An Open Letter to Florida's Race for Governor

Dear Florida's Race for Governor,

Well, this should be interesting.

Earlier this week, Florida held its primary elections to determine the Republican and Democratic candidates that would be running for governor. And the two winners couldn't be any more different.

On the Republican side is Ron DeSantis, who was endorsed by President Trump. He earned 57% of the vote, beating out Adam Putnam. If I was to summarize DeSantis' views in two words, these would be it: my nightmare.

DeSantis is an ardent Trump supporter and stands for everything I am against. He's pro-life, pro-NRA, and anti-immigration. He buys into Trump's anti-media campaign, and believes the media seeks to "silent" conservatives.

He's a Trump-era politician and far right on the ideological spectrum.

On the completely opposite end is Andrew Gillum, a black progressive. Gwen Graham was expected to win the election, as a more moderate candidate, but Gillum stole the win with a huge upset. He has been the mayor of Tallahassee since 2014 and was endorsed by Bernie Sanders.

Gillum represents the extremer side of the Democratic Party. Some of his priorities include gun reform, the abolishment of ICE, women's rights, and LGBTQ+ equality.

It's barely a week into this election and things have already gotten interesting. Earlier this week, DeSantis made a racially charged comment towards his opponent, saying “The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state.”

Yikes.

It could've just been a poor choice of words, but still.

COME ON.

Additionally DeSantis was accused of being an administrator of a Tea Party Facebook group, filled with racist and hateful content that targets everyone from African-Americans to survivors of the Parkland shooting in February. Allegedly, he is one of five candidates currently running for office that are members of the group. DeSantis claims he was added to the group without his knowledge.

So, yeah, the GOP nominee is an internet troll and memer.

Great.

Personally, I'm all for what Gillum proposes. And my hatred for Trump pretty much turns me completely against DeSantis (he has one campaign ad that makes me GAG).

You may say: Obviously, Cameron. You've made it pretty clear that you're a Democrat.

I don't want to use this post to bash DeSantis or endorse Gillum. Instead I would rather discuss the role of extremism in American politics, why it's a huge threat to our democracy, and how this election fits into all of it.

While the political party system can help us categorize our beliefs, it is also toxic. DeSantis and Gillum's respective nominations demonstrate that our country is unwilling to compromise. If we want to continue to live in a functioning democracy, races like this one just aren't going to work.

Here's what will happen, no matter which side wins. One side will be leaping with joy, bragging to the losers, and praying for extreme change in Washington. The other side will become enraged and will hurl penetrating insults at the winners. Then, there will be a bunch of moderates (the majority) stuck, miserable, in the middle.

Moderate Republicans have especially been left in the dust. With the emergence of Trump, many Republicans can hardly recognize their party, and with the recent passing of John McCain, it's difficult to know if their party will represent what they believe again. There is no candidate for fiscally conservative Republicans that dislike Trump.

Look, I'm as much for radical change as the next person. And we need a lot of changes in Washington right now. I want to see a Florida governor that will stand up to Trump and fight for what I believe in. Because of that, it's pretty obvious who I will be voting for. But Gillum is also an extreme candidate, so that it's hard to know if he will win.

In these midterms, moderates, who make up the majority of the voting population, will have to pick an extreme. I don't know if they will vote for someone who was endorsed by Bernie.

It's tragic to me that we live in a world of extremes. Politics is all about compromising. We have to figure out legislation that represents both justice and the American people. We can't do that if each party gravitates towards the extreme. I've mentioned this before on the blog, but George Washington himself specifically warned against a two-party political system in his farewell address.

America's political system used to be like a bell curve. There were some crazies on each side, but, for the most part, people stuck towards the middle with slight leanings in one direction.

With this presidency, standing in the middle isn't legitimate anymore. If you're a Republican that doesn't side with Trump, then are you betraying your party? If you're a Democrat that doesn't side with Bernie, then are you really standing up to Trump?

The world is not black and white. Everything that we do lives in the gray area, and we can't simplify just because it seems easier.

Because, in reality, our views are complicated because this country is complicated. Only when we come to terms with that will we be able to elect candidates that appeal to those outside of their party.

Yours truly,

P.S. If he wins, Gillum would be the FIRST black governor of Florida. It's 2018. Seriously?