The state of our state continues to decline due to Republican negligence. Day after day, in city after city, horrific news about the toll COVID-19 is taking on Florida continues to spill out. Thousands of children have either tested positive or are in quarantine due to potential exposure. Hospital systems in Tampa Bay and Orlando are under such strain that the cities are running out of liquid oxygen to treat their water systems. And every day, the death toll, hospitalization numbers, and case counts from COVID-19 continue to climb. We have now lost nearly 44,000 of our friends and neighbors to this vicious disease.
It does not have to be this way. Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio, and other Republican leaders in Florida are incapable of rising to this challenge. They appear to be hell-bent on ignoring the problem and making things worse just to score cheap political points. Senator Rubio has consistently voted against essential COVID relief legislation that will deliver funding to speed up vaccinations and provide PPE to frontline workers. Meanwhile, our Governor prefers to spend time outside of Florida rubbing elbows with his wealthy friends rather than do his job–he’s more focused on his 2024 ambitions than he is on the very real, critical problems of today.
Though our leaders at the state level are failing us, many brave local officials stood up in defense of science and safety by enacting masking protocols for students in the worst-affected areas. Their position was recently affirmed by a Circuit Court here in Florida that overruled the Governor’s blanket ban on school masking, further vindicating that student safety should come before petty political considerations. The FDP is proud to join President Biden, educators and school administrators who made the responsible choice, even while under professional threat from Governor DeSantis and his administration.
Democrats are committed to ending this madness. We have dozens of staff and an army of volunteers across Florida already engaging with voters and registering new Democrats to set ourselves up for victory next year. Our organization continues to grow–and I want to personally say thank you to you for supporting our work and being part of our team at this most critical time.
On to victory,
Manny Diaz
Chair, Florida Democratic Party
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Image Credits: Where's Waldo/ Walker Books
