Democrats should not give us “GOP lite”

In his Jan. 22 op-ed, “Florida Republicans have found what voters want; state Democrats better do the same,” former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine asserts that Floridians want “empowered police, schools that listen to parents, capitalism over socialism and controlled borders.” This is not accurate. Floridians want effective policing, highquality education, honest economic opportunities and fair immigration policies.

Empowered police departments generate the abuses leading to deaths of people like Eric Garner and George Floyd. Nobody should want this to continue.

“Parental control” is a euphemism for policies allowing control of educational curricula by some of the most narrow-minded people in the community. Real education should challenge our children to question things, rather than simply accept what they hear.

Not a single Democrat proposes turning our economy into one controlled by a state monopoly. We have allowed the far-right to dictate the terms of the debate. If the ex-mayor is so opposed to state intervention in the economy, I wonder if he supports eliminating all antitrust regulations, banking and insurance regulations, Social Security and Medicare.

Democrats lost votes from the Latino and

Black communities because they failed to deliver on promises made on the campaign trail. Once in office, they conveniently forget to address the issues.

Levine correctly notes that Florida is a “purple” state. His solution to run essentially conservativeleaning Democratic candidates, however, is a mistake. Democrats must run charismatic, young progressives who will address the concerns of the electorate.