Summary

Florida Representative Susan Valdes announced her switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party shortly after her re-election.

She expressed alignment with Republican Speaker Daniel Perez’s vision and a desire to address her constituents’ needs.

While acknowledging potential policy disagreements, Valdes emphasized respect within the Republican supermajority.

Her defection strengthens Republican control in the Florida House and highlights growing divisions within state politics.

  • Free_Opinions@feddit.uk
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    22
    ·
    edit-2
    12 days ago

    Because when you move from left to right, you’re welcomed with open arms, but trying to go from right to left is met with hostility. Hell, I’m barely on the right culturally, yet I’m often treated as if I’m far-right - especially online. If anything, this just pushes me further to the right, which, I’d argue, is exactly how we ended up with four more years of Trump and will likely lead to eight years of J.D. Vance next unless “the left” gets their act together.

    • callouscomic@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      33
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      12 days ago

      I’m often treated as if I’m far-right - especially online. If anything, this just pushes me further to the right

      “People think my beliefs are X, therefore I begin to believe X.”

      So what I hear is you have no actual beliefs and are influenced too easily.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          ·
          12 days ago

          Not really… You know how I reconcile when someone I’m talking to has misconstrued my positions? I reiterate what those positions are, and make it clear what it is that I believe in so that people will not get it confused. It’s very simple.

          I don’t react by crying about people misconstruing my positions and then voting for someone who holds the complete opposite views out of some weird form of spite

          • Free_Opinions@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            11 days ago

            I don’t react by crying about people misconstruing my positions and then voting for someone who holds the complete opposite views out of some weird form of spite

            Yeah, you don’t - but plenty of other people do. Joe Rogan and Elon Musk are perfect examples of this. You can dislike it all you want, but that doesn’t stop people from acting this way. What a party stands for doesn’t matter much if it can’t win elections. If their political approach isn’t working, doubling down is unlikely to help. Right now, what the “left” is doing isn’t winning them elections, and people are moving to the right - partly out of spite, because the left bullied them there.

    • otp@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      18
      ·
      12 days ago

      Hell, I’m barely on the right culturally, yet I’m often treated as if I’m far-right - especially online

      If you’re barely right wing in the US, then you’re pretty far right on the scale of the developed world.

      I’m Canadian, and I consider the Democrats to be a fairly right-wing party on the whole.

      When you’re online, you’re working with a different scale than if you’re just in a US environment.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        12 days ago

        I don’t want to hate trans people, but someone on this website called “Lemmy” said a mean thing to me and have given me no choice.

    • KenTheEagle@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      12 days ago

      No, we got to this because people got lied enough to force a news network to pay $787 million and others to read scripted messages explaining the election wasn’t stolen on TV.