Racist Comments, Demagogic Rhetoric: "This is the Florida GOP"

The Florida GOP continues to show its true colors this week, with not one but two Republican officials making racist comments this week, and a Gubernatorial candidate who refuses to condemn the act of lynching. Almost as bad as the comments, the Republican Party of Florida’s silence on the racist statements and its refusal to distance itself the people who made them.

On Wednesday, a Florida GOP Committeeman wrote support for a racist tweet that got Roseanne Barr fired, saying he thought the racist comment was “funny”, and a Republican candidate for State House voiced his support to the comment when he “liked” it. Another prominent Republican, former State Rep. Susan Goldstein, voiced her support for Roseanne’s comment, making her own mean-spirited and racist comment about President Barack Obama.

FDP Executive Director Juan Penalosa released the following statement:

“It’s been several days since the comments have been made, and the Republican Party of Florida has yet to condemn the comments, and remove Ralph Smith from his post. Their silence, and the silence of every other prominent republican like Rick Scott, Adam Putnam and Ron DeSantis, shows a complicity with racism and hate.

“While Democrats in Florida are focused on building an economy that creates better jobs, lowering healthcare costs and making sure every one of us has an equal opportunity to succeed — the Republican Party of Florida continues to show us who they really are, a party that embraces bigotry and fear.”

These comments come the same week Ron DeSantis said “Yes” to lynching and refused to denounce the act of it at a campaign event. DeSantis continues to face criticism for his own demagogic rhetoric against the Parkland Students when defending the NRA.

Florida GOP’s Recent Record of Encouraging Bigotry

Politico, 5/22/2018, Congressional Candidate Under Fire For Saying Puerto Ricans Shouldn’t Be Able to Vote in Florida

• “First of all, I don’t think they should be allowed to register to vote. And it’s not lost on me that, I think, the Democrat Party’s really hoping that they can change the voting [registration] in a lot of counties and districts. And I don’t think they should be allowed to do that.”

Miami Herald, 4/30/2018, Dinesh D’Souza mocked Parkland survivors. Now he’s speaking at a Florida GOP event

• “When Parkland students traveled to Tallahassee a week after the nation’s deadliest high school shooting to demand a ban on assault weapons, lawmakers from both parties listened to them.”
• “Conservative commentator and author Dinesh D’Souza chose to make fun of them.”
• “On Monday the Republican Party of Florida announced that D’Souza, who apologized for his comments, will speak at the 2018 Sunshine Summit in Orlando on June 28 and 29.”