The group's name sounds innocuous enough -- Organize Florida. Could mean anything, right?
Only, it doesn't. It means "pure progressive propaganda."
Organize Florida (OF) sent me and other reporters an invitation to join them today on the Capitol's fourth floor rotunda. Apparently there are two busloads of their members pulling in from Tampa and Orlando. And at precisely 10:10 a.m. I might want to watch them roll out a 185-page scroll with names and organizations that signed their petition asking lawmakers to “Stand with Women and Families, Don’t Walk All Over Them.”
So, I thought, hey, I'm for those things. I want lawmakers to stand with women and families and I don't want them walking over me, either. Maybe I ought to go have a look.
But,wait. It took me a moment to catch on. I had to read down to the end.
The group's agenda started with a cannon shot at the taxpayer funding of "crisis pregnancy centers" -- places set up to try to talk women at their most vulnerable out of abortions. I admit, I don't like this expenditure of our money either. And no matter how you feel about Florida's obsession with punishing women who choose to terminate their pregnancies, I think we can all agree it's at least a "women and families" issue.
But the rest of OF's priorities is a page straight out of the Florida Democratic Party' talking points -- actually, the left-of-liberal wing of the party. With the exception of the crisis pregnancy centers, most of what they talk about is only loosely related to real women-and-families issues.
Personally, I think the only way far-left folks figure they can get attention on issues that poll dead-bottom is to glom onto a term that works for conservatives -- which "women and families" does. Like a charm.
So what is this Organize Florida petition and what are its issues?
"Actions speak louder than words," says OF's announcement of today's petition unscrolling. "Gov. Rick Scott and Florida lawmakers must take a stand by soundly rejecting policies that hurt women and families and take our state backward. They must:
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"Reject the $100 million additional in tax breaks for millionaires proposed in the House and Senate and instead invest in programs that support women, children, and families.
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"Stop financing Crisis Pregnancy Centers that lie to women about abortion services
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"Increase access to health care
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"Make housing more affordable
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"Don’t put more guns in our schools
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"Stop targeting immigrants and tearing apart families
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"Protect the wetlands that protect us
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"Stop attacks on unions and working families
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"Stop the attacks on our public school system"
By the way, on its "About" page, Orlando-based Organize Florida describes itself as "a community-based, nonprofit member organization of low and moderate income people dedicated to the principles of social, racial, and economic justice and the promotion of an equal and fair Florida for all."
Here are the issues they promote on their website:
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Racial Justice
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Reproductive Justice
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Climate Justice
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Affordable Housing
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Economic Justice
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Government Accountability
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Healthcare
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Civic Engagement
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Electoral Organizing
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Voting Rights
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Workers Rights
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Latinx and Puerto Rican Engagement
(Yes, "Latinx" is a word. And when you see it, you know it had to be the alt-left that wrote it because conservatives would laugh their heads off at such a silly affectation. The x replaces the standard o/a ending in Spanish and Portuguese, forming nouns of the masculine and feminine genders, respectively. My dictionary says the spelling "is a political neologism that has gained traction among advocacy groups combining racial and gender identity politics.")
I'm not sure what the group hopes to accomplish this morning. Maybe if they'd shown up two months ago ... I mean, the session is all over but the shouting. And they can't seriously believe anything on their petition will motivate the governor to get out his veto pen.
Women and families, the Organize Florida show on the fourth floor today isn't about you. Sorry. It's about filling up buses, bringing in donations and turning issues into votes.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
