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Florida Moves to Ban the Democratic Party … and I Am Laughing

Florida Moves to Ban the Democratic Party … and I Am Laughing

Florida State Senator Blaise Ingoglia is proposing a bill that would essentially outlaw the Democratic Party in the Sunshine State. It does not mention the Democratic Party, but it would put it into the category of political parties banned in Florida.

It has attracted a lot of hyperventilating criticism from folks on the left – calling the bill more craziness from the right.  But then, the left is not known for having a sense of humor or an appreciation of irony.

Congresswoman and former chair of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was quick to file her protest on Twitter.  She wrote” “Tyrants dictate one-party states.  The list of dictators who did it is long and very ugly.  Ask anyone who fled Cuba, Russia, or Germany.  Now the @FloridaGOP want to add Florida to that list?  These radical extremists can’t be serious.”  Maybe they are not, Debbie.

Officially outlawing the Democratic Party in Florida may be a moot issue since, in the past couple of elections, the good citizens of Florida have essentially cancelled the Party on their own.  With the Republican sweep in 2022 – and the landslide victory of Governor Ron DeSantis – the Democratic Party has no state-level power.  No state offices.  No control in either chamber of the State Legislature.  Democrats lost in two strongholds – Palm Beach and Broward counties.  They lost the Hispanic vote.  It seems like putting the Democratic Party legislatively out of business is just adding insult to injury.

It is only when you look into the reasons for cancelling the Democratic Party – among other potential political groups — that you see the clever irony.  Maybe the effort to cancel the Party is not as serious an effort as the critics suggest – or as the sponsor intended.  Maybe it is a joke with a point.

Perhaps the title of the bill (SB 1248) should have given a hint.  It is called “The Ultimate Cancel Act.”  It requires the Florida Division of Elections to immediately and summarily cancel the filings for political office of ANY party that does not meet certain conditions.

And what might those conditions be, you ask?

Well … SB1248 states that NO PARTY shall be allowed to appear on a ballot in Florida “if the party’s platform has previously advocated for, or been in support  of, slavery or involuntary  servitude.”

If passed and enacted into law, it would take effect on July 1, 2023.  (Methinks that July 4th would have been a better commencement date, but no one asked me.)

If the bill becomes law, the Democratic Party will have to re-register no later than six months before the party would submit petitions to appear on the ballot – and only under a new name that is “substantially different” than the old.  It will also be required to submit a certificate indicating the new party’s constitution, bylaws, rules, and regulations.

The idea of cancelling the Democratic Party for its support of slavery 150 years ago seems ludicrous on the surface – that is, until you see the principle involved.  It is a principle that Democrats and the left have embraced as the core of their woke policies.

Owning slaves is sufficient reason for left-wingers to tear down the monuments and reputations of the nation’s Founders and early presidents – excluding Democrat Andrew Jackson, the worst of them all.  

They want American taxpayers to pay reparations even though no one today owned or supported slavery – and the reparations would go to individuals who were never slaves or even know their ancestors who were.   They also want today’s businesses that may have profited from slavery in the early 1800s to pay reparations.  They want all the statues of the leaders of the Confederacy to be torn down and their history eradicated from textbooks.

If retroactive reparations are to be paid, I have long suggested that they be paid by the Democratic Party – not Republicans who fought against slavery or the progeny of immigrants who were not even in America during the era of slavery.

Whether SB1248 ever gets passed or not, it does serve to shine the light on the hypocrisy and nuttiness of the left’s attempts to cancel history, rewrite the early chapters, and hold folks today accountable for the slavery of which they have zero responsibility. 

It is no small irony that the political party that is most guilty for the preservation of slavery and another 150 years of oppressing black folks are not cleaning out their own house.  I am talking about such racist figures as Andrew Jackson (the founder of the modern Democratic Party and the namesake of hundreds – maybe thousands — of Jackson Day Dinners as fundraisers), Woodrow Wilson (the racist President who segregated the military, the Executive Branch of the federal government and praised the Ku Klux Klan) or Franklin Roosevelt (who constructed a New Deal to transfer jobs from black folks to unemployed whites).

I see the Florida bill as one of those goose and gander situations.  If I were in the Florida legislature, I would be inclined to vote against the bill, but I would promote it in the public commons to reveal the hypocrisy of wokeness – and those who embrace it as their core policy.

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

9 Comments

  1. mark

    Ban the Dem/Commie party, great idea.

  2. Wes kussmaul

    Re “But then, the left is not known for having a sense of humor or an appreciation of irony.”

    But then, the right isn’t either.

    But then, that’s the way echo chambers are, right?

  3. frank stetson

    This is a great idea to change the name of the party. IMO, it’s well past time to tear down that flag. Go for it. The party of old, not the current party or people, is responsible for Slavery, let’s abolish that name.

  4. Tony L Bell

    I say skip the party system all together and go with a candidate system. The party system by nature is a divisive system while a candidate system would shine light on the important issues that need to be addressed and the candidates stand, which everyone could consider and fore for or against.

    • frank stetson

      Tony, nifty idea, what do you mean? Guess the electoral college is dead.

      Love to know more, the concept didn’t pop on google but sounds like no parties basically means everyone can run at election day. No groups, no primaries, right? Sounds like a mess for voters to determine who to vote for if everyone is running. And if we do this, campaign financing gets even more fun when no Parties are there to coordinate for the main candidates.

      If we combine this with the Piers story about self-claiming himself as a black lesbian, can we have everyone running while identifying as someone else? Just kidding but love to know more since I am all into abandoning groups of influence.

  5. frank stetson

    Consider the source and the biased partisan bogus associations imagined in this story. Fuhgit it Jake, it’s Florida. Also, it’s the Democratic history of slavery in the Old South, it’s not the party of today; it’s certainly not the systemic racism of today, and it’s most certainly not all left wingers, that’s just gilding the lily with fool’s gold.

    It’s Florida: where poverty hits 22% of blacks, only 12% of whites; where only 45% of blacks can even afford their own homes, while 70% of whites can. There’s a reason: Floridian systemic racism waged by Republicans against African Americans. Where blacks are unemployed at twice the rate of whites and if they do find work, whites pay them at 66 cents of every white dollar while they get imprisoned at 4 times the rate of whites. Often for the same type of crimes. There’s a reason: systemic racism. Florida may be economically and socially in the middle of the pack for black, but suck is suck.

    Here’s an interesting story – it shows racism via google searches by state. Again, Florida is above average racism by all states on average in America. A suck place for blacks. Full disclosure: my NJ is far worse on the google searches and if you have ever been in South or NW New Jersey, you know that we make Florida look good. *https://www.marketwatch.com/story/where-do-racists-in-america-live-2015-04-28*

    In the early 1900’s, Florida was close to 50% Black. By 1960, down to 18%. Blame the Democrats, and you are right. We should change the name. Today, under the illustrious, egalitarian Retribution Republican reign: about 17%.

    Florida: the State that cancels Disney, Black studies, books, protesting, fair voting, and critical covid data and also happens to look like a flaccid penis. Ironic coincidence?

    “It has attracted a lot of hyperventilating criticism from folks on the left – calling the bill more craziness from the right. But then, the left is not known for having a sense of humor or an appreciation of irony.” Ah, humor….from the party that’s willing to spend your Florida tax dollars chasing rabbits down a hole: the Retribution Party, the Republican Party, the party of Trump, the Cancel Culture Club. A meaningless name erasing gesture costing the Florida taxpayer for what? New stationary? At least we completely tear the statues down; we mothball those flags, we don’t just put up another version of the same old thing.

    In Florida, there’s a special task force, costing over a million bucks in tax dollars, for 15 people to target voter fraud. So far, after a year, with a million bucks spent, Florida has 20 folks arrested, mostly Black, all expected to be let off, and a single harvesting case, with actual video tapes, that is being investigated and has resulted in crickets for six months of billing that is above the million bucks already dropped. Six months and no tape? Maybe McCarthy can release that one :>) Then, there’s the illegal alien stunt where Florida imported illegals from Texas to send to Martha’s Vineyard to help Florida make a point about illegals not from Florida? Could they not find any illegals in Florida? They had to spend the extra bucks to import them from Texas? How about defunding Disney where no funds are to be defunded. How much did that cost the Florida taxpayer to take all those actions resulting in a nothing burger? And so on and so on does Florida spend the tax dollar to not defend the culture.

    “It is a principle that Democrats and the left have embraced as the core of their woke policies.” Really, slavery is the core of woke? This is a lie, a big one. What’s next from woke, perhaps being polite, holding a door open means you embrace slavery? Even if you buy Democrat’s as the cause of systemic racism — and that too is a lie, but even if you do accept that crap: systemic racism is not slavery. Never was. Some hyperbolics.

    “They want American taxpayers to pay reparations even though no one today owned or supported slavery.” One guy brought up reparations act from 1989 to 2017, his last year in office. It’s been six years of not being proposed. Get over it. It never saw the light of day. This is NOT all Democrats as some seem to think. BUSTED

    “pay reparations even though no one today owned or supported slavery,” they being left winger Democrats. This is not true. Only 37% of all Americans believe that slaves should have gotten reparations. Only 15% favor all descendants of slaves get reparations. Of course the skew is to blacks and Democrats, but it’s a low number nonetheless and certainly not a majority of “left wingers.” BUSTED

    “It is no small irony that the political party that is most guilty for the preservation of slavery and another 150 years of oppressing black folks are not cleaning out their own house.” Again, systemic racism occurs in both parties, across the entire country, whether you are red, blue, or purple. BUSTED

    But enough about this piece of story; IMO it is time to change the Party name. Are we woke or aren’t we? So, let’s be positive, and fun, you know —- humor. Time to pick the new Party name. My humble submissions:

    Obamacan Party (modern flair, attracts blacks)
    Roseveltian Party (more accurate, but longish)
    Freedom United Party (or FU Party, donations can be known as FU money, I like it!)
    Commanders (worked for the Redskins)
    Taxanspendicrats (run towards the danger)
    Progressive Party (more modern, attracts the young)

    I am sure everyone else can do better, give er a shot. We need a new name now!!

  6. Darren

    The Country is divided, and Abortion is taking the place of Slavery.
    Just like slavery it is a mater of Life and death.
    Slavery was a choice in the south as well if you wished to free your Salves.
    There is a great argument for Choice with Limitations.
    The left reaches for the absurd while the right is not flexible.

    I bring this up because when all is said and done, the country
    will always be divided.
    And at the minimum, a two party system.
    Everyone scream follow the science, yet people go brain dead on this issue.

    Just call it the LGBTQ party and put it all in prospective.

  7. Dexter Wilson

    I entered into a communication with a democrat on one of these comment sections. I believe it was a she and the one thing that really tells the story about democrats When I said something to the effect that America is Great. Her comment was what is so Great about America. I wish I had said, go live in some other counrtry. She had been so brainwashed as she had no idea that 28 people had been killed and millions of dollars of damage had been done by BLM and ANTIFA. Finally I did not know that Sicknick did not die at the Capital but of some natural cause at home and that caused me to cut off comunicatios. She called the J6th an insurrection when it was more that millions of Americans wanted the Congress to investigate the election. Their claim that 83 Million people voted for Biden and the truth was explained by “2000 Mules” ballot stuffing. Listen, CBS itself had researched how Covid Got spread all over the World. The followed the Iphones of the citizens of Wuhan as they traveled after China had allowed them to celebrate the Chinese New Year when Covid had first been realized. In 2000 Mules, true the vote, project veritas and Dinesh Dzousa did the same thing concerning following the people who were putting batches of ballots in the Ballot Boxes and had obtained videos of these people putting hundreds of ballots in these voter boxes when they were onely allowed to put their own peronal families ballots in them. They were followed and this was demonstrated that thousands of illegal ballots had been used. Congress would do nothing neither the Supreme Court and this gave rise to the truth that the election was indeed stolen. In truth the uppercurst of the Democrat Party HATE AMERICA. Biden has followed Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum to make the US a third world country because the globalist can’t have America as a superpower to create their one world Government. Remembe Reagan said we, the US should be a light to the world as to how to have the rest of the world Governments should be. Otherwise why would 5 Million illegals since Biden became president have entere the US? Our founders were Christians not THEISTS. 64% of the Constitution came directly from and indirectly from the Bible and it’s principles.

  8. LILO

    WASSERMAN HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT. WE LEFT GERMANY FOR ALL THOSE REASONS 60 YEARS AGO, NEVER EXPECTING THAT IN THIS COUNTRY THE SAME SNAKES ARE LIFTING THEIR HEADS TO BRING THE SAME DISASTER HERE THAT WE HOPED TO LEAVE BEHIND. THIS GOVERNMENT IS MORE CORRUPT THEN ANY WE HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE.
    IT IS SCARY WHAT THEY TEACH OUR CHILDREN IN SCHOOL. IT IS VERY DISTURBING WHY ANY GOVERNMENT WOULD DO THIS. WE KNOW OUR EDUCATION IN OUR SCHOOLS IS NOT VERY GOOD. BUT NOW IT IS ON THE BOTTOM. BUT IT SEEMS REAL LEARNING IS NOT IMPORTANT, ONLY GENDER IDEOLOGY IS NUMBER ONE.
    WE ALWAYS THOUGHT TAKING CARE OF THE CITIZENS AND MAKING THE COUNTRY STRONG WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR A PRESIDENT. NOT UNDERMINE THE COUNTRY HE IS SUPPOSED TO GOVERN AND MAKE PROSPEROUS.

  1. What, Larry? With Election Day so close and the margin is closer still you choose Biden for your whipping person…