OPINION: The problem with Florida has ties to McCarthyism and the Third Reich
The midterm elections are now in the rearview mirror apart from a few races headed toward a runoff. It was the same red tsunami that overturned the SS Poseidon in 1972’s cheesy action flick–a lot of hype but then…ehhh. Except in Florida, of course.
It was a red wave that was supposed to spread across the nation east to west like the shadows cast by the sun upon its rise. Only that’s not what really happened. It seems abortion rights and the safeguarding of democracy ranked up there almost as highly as the necessary concerns about inflation.
Voters, aside from those in Florida, prioritized issues that they deemed important.
About Florida: it was a whole lot more than a red wave, tsunami or any other climate change-triggered catalyst to disaster.
In my last article, I focused on the elected officials and Miami-Dade County GOP office, who not only pound the war drums of a Marxist/Socialist takeover, but also keep quiet about extremists within their midst; in fact, extremists that are part of their executive board not to mention poll workers.
Since that article, one Proud Boy hack seen pounding on then-Congresswoman Donna Shalala’s office door when Nancy Pelosi visited was just elected to the Miami-Dade Commission. Never mind, that back in October 2018 when this happened, Kevin Marino Cabrera, who at the time was an aide to then Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo, was chastised by both Marco Rubio and Steve Scalise for his ignorance and arrogance. No, you cannot make this up.
As such, it is time to pivot away from the politicians, and this time address the voters of Miami-Dade County, who seemingly also care nothing about extremism, and appear to insist with their votes that Marxism/Socialism is a very real threat to what has become the Republic of South Florida.
Remember, the “Communista Communista” message only works if there are lemmings standing in line, following blindly, as they approach the cliff of blind faith.
The local Communista Communista politicians by and large voted not to certify the election on 6 January 2021. One did not vote due to Covid, but still pushed the Big Lie a day or two later on Spanish Radio.
Sadly, with rare exception, the Florida Democratic candidates did not harp on this issue.
While the Republican candidates were preaching the ills of Marxism/Socialism that was lapped up by the voters much like a thirsty dog goes for a water bowl after being left in the backyard all day, it appears the voters did not hold these politicians to task for going along with the Big Lie on the day of an attempted coup. In other words, it just was not important to them. But their candidates’ votes not to certify a legitimate election was reality.
The Communista Communista mantra is fiction; it is speculative–and IT WAS SOLD to a gullible consumer.
The voters of Miami-Dade County who jumped on the “Marxism is everywhere” bandwagon that the McCarthy (Joe not Kevin) wannabes were pushing just seemed to go along for the ride with no questions asked.
I want to remind everyone that the American Heritage Dictionary gives the definition of McCarthyism as:
- The political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence;
- The use of methods of investigation and accusation regarded as unfair, in order to suppress opposition.”
The voters of Miami-Dade County not only bought into a Marxist hiding under every Castro Convertible but also that a Red Wave was among them. If it was a Red Wave, it only crested, because of yet another Red Scare.
And like the politicians they voted for, they had no concerns whatsoever regarding extremists being part of their party’s executive board. They had no issues with extremists working as voting poll workers. Again, they had no qualms voting for a Proud Boy hack to the County Commission.
No, Florida voters looked the other way and assumed all was fine. Much like Castro’s supporters did in Cuba (and sadly, there were a lot of them) when the bearded asshole came storming out of the mountains to send Fulgencio on his merry way.
Hence the question must be asked of the voters, since it was asked of the politicians: If you are so adamantly opposed to Marxism/Socialism, which I will add is a good thing, why aren’t you equally opposed to extremism and a McCarthyism redux which is making its way down the road towards fascism? Are you saying that fascism is far more palpable than Marxism/Socialism? Because if you are, then you are far more ignorant than I thought. Both are crap. Choosing between the two is like asking someone “Would you rather go to gallows or the guillotine?”
As Joseph Welch asked Joseph McCarthy in 1954 when McCarthy continued with his bogus claims and accusations of communism, “Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”
The “lad” in this sense would be the common sense that voters should have had to see clear through the dog whistles and fearmongering. If the politicians have no decency, can we expect any more from the voters?
Shifting the ideological spectrum, in conclusion, I leave this point for conjecture: Theodore Abel in his 1938 book, “Why Hitler Came to Power” provides four reasons in his opinion:
- The prevalence of discontent with the existing social order.
- The particular ideology and programs for social transformation adopted by the Nazis.
- The National Socialist organizational and promotional technique.
- The presence of charismatic leadership.
There also existed a Big Lie (that the Germans never lost on the battlefield in WWI and only lost because they were stabbed in the back by the politicians.) There existed a hatred for the press. Smaller papers like Der Sturmer grew in popularity; perhaps the social media of that day. There also existed a constant threat that the Bolsheviks would lay siege onto Germany. That overcompensation to the Bolshevik fears allowed fascism to goosestep right into every German home.
By being hood-winked by Miami-Dade politicians once more with the threat of Marxism/Socialism, where it does not exist, one runs the fear of a similar over-compensation right here in Florida.
But I will take solace in knowing that the rest of the nation seemingly does not buy into that–just yet.
David Magnusson is a retired police chief with 36 ½ years of law enforcement experience, having spent 30 of these years with the Miami Police Department, retiring as an assistant chief. He was chief of the Havelock Police Department in the Marine Corps City of Havelock, North Carolina, home to Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station. He returned to South Florida as chief of the El Portal Police Department. He chaired the COVID and Domestic Violent Extremism Committees for the Association of Miami Dade County Chiefs of police. He teaches (facilitates) Hate Crimes, Violent Extremism, and Inclusive Policing to law enforcement agencies.
A historian, Magnusson has written on military and presidential history topics. He is a diehard baseball (St. Louis Cardinals) and boxing fan. Magnusson resides in South Florida with his wife. Their children and grandchildren are never too far away.
