me it is no different then cold weather etc that happens up here in the north.  We really need to rethink how these things work and instead REFUSE to offer assistance to those states.  They need to pay for those things themselves.  This will force them to understand Tax dollars need to be raised.  And will make them less competitive for business to want to move to those states.  Because it raises business cost and will force companies to reevaluate where they go.  
  The point I am making is that we need to be pragmatic in the approach of how much assistance really should be offered and instead force those states to actually pay for themselves.  And this will hopefully change the outlook they have on how government works.  IE Daddy is no longer going to bail your ass out and you need to plan ahead.  
  The reason I am presenting it in this way is that in order for Democrats in Florida to actually get elected there needs to be an environment that they can take advantage of actually wanting a functioning government.  And in this case it is hard for Desantis to shit on Democrats when he himself is going to have to figure out how to get several billion dollars to fix the natural disaster that happens and the federal dad is no longer going to help bail you out.   And my argument is this.  If we here in Minnesota or Wisconsin and Michigan can plan to deal with shitty winters.  Why can't they plan to deal with shitty falls?  And why are we constantly bailing there asses out. >
  
  Don't forget earthquakes and fires in California.
  Fires in Oregon, Washington, Idaho
  Mississippi River flooding over the years up and down the whole river. Including minnisota. 
  Yes, you are correct for hurricanes.  And yes there are some states that really don't have natural disasters.  
  But I think you are off in making it a red vs blue thing. >
  
  Yeah I am aware of those and thought about those.  The point I am making is that there are predictable natural disasters.  IE we know hurricanes happen in Florida with a certainty as well as Texas.  We know flooding happens in the midwest.  Those are predictable natural disasters.  Something that we can account for and plan for.  Just like Earthquakes in California.  The point is that the states need to be responsible for themselves on these disasters and plan for it with budgets.  And the rest of the country shoulnd't bail them out.  And yes this includes Minnesota.  But the point I am making is that by creating a federal system that assists these states it allows them to offload  certain amount of burden onto everyone else.  And everyone else is not treated at all equally either.