Mac Stipanovich is a Republican strategist and Tallahassee lobbyist who was chief of staff to former Gov. Bob Martinez.
The early narrative by U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis and his supporters in the governor’s race is that if Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is elected governor, Florida will become another Venezuela. That argument is so preposterous that it is promoted only by demagogues and believed only by dimwits, of which there are, unfortunately, a gracious plenty of both these days.
When unpacked, the argument’s major premise is that if a socialist is elected governor, Florida will become another Venezuela. The minor premise is Gillum is a socialist. And the conclusion is, therefore, if Gillum is elected, Florida will become another Venezuela. The fact that the major premise is false should be obvious to anyone with even a smidgin of knowledge about government in Florida and America, and its absurdity infects the equally ludicrous conclusion. But the minor premise warrants investigation.
Is Andrew Gillum a socialist?
The most often cited evidence of his socialist sins are his support for expanding taxpayer-subsidized health care coverage to everyone, or Medicare for all; raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour; and increasing the state corporate income tax from 5 percent to 7 percent — a 40 percent tax hike is the way it is breathlessly described by the DeSantis propagandists — to fund a $1 billion increase in funding for education.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/Column-If-Andrew-Gillum-is-a-socialist-so-is-Ron-DeSantis_171463753
