Summary
Florida Representative Susan Valdes announced her switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party shortly after her re-election.
She expressed alignment with Republican Speaker Daniel Perez’s vision and a desire to address her constituents’ needs.
While acknowledging potential policy disagreements, Valdes emphasized respect within the Republican supermajority.
Her defection strengthens Republican control in the Florida House and highlights growing divisions within state politics.
I can’t believe there aren’t any laws against this. We live in a mad, mad world…
Ehh wouldn’t matter, at least this adds some transparency to it. Could have just stayed on the D and voted for GOP
Switching parties like this should at least immediately trigger a new election. You shouldn’t just get elected, pull your mask off as the opposite of you who ran as and your voters voted for, and just get to stay. That’s ludicrous.
Every single Democrat should run as a republican in their next election.
Don’t even change any of your tactics or messaging, just put an R there instead of a D.
Watch what happens.
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out facesIn Canada, it used to be a political death sentence. Candidates have lost everything by “flip-flopping” on just one issue; but we’ve had a number of our centre and centre-right “cross the floor” and slide farther right.
You forgot the other two mads.
This happened in North Carolina last election. She campaigned on liberal ideas and then immediately switched. It has enabled the state GOP to take tons of power in the last few years. Forgot to add her name. Tricia Cotham.
Unlike the representative from Florida, Tricia gave the Republicans the supermajority they needed to pass all that dumb private schools voucher garbage, and then later a big pile of money, because they ran out after getting rid of the INCOME LIMIT OF VOUCHER PARTICIPANTS!
Kyrsten Sinema did the same in the US senate.
This is how Dallas got a Republican Mayor. They elected a Democrat but less than a month later he flipped, such clearly premeditated party changes should be illegal, it’s not what the voters thought they were casting their ballots for.
It’s straight up fraud.
Same with NYC
It’s nwit allowed in NZ and you get a reelection
Why doesn’t this ever go the other way with a Republican turning coat into a Democrat?
You cant sell out by turning democrat. Closest possible thing is a republican somehow offending the other republicans, and turning to democrat in the hopes that the democrats will accept them and protect them from political retribution. Which democrats probably wont, were not known for our spine so much as our quick judgements.
Because politicians are generally opportunists and the fascist party offers more opportunities for personal enrichment for those with no loyalty to their voters.
Also, doing it in the other direction is a surefire way to get death threats and worse…
Blind loyalty is a trait with conservatives. “Progressives need to fall in love with their leader, but conservatives merely need fall in line”
Because people usually get dumber and greedier with age after ~30 or stay the same.
It’s simple. Most Democrats are simply Republicans practicing under an air of ethics. It’s easy to give up those ethics when a person doesn’t truly believe them and then realizes nobody will hold them accountable.
Because when you move from left to right, you’re welcomed with open arms, but trying to go from right to left is met with hostility. Hell, I’m barely on the right culturally, yet I’m often treated as if I’m far-right - especially online. If anything, this just pushes me further to the right, which, I’d argue, is exactly how we ended up with four more years of Trump and will likely lead to eight years of J.D. Vance next unless “the left” gets their act together.
I’m often treated as if I’m far-right - especially online. If anything, this just pushes me further to the right
“People think my beliefs are X, therefore I begin to believe X.”
So what I hear is you have no actual beliefs and are influenced too easily.
No, my beliefs don’t change. Only who I vote for.
Thank you for illustrating his point.
Not really… You know how I reconcile when someone I’m talking to has misconstrued my positions? I reiterate what those positions are, and make it clear what it is that I believe in so that people will not get it confused. It’s very simple.
I don’t react by crying about people misconstruing my positions and then voting for someone who holds the complete opposite views out of some weird form of spite
I don’t react by crying about people misconstruing my positions and then voting for someone who holds the complete opposite views out of some weird form of spite
Yeah, you don’t - but plenty of other people do. Joe Rogan and Elon Musk are perfect examples of this. You can dislike it all you want, but that doesn’t stop people from acting this way. What a party stands for doesn’t matter much if it can’t win elections. If their political approach isn’t working, doubling down is unlikely to help. Right now, what the “left” is doing isn’t winning them elections, and people are moving to the right - partly out of spite, because the left bullied them there.
Ah yes, another person “being pushed far right” because of the meanies.
I don’t want to hate trans people, but someone on this website called “Lemmy” said a mean thing to me and have given me no choice.
Hell, I’m barely on the right culturally, yet I’m often treated as if I’m far-right - especially online
If you’re barely right wing in the US, then you’re pretty far right on the scale of the developed world.
I’m Canadian, and I consider the Democrats to be a fairly right-wing party on the whole.
When you’re online, you’re working with a different scale than if you’re just in a US environment.
No, we got to this because people got lied enough to force a news network to pay $787 million and others to read scripted messages explaining the election wasn’t stolen on TV.
The fact that this is legal in the US is just another reason why US politics is completely fucked. The people didn’t just elect the person, they elected the party. If she no longer wants to be a Democrat then she should resign. Here in Australia, that’s what you do. You want to join the other party? you resign an then you need to be re-elected for the party your represent. It’s fucking insane to be able to just go, nup, I’m switching sides.
If that’s allowed, why don’t don’t smart, well spoken Dems campaign as Republicans to get the Maga votes then switch to Democrat after being elected?
Now she’s the party of killing women. Classy.
Tired to be in the party of protesting, so she joins the party they’re protesting against? Weird logic
