This morning, Florida state Senator Angie Nixon, the only hope I see on the horizon for a resuscitated Florida Democratic Party, tweeted that Dean Black, the Duval Republican Party chair, “called me a racist and antisemitic because of a resolution I sponsored calling out racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia. It’s literally in the resolution. But he hasn’t called out Michelle Salzman for her actual racist comments.” Salzman is a typical Panhandle reactionary, but she went a little far yesterday while Angie was introducing the resolution calling for the release of all hostages Hamas is holding paired with a ceasefire in Gaza. Angie asked her colleagues in the state Senate, "We are at 10,000 dead Palestinians, how many will be enough?” Salzman screamed out “All of them,” the quiet part that Republicans and other AIPAC shills never say out loud. Watch:
Even though most Americans (including most Republicans)— and 80% of Democrats— favor a ceasefire and hostage release, this is a very tough position to express for legislators, even Democratic legislators, who are overwhelmingly afraid of AIPAC’s money.
Early this morning, not long after midnight, Angie woke up and thought about how “all the emotions are hitting me from yesterday. Florida Republican legislators literally calling for the death of innocent people on the House Floor. Some of my Democratic colleagues in full agreement with them.” Consider contributing to her reelection campaign after you read this thread she had written earlier:
When I questioned how many Palestinian deaths will need to end to be enough for a ceasefire, she, a Republican legislator stated, “All of them.”
I had my fellow Democratic colleagues call me antisemitic and ignorant. One blamed me for what took place on the House floor. No. It is the Republican Speaker that sets the agenda. There were other bills Dems and myself asked to be placed on the agenda to address Floridians needs,
Another of my Democratic colleagues stated they were more concerned about 80% of their fundraising drying up if they were forced to address the humanizing of Palestinian lives. Randy Fine called me evil and whipped the Republican caucus to stand up and turn their backs on me.
I have never witnessed so much hate in real life, in real time as I did on yesterday. Republicans and Democrats working together to ostracize someone simply asking for them to see the humanity in innocent human lives.
It’s on brand for Florida. And it’s on brand for those that always seek to diminish the voices of marginalized communities. Throughout my time as an elected official, I have never filed any legislation or made any statements with the goal of how this would benefit me personally.
All of my bills and statements have been in support of The People of Florida. All of my bills, statements and actions have been to highlight the urgent need for The People of Florida to come together and take our power back from those more beholden to corporations than Floridians.
What do I have to gain personally but bills or appropriations that would transform lives and communities never seeing daylight because I dare to speak up and challenge the establishment and pull back the curtain regarding what’s going on in Tally? And how I was told it’s a game.
This is not a game for me. This is about the 20+ million Floridian lives that are being negatively impacted because the majority of their elected officials want to ensure they have political futures and paychecks instead of looking out for the health, prosperity and safety of Florida.
I understand many of my colleagues are confused by how I move. But I have been nothing but consistent in my fight for ALL PEOPLE. What happened yesterday, needed to happen. The world, Floridians needed to witness what’s in the true hearts of those we have elected to represent us.
Someone texted this to me yesterday. “It’s really incredible how many people don’t believe in anything or at least aren’t willing to stand on their beliefs if they think it’ll hurt them electorally.”
At the end of the day, I’m on the side of The People. Regardless of what happens to me, I’m standing strong in my values. I know that my ancestors have been through more and they walk with me in spirit always. But even more, my community wants me to continue to be their voice.
Later in the morning, Angie was still going strong— which is why her constituents love her so much: “It’s evident that Dean Black,” she wrote, “doesn’t like Black People. He’s used racist dog whistles and sayings throughout his history as Republican Party chair. Remember his ‘darken the door’ of City Hall statement about Polson’s race? Now he wants to do what Republicans in this state do… continue to erode democracy and push anti-Black policy. Through removal of elected officials that want to remove the stain of LOSERS from the confederacy that wanted Black People in chains still, by taking down their monuments. Instead of focusing on Florida’s housing crisis… This is what Dean Black does. Tries to upset Black People. And potentially embolden more racists like the one that came into my community to kill three Black innocent people.”
Cori Bush is one of the only Members of Congress willing to call out AIPAC… and, predictably they’re financing a candidate against her. [You can help her fight back here.]
Blue America got behind Angie when she first ran for the legislature and we backed Cori when she first ran for Congress. We’re proud that we did and still do. Today we’re behind two candidates running for Congress who are also backing a hostage release and ceasefire and who aren’t afraid to take on AIPAC— a Jewish-American from California and a Muslim-American from Texas, Maebe A Girl and Pervez Agwan.
There is no excuse— and that includes the open air prison excuse— for the October 7 savagery committed by Hamas against innocent civilians. I hope the Israeli forces hunt down every single one of the perps— and that includes the planners— and puts them to death, no matter how long that takes. Remember the Munich Olympic Games murderers and Adolf Eichmann. It took Israel around 2 decades to track down Eichmann, bring him back to Israel, try him, convict him and hang him. During the Summer Olympics in 1972 a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September took 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage and eventually killed them. The members of Black September were hunted like rabid animals and killed one by one by the Mossad as part of “Operation Wraith of God,” which had been authorized by Golda Meir and lasted 20 years. Neither the Eichmann operation nor Black September operation was about genocide; both were about Justice.
What’s happening in Gaza was authorized by Netanyahu, an unfit authoritarian criminal, not a Golda Meir, and it’s not about Justice. At best, it’s about revenge; at worst about ethnic cleansing and genocide. It’s a highly charged emotional issue no rational person wants to talk about. If we don’t, though, the cycle of violence will never be broken. Congress needs more men and women like Cori Bush and the 20-something Members who were brave enough to sign her ceasefire resolution, knowing it would bring the animus of AIPAC down on them. Maebe and Pervez are candidates who would have signed right on as Day One co-sponsors.
This is the ad Blue America is running on Facebook and Instagram right now. You can can contribute to Maebe’s and Pervez’s campaign’s here and if you contribute to Blue America on that page, we’ll keep the ad running longer.