Vance says views of socialist Florida Senate nominee Angie Nixon

Progressive policy ambitions meet practical realities as Americans weigh costs and consequences.

Source: Washington Examiner
4 min read
Why This Matters

Angie Nixon is a Democratic nominee for U. S. Senate from Florida, which means she looked at the wreckage of socialist governments around the world and decided that’s the plan worth running on.

New Republican Times Editorial Board

Vance says views of socialist Florida Senate nominee Angie Nixon
Image via Washington Examiner

Vice President JD Vance had a clear message for Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon and her fellow socialist lawmakers: Leave the country if you’re unhappy. While campaigning with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Sen.

Ashley Moody (R-FL) in Florida on Thursday afternoon, Vance issued his blunt message publicly. ‘She fights for the great people of Maine’: Vance praises Susan Collins as she skips his Maine visit Vance: ‘It’s not my business’ to endorse Thune for another term as Senate leader Are Republicans doomed to suffer an Obama-like personality crisis in a post-Trump world? “Ladies and gentlemen, when Angie Nixon calls herself a socialist, I think the right response is to say: ‘Then get the hell out of here.

You don’t belong in America if those are your views,’” Vance told the crowd gathered at the Sun ‘n Fun hangar at Lakeland Linder International Airport. The vice president also blasted Nixon, who is in an uphill race to defeat Moody, for supporting defunding the police and abolishing prisons. “Now, how she squares that with her other favorite demand, which is to arrest President Donald Trump, it’s hard to say,” Vance said. “It’s kind of a good news, bad news situation.

She wants to arrest the president, but she wants to … abolish the prison. So, I don’t know what she’s doing.” Republicans are in a difficult midterm cycle as concerns about the economy, gas prices, and the Iran war are top of mind for voters.

The Trump administration and key allies are increasing their campaign schedule to help save the GOP’s majorities in Congress. A St. Pete Polls survey conducted for Florida Politics released this month showed Moody with a slight edge over Nixon, 45.2% to 44.8%, among likely general election voters.

The same poll showed Donalds virtually tied with Democrat David Jolly, 43.5% to 43.4%, in the race for Florida governor. The Cook Political Report recently changed the state’s gubernatorial rating from likely Republican to lean Republican as a result of the tough climate. “Trump is heading to his adopted home state to stump for Donalds and Republicans — another potential sign of growing worries for the congressman who’s trying to become the first Black Republican elected governor in U.S. history,” Jessica Taylor wrote in her analysis of the race for Cook. “The closer-than-expected polls come even as Donalds and his allies have outspent Jolly by 27 to one.” Cook still rates Florida’s Senate seat as solid Republican.

Vance dismissed any concerns that the Florida governorship or U.S. senate could be in jeopardy. “If we tell the truth about Angie Nixon, the people of Florida are going to kick her to the curb and send Ashley Moody to Washington,” Vance said. “Not to be outdone, Byron Donalds has got a real gem running against him, David Jolly.

Almost too easy, ladies and gentlemen. I have the easiest job in the world. I get to talk about how crazy the Democrats are.” During his speech, Vance was twice interrupted by protesters who were booed by the crowd and promptly escorted out. “We got a clown over here, ladies and gentlemen,” Vance said, downplaying the first interruption. “You always have to laugh at these protesters because that guy, you know, he pretends like he just broke out into an emotional protest, but he made sure to bring a cellphone.” Vance predicted that Florida voters would vote out Democrats in a similar fashion to removing the protesters. “This is not a representative voter from the state of Florida,” Vance said. “That guy is a Democrat plant who wants — he wants to raise your taxes and release illegal aliens on the streets of Florida.

Well, we kicked him out, just like we’re going to kick out the rest of the Democrats who want to do the exact same thing.” During the second protester’s interruptions, Vance stressed the difference between Democrats and Republicans on issues such as policing and education.

VANCE HEADS TO TEXAS TO BOOST BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE “Now, what that woman is yelling is that she wants left-wing bureaucrats in control of your schools, but Byron thinks you ought to be in control of your kids’ schools,” he said. “And just like Ashley, Byron is always going to stand up for Florida law enforcement.” To further drive home his message that the Sunshine State won’t abandon the Trump administration, Vance also declared in his remarks that “If anybody was unsure, I would say by the turnout today, it seems very obvious that Florida is MAGA country.”

How We See It

New Republican Times Editorial Board

Angie Nixon is a Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Florida, which means she looked at the wreckage of socialist governments around the world and decided that’s the plan worth running on. So when JD Vance told her to leave the country if she’s unhappy, that wasn’t rude. That was the most reasonable invitation a socialist is likely to get, and she got it while standing in a crowd of cheering Floridians.

The real story here isn’t Vance’s tone. It’s that the Florida Democratic Party just nominated a self-described socialist in a state where voters keep electing Republicans who believe in something else. The opposition’s answer is a candidate who wants to move the country toward a model that has failed everywhere it’s been tried. That’s not a debate. That’s a mismatch. And the Democratic response is to act like naming the problem is the offense.

Vance and Byron Donalds were in Florida to campaign for Ashley Moody, a serious senator with a record. Nixon offers slogans and a fan base that thinks every problem is solved by more government. Maybe she is genuinely unhappy with America’s system of free enterprise and individual liberty. If so, there are plenty of countries that would love to host her. The door swings both ways.

Nobody is banning anyone in this country from asking for a different system. But someone who wants to replace what we have with a socialist experiment should expect to have that ambition called out. It’s not the politics of anger. It’s a simple statement of fact, and Florida voters are smart enough to handle it. Leave the country? No. Leave the voters alone..

Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.