Socialism

Josie Tomkow’s political allies would apparently like voters to know that Brian Nathan once registered with something called the National Atheist Party. They also want you frightened by the word “socialist.” Before anyone begins checking the neighborhood for Marxists hiding behind the recycling bins, perhaps we should look at what the two candidates have actually done.

Nathan supports a woman’s right to make decisions about her own pregnancy. Tomkow voted for Florida’s 15-week abortion restriction and later for the six-week restriction. She also supported laws that moved authority from local communities to Tallahassee and backed state restrictions on medical care, classrooms, books, pronouns, and public facilities. If government control is the issue, there is a lot in the voting record to consider.

Campaign labels are wonderfully convenient. “Socialist.” “Radical.” “Atheist.” They fit easily on mailers and take much less effort than reading voting records. This time, we read the records.