Category Florida Democrats
LEAD report, North Florida, “swing voters” and Latino/Hispanics
We’ve discussed time and again the comfort zone that many Democratic operatives and party insiders have with campaigning in North Florida. Days after the 2014 election debacle, many Democratic insiders were already pointing to Charlie Crist’s “under-performance” in North Florida as the cause of his defeat. Never mind that fact that Hispanics which represented 17% […]
LEAD Task Force report underwhelming and disappointing
It took over seven months of meetings and planning, but late last week the report from the Florida Democratic Party’s LEAD Task Force was released. The report is itself a combination of obvious conclusions and less obvious ones that are based on faulty assumptions. Quite frankly, the report and the entire work of the task […]
What are our values as Florida Democrats?
Reading “Will the Florida Democratic Party Return To Relevance,” while getting settled-in at the Florida Democratic Party Leadership Blue Conference, it leapt out at me that the root of what ails us as a party are issues of trust and credibility. And, these problems stem from our inability to assert a consistent value set, which […]
Will the Florida Democratic Party return to relevance?
Florida’s Democrats have had a brutal 15 months. Beginning with Alex Sink’s Special Election loss in March 2014, continuing through a disastrous Election Day in November 2014 and culminating in defeat last month in Jacksonville’s high-profile Mayor’s Race. Certainly not everything that has gone wrong can be blamed on the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) but […]
Op-Ed column in response to “5 LIES THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEEDS TO STOP TELLING”
By Dr Rachel Pienta In response to Brook Hines’s blog-post, “5 LIES THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEEDS TO STOP TELLING”… The blog post title is click bait…and, I admit, it got me. I wanted to know if Hines had anything original to say. A few of the points made had merit, others were oversimplified or […]
5 Lies the Florida Democratic Party Needs to Stop Telling
The LEAD (Leadership Expansion to Advance Democrats) Task Force Report led by Former Orlando Police Chief Val Demings and US Senator Bill Nelson is about to come out, so there’s going to be some discussion about how the party does stuff going forward. Few rational people expect a sanctioned report by party insiders will tell […]
Democrats in Florida, being “progressive,” access and cash
Many Democrats in Florida like to believe they are on the right side of the issues. Public polling and basic compassion confirms that in fact the Democrats are right on the issues and that a majority of Floridians are ready to support Democrats that act like electorate would expect them to. With this in mind, […]
On having “skin in the game” this Memorial Day
The Florida Squeeze has been hosting some interesting discussions lately, particularly regarding the role of activists and blogs like this one. With regard to the discomfiting loss in Jacksonville one notion repeated a few times was the idea that bloggers and activists need to be still. Here’s a quote: “Those who have real skin in the […]
Why Democratic activists do not trust Florida’s Democratic Party leaders
Less than 24 hours after losing with an incumbent in one of the most visible positions in the state, Florida’s Democratic Party leadership is again taking it on the chin from armchair pundits across the state. While many FDP backers have taken to Twitter and Facebook to downplay the party’s failures and throw stones at […]
Laundry list of excuses again don’t add up after another Democratic defeat
Florida Democrats have entered their comfort zone- the season of making excuses. Democrats in Florida are incredibly proficient and adept at one important aspect of political campaigns – generating creative talking points in justifying losing campaigns. Once again in a big race a Democrat has fallen short, and once again no doubt those in and […]
The Florida Squeeze 