On October 10, 2021 Florida Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz sat down with Jim DeFede for an interview on Facing South Florida to discuss the political climate in the state and expectations for the upcoming election season, including voter registration.
Key Quotes from Chairman Manny Diaz:
- “We’re building up a statewide organization that is going to be working year-round, that is working statewide and it’s going to be partisan…We’re not going to build up field operations just around elections, we’re not going to focus on getting the blue counties to get us over the top, we’re not going to do what was done over the last 10-20 years, we’re going to change all of that. I’m confident that we’re going to build an army.”
- “I remember DeSantis doing victory laps after the session talking about how many policy successes they had. He wouldn’t know policy if it hit him in the forehead Jim. This is pandering, not policy. It is pandering to that FOX audience that he believes is necessary for him to get elected.”
- “His 6-signature priorities: the anti-protest bill, the $3,000 contribution limit on issue committees, the anti tech law, the cruise ships, the school mask mandate, even the sanctuary cities, even though we don’t have one because he outlawed them, have all been thrown out by courts. By the way, pending is the voter suppression law, it is still in the courts.”
- “They cut affordable housing, they cut money from schools. They talk about life all the time, like they own life, let’s talk about gun violence. There have been over 300 mass shootings this year. We’re setting homicide records never before seen in America.”
To watch the full interview, click here.
Marco Rubio’s Cowardly And Failing Immigration Record
Throughout his career in the Senate, Marco Rubio has consistently failed to stand up for immigrant communities when they needed him most, and recent events show that his failures are a constant disappointment to Floridians.
In the past few weeks Rubio outright admitted that he wouldn’t support members of Florida’s Venezuelan community in their effort to get permanent status for Venezuelans who fled their country. Now as Ron DeSantis begins implementing new policies to crack down further on immigrants in Florida, raising fears of discrimination, Rubio is staying silent – too weak to stand up to his own party.
“More immigrants call Florida home than almost any other state in America, and they deserve leaders who will fight for their rights, not spineless politicians like Marco Rubio who abandon them to score political points. As Haitian, Venezuelan, and other immigrant communities across our state call on their leaders for help, Rubio is sadly too weak to step up,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Jose Parra.
More on Rubio’s cowardly & failing immigration record here:
- In 2013, Rubio abandoned a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform proposal he once supported.
- In 2015 during his presidential run he again said he supported a pathway to citizenship, then reversed course and said he wouldn’t even consider supporting a path to citizenship during his presidency.
- Rubio frequently appears on right-wing news outlets such as Fox News or the Washington Examiner to claim that now is a bad time for a pathway to citizenship, saying it would be “one of the worst things they could do right now” — but it’s been years and there never seems to be a right time.
- In order to justify his opposition to a pathway to citizenship, Rubio hid behind false claims that Americans opposed it, despite multiple polls showing that Floridians have consistently supported a pathway to citizenship.
- In recent months, a diverse group of Floridians ranging from members of the clergy and business leaders to university presidents have staged protests and written open letters urging Rubio to support the DREAM Act, but were met with silence.