Dear Democrat,  
It’s becoming more clear every day that our democracy depends on who wins the next series of elections.  You just can’t keep up with the insanity of the Republican party nowadays. 

“Team Normal” was the name Trump’s former campaign chief, Bill Stepien, gave to the folks that did not support the often ludicrous efforts of Republicans to overturn the election.  I believe Democrats epitomize the idea of normalcy in public life.  We should champion that idea and contrast it with the abnormal behavior of the Republican Party candidates and its MAGA masses.

 We have to accept the fact that our Democratic candidates have two opponents.  The candidate he or she is running against and the MAGA masses that are very active in Florida.  Electing any local or state Republican right now expands the MAGA ideology.  They are targeting local races with the intent of imposing their philosophy from the ground up.  

 Our candidates need to run a race focused on local issues and they should emphasize that at every opportunity.  However, no one should ignore the fact that the Republican candidate is very likely going to support the MAGA ideology. They have no choice if they are to remain a supported member of the Republican party.  Failing to support Trump or DeSantis’s ideas will get them a Republican opponent in the next race that will toe the line.  

The MAGA masses have been trained by conservative media to believe that Democrats are cheaters, socialist, baby killers and open border advocates.  They believe we want to increase taxes, promote critical race theory and “woke” ideas in schools and elsewhere.  You are none of those things.  We have to be prepared and willing to counter these accusations.  While the approach taken by State Senator Mallory McMarrow in the link below may not exactly fit the circumstance we and our candidates find ourselves in, it does show how accusations can be countered effectively and head on with the simple truth.  You are none of those things.

WATCH: Michigan lawmaker says, ‘We will not let hate win’ 

Please consider these recent events that highlight the difference between almost all Republican candidates, the base that supports them and typical Democrats and their candidates. 

 While the media spends a lot of time talking about the “Big Lie” that’s not the only evidence our ability to run elections is being jeopardized.  Elected Republicans have continued to promote the unfounded assertion that the Presidential election was stolen.   It could, however, be any election, even our local candidates.  An example took place in Otero County, New Mexico.  The county commission refused to certify an election because it used Dominion Voting Machines.  Please check this web link for details. 

Also 

FL Repub. REFUSES To Concede Landslide Election Loss 

During the pandemic Republicans refused to present a coherent national front in combating the spread of the virus.  Science was discarded for political gain.  The result was the deaths of tens of thousands of additional people and the prolonging of the pandemic.  MAGA leaning states are at the bottom of almost all categories of medical care. Check these websites for details. 

Also 

Republican’s insistence that COVID was flu-like, and that alternate types of treatment worked, not only led to more illness and deaths, it drove the economy down and makes the recovery even more difficult.  If Republicans had presented a united front with the CDC and other science back agencies on how to minimize the spread and effect of the disease, products and labor would be more available and prices would have been less likely to rise. 

Republicans have waged a 50-year effort to reverse the trends established after WWII toward modernizing our country’s support of non-traditional lifestyles.  Republican success at getting the Supreme Court they wanted will completely reverse that process.  It’s going to provide them with the opportunity to pass laws that will restrict hard earned freedoms because now they believe the court will support them. 

 This Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade is setting up circumstances we can only imagine in women’s, even children’s, reproductive rights.  The notion that life begins at conception and that women should not be allowed to prevent conception using medication or devices is an underlying current that will have to be faced.  Shortly after Roe was overturned, a ten-year-old girl that was raped had to be taken across state lines to get an abortion.  Republicans have responded by saying they want to protect all life.  We all agree they should act like they really believe that.

and

Our ability to separate religion from government has been the bedrock of rational thought that leads to considering the needs of all citizens when laws are drafted.  That separation is being eroded very quickly.  Consider these decisions from the court.

and

Or 

Public schools, guided by individuals trained in teaching methods with a knowledgeable, broad minded approach to curriculum and school environment, have been at the center of our national success. The Republican party believes that private education is a better model to advance their nationalist approach to governing.  They have significantly eroded our school system first by diverting funds away from public schools and now by limiting and redirecting the subjects taught in public schools, often embracing religious dogma. 

and 

Gun violence plagues America.  Overwhelmingly, Republicans support the idea that anyone, with very rare exceptions, should be able to purchase and carry a gun.  They also say records of gun purchases and ownership should not be maintained and that gun violence should not be treated as a national healthcare issue.  One of the first actions of the Trump administration was to sign a law that made it easier for the mentally ill to buy a gun.  More “good guys with guns”, at schools, churches and other public places, has never worked to stop gun violence but that is the only real approach Republicans will support.   

And 

The Republican efforts to overturn the last election had many fronts but one of the most significant was the notion that the state legislatures could nullify the states election results.  Seven battleground states actually sent alternate electoral vote certificates to the National Archives and Congress hoping Mike Pence would count them instead of the true certificates.  He did not.   The Supreme Court, however, agreed to hear a case out of North Carolina which could make such an action legal.  That would literally turn running elections, including establishing district boundaries, over to the legislature of each state without the court, governor or any other state agency being able to intervene.   In June of 2023 the court rejected the ISL saying state courts retained the authority to oversee laws within the state related to voting and the carrying out of elections.   Republicans vow to try again.  

And 

We Democrats have to stand up to the clear and present danger to our democracy.  

It took the Republican party 50 years to get a court that would fully support their ideology.  It took far less time for the party to bind itself to groups of supporters no politician should ever want to be associated with.  They would struggle to win elections without votes from the Proud Boys, American Christian Dixie Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Sovereign Citizens and dozens more.  There are 23 such groups headquartered in Florida.  Click the link below and scroll down a few pages to see the list. 

Hate groups.

 At the 2016 Democratic National Convention Michelle Obama told Democratic candidates that they should go high when their opponent goes low.  The Republican Party, influenced by Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and others, has taken the definition of low well beyond anything we have seen in our lifetimes.  The base Republican voter has been indoctrinated over many years by the limited media they absorb to believe the worst about any Democrat.  Be prepared and able to defend yourself and your party when it will help Democrats win their races.  Beyond that, be prepared to explain why the Republican party, in its current form, has shown itself to be a clear and present danger to our democracy.   Defending that democracy starts with us.