The election, now just two and a half weeks away!
And let me tell you -- I've seen the ballot and it's a doozy. (I don't have secret access or anything, it's just that they send you a sample ballot through the snail mail down here going into the event.) In addition to the statewide races for governor and senator, there's also a host of tricky amendments plus the perennial local items where the government is trying to get more of your money. Over the next three weeks, I'll address each of those separate categories in turn.
First up -- I wholeheartedly endorse Andrew GILLUM to be the next governor of the 3rd biggest state in our nation ... and I begrudgingly endorse Bill NELSON to retain his seat as one of our two Senators.
Full disclosure, before our state's primaries, I said this: "For Democratic governor: I (reluctantly) endorse Gwen Graham, as the best of a lackluster group of candidates (and even though my heart says to vote for Mayor Gillum, my mind says the millions of redneck Floridians in 2018 aren't ready for him)." My heart continues to be drawn to Gillum's inspirational messages and his strong oratory skills, and every additional exposure to him and his message prove him to be calm and collected, concerned and compassionate, and mindful and measured. That being said, I'm still hoping against hope that a majority of Floridians will prove me wrong at the polls -- because what I've learned since moving here in 2014 is that the state has got a bit of an MPD problem (or, since MPD went out of vogue back when I was little once the movies and the soap operas cast a negative light on it, a bit of a Dissociative Identity Disorder problem). What I mean by that is one never exactly knows which "alter" will be in charge ... or which ones might team up to silence all the others ... and ALL of them live here: the ones from the Redneck Riviera, the drunken college folk, the rich Venezuelans in exile who took over what used to be known as Miami, the gays and those who love them, the Haitians in exile that Trump is trying to send home, the Jewish and the Gentile blue hair seniors, the retired criminals, the criminals in training, the criminals who haven't realized they're going to grow up to be criminals yet, etc., etc.
And let's face it -- DeSantis was never anything but a Trump-polyp (i.e. someone whose head is so far up the pervert-in-chief's ass that he might as well attach himself to the lining of Trump's intestine), and he hasn't established himself as something else after his surprising win in the primaries. Then along came the nationally televised debate this weekend, where he demonstrated that he might want to schedule any future head-to-heads on the radio. I've seen those tiny pupils and that grinding jaw action before and I don't know if he double-dipped into his kids' adderall supply or if he had more advanced stimulants, but he sure did look hopped up. And speaking of things he may have in common with W, the younger Bush, Ronnie has a creepy smirk similar to George's chortle that pops up at inappropriate times. I know that the debate evening was supposedly the first time that those two met face to face, but the DeSmarmy ... I mean the DeSquirrelly ... I mean the DeSantis discomfort level seemed like it was the first time he was ever that close to *any* person of color.
I'm a touch less passionate about the Senate race. Lookit -- I'm a fan of term limits ... and I applaud seniors and want them to have fulfilling final chapters of their lives ... and that's why I just can't get all that excited about sending Nelson back to DC for a fourth term. But make no mistake about it. I will do just that. Because the alternative is the bitch-ass crook outgoing-governor Rick Scott, whose favorite amendment is the 5th, and who made his millions defrauding the federal government for whom he now wants to "work". I may only realize that Nelson is my senator when he suddenly appears after a hurricane or a mass shooting (of which, tellingly, we've had more of the latter than the former since becoming Floridians), but I will begrudgingly recommend that you vote for NELSON in hopes that he announces his retirement prior to the next election for that seat in 2024.
In summary ... vote. VOTE. VOTE!!
POLITIFACTING THE DEBATE:
https://www.politifact.com/florida/article/2018/oct/21/fact-checking-andrew-gillum-ron-desantis-florida-g/
POLITFACTING SCOTT'S CRIMINAL PAST:
https://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2014/mar/03/florida-democratic-party/rick-scott-rick-scott-oversaw-largest-medicare-fra/
BEWARE THE POLLS THOUGH:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-andrew-gillum-bill-nelson-cnn-poll-20181022-story.html
