A new way to slay Trumpism? The shocking Florida outcome sets up a big test.
By Greg Sargent Opinion writer August 29 at 9:57 AM
The stunning victory of Andrew Gillum in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary sets up a test for one of the left’s biggest propositions: That the most potent weapon against Trumpism lies in combining an unflinching vow to roll back President Trump’s inhumane and incompetently executed ethno-nationalist agenda with unabashed progressive economics — including the promise of health care that is truly universal, as a matter of right.
The general election will pit Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, an African American with a working-class background, against GOP nominee Ron DeSantis, one of the most slavish, worshipful and virulent Trumpists in the country, which means this race will carry important implications for the 2020 presidential race as well.
Gillum defeated his more moderate primary opponent on a platform that includes Medicare for All, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in its current form, a $15-per-hour minimum wage, and corporate tax hikes to fund education.
This will be a racial war
But no question, there is probably no escaping the likelihood that this race will be a racial bloodbath. DeSantis campaigned as a lickspittle Trump Mini-Me, attacking his primary opponent for criticizing Trump over his “Access Hollywood” boasts of sexual assault, and running an ad in which he likened his young son’s building project to Trump’s wall, and read aloud from Trump’s “The Art of the Deal.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/08/29/a-new-way-to-slay-trumpism-shocking-florida-outcome-sets-up-a-big-test/?utm_term=.78dff28c0c7b
