[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by sware2cod

Bill Nelson cares about Floridians and Florida's environment. He wants Floridians to have access to healthcare even if they have a pre-existing condition. He was always against oil drilling off Florida's coast. His opponent, Rick Scott, supported oil drilling off Florida's coast until he was forced to change positions after the oil spill in the Gulf.

Floridians of all parties care about Florida's environment. Floridians of all parties don't want people with pre-existing conditions to lose their health insurance solely due to having a pre-existing condition.

These are some of the reasons that Floridians have consistently supported Bill Nelson. He didn't change his positions on issues due to an election; he has always had these positions and voters know this.

Red Tide Rick Scott cares more about corporations and gives them a pass for polluting Florida's land, air and water. Bill Nelson protects Florida's environment.

This post reminds me of the view of Kyrsten Sinema here in Arizona. She won the Senate - the first woman to do so in AZ in a rare Democratic victory. AZ is changing. It used to be ultra-conservative in the days of Evan Mecham - the very "off-the-chart" conservative Mormon of the 80s who banned the Martin Luther King Holiday. But Sinema, a bisexual, liberal "centrist" ran on a platform of defending healthcare - especially regarding pre-existing conditions. The ads against McSally on her healthcare stance worked.
https://www.kgun9.com/news/political...t-sinema-s-win

I lived in Florida for about 14 years - mostly in Tallahassee. I also lived in Fort Lauderdale and worked in Miami. I got to know much of the state's changing demographics and political views. I semi-commuted to Panama City across route 20 and now understand why the "late" votes from the CST zone of the NW FL Panhandle often flips election results late on election night - it's mostly red. By contrast, South FL like Broward is heavily Democratic. So is Central FL. But across the state there are many "red" zones.

The point is that I find it ironic Sinema lived in the Florida Panhandle in childhood. She was born in AZ but moved to the Panhandle with a stepdad who was struggling financially - a very common scenario in that part of the state. I noticed divorce rates are high in the FL Panhandle with many step parents and 2nd marriages (which usually often fail). So, I thought she would have grown up to become an ultra-conservative Republican and staunch Trump supporter like many in that red zone near Escambia and Bay County not too far from Dothan and Mobile, AL. But she is actualled now a lapsed Mormon and openly bisexual senator in Arizona. Go figure.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.4ebbcb0864de

I wonder if she is a "Nole" fan like so many from the FL Panhandle? LOL. I used to wear my blue UF Gator Alumni shirt up there and many co-workers from that red zone hated it. A lot of them had gone to FSU, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss. St., etc. Those people in the panhandle seem to have deep roots with the old Confederate Army from the Civil War - ultra-conservative southerners. Ironically, Sinema spent her childhood in that area.

Rural AZ in the 1970s was probably more conservative, homophobic and racist than the modern FL Panhandle. But now AZ has changed with Sinema's win.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Exactly, Democrats and the media have gone crazy every time Trunp wins

Maga trumpers have been committing hate crimes at record levels since his 2016 election,, blessed of course by our white nationalist xenophobic president

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Antifa defacing private property and threatening polititican & media families in public and at their homes, Black Panthers carrying guns near polling places. Throwing milk in Republican faces and getting arrested. Hillary saying "we cant be civil", Biden saying "when we get them down we kick them", I could go on and on.

Democrats have become unhinged violent lunitics. The fake veil of being the party of compassion and understanding has been lifted. Just a bunch of political thugs when they don't get their way...waaahh

Not sure what your baseless rant has to do with trump creating fake news about Jim Acosta, but ok?

[beach43ofus]

Back to waht accounts for Bill Nelson's success...

-lack of term limits
-picking the right offices to run for in the right parts of the state, and at the right time
-demographic shifts of people moving into Florida from Dem areas
-following party boss commands in return for his districts being gerrimandered & to get campaign funding from DNC
-snuggling up to Big Ag and mining so he could fund his warchest, & get other favors in return for his votes & influence
-staying out of the news by not doing anything blatantly illegal, or immoral
-he acted, spoke, & campaigned like a Dem Centrist in public, which got him Independants' votes, even though he wasn't one

Pretty much the same play book every lifetime politician plays by. Nothing unique about him. He plays the game very well.

[chopchop0]

Bill Nelson is a centrist, someone that is sorely needed and lacking in polarized DC

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Bill Nelson is a centrist, someone that is sorely needed and lacking in polarized DC

He votes party line ~95% of the time, and the Dem party has lunged further left since OBlunder came along, so I'd say Bill Nelson is not longer the centrist he started out as. He votes the way Chucky tells him too.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by bgmiami

Nelson was the Insurance Commissioner right after Andrew. I lived in South Dade, about 1/2 hour north of Homestead, and the eye of the storm went right through my neighborhood. There was destruction everywhere. I saw first hand how he helped hundreds of people get the insurance companies to pay up. The insurance companies wanted to play games with people and cheat them out of what was rightfully theirs. He was on the scene, answering questions and talking to people. He stood up to the insurance companies. What he did back then is rarely seen in a politician. People don't forget the kindness he showed to them.

Unfortunately, it seems the Bill Nelson who used to care about his constituents has left the building. I voted for him for years, because he had an excellent staff who served the people well. As I mentioned earlier, it seems the staff has been replaced by operatives who have no compunctions about being rude and dismissive. And I think these people have co-opted him.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by bgmiami

Have you ever met the man or spoken to him? I've met him twice. Once after Hurricane Andrew and just before the election. He spoke to our local Democratic Club and he seems to be the same caring individual he was years ago. And even he he wasn't, it was either vote for him or vote for crooked Rick Scott and that was not going to happen. Scott is only going to represent his interests in Washington!

A very long time ago, when he took a shot at running for governor of Florida.

I judge my Senators and Representative by their staffs, because as a citizen, I depend on staff to be heard and to assist me with any federally related problem. If the staff are going to be operatives, then they are of no use to me and neither is the Senator or Representative.

I didn't vote for either of them.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by bgmiami

Have you ever met the man or spoken to him? I've met him twice. Once after Hurricane Andrew and just before the election. He spoke to our local Democratic Club and he seems to be the same caring individual he was years ago. And even he he wasn't, it was either vote for him or vote for crooked Rick Scott and that was not going to happen. Scott is only going to represent his interests in Washington!

You must have missed my earlier post...Nelson votes for what Chucky Shumer in Washington DC tells him to vote for, no matter what it means to Floridians. Nelson's voted the DC party line 95% of the time.

Now, he's trying to steal the election by having votes counted beyond the State Law mandated deadline.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

You must have missed my earlier post...Nelson votes for what Chucky Shumer in Washington DC tells him to vote for, no matter what it means to Floridians. Nelson's voted the DC party line 95% of the time.

Now, he's trying to steal the election by having votes counted beyond the State Law mandated deadline.

The DC party line is what is necessary to keep the Russian sympathizing moron in chief in line