After the most recent election debacle in Florida and the ritual resignation of the state party leaders associated with it, former agriculture commissioner (and Charlie Crist primary opponent) Nikki Fried stepped up to run for state party chair and won. Lots of folks were skeptical of Fried, and not wholly without reason, but maybe Fried is just what our demoralized state party needs. (Orlando Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried and Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book were arrested and taken away in handcuffs Monday night during a demonstration over an abortion bill outside Tallahassee City Hall near the Capitol.
The two Democratic leaders were with about 40 abortion-rights advocates protesting the Senate’s passage on Monday of SB 300, which bans most abortions after six weeks. Eleven protestors sitting in a circle singing “Lean on Me” on the plaza outside City Hall were detained and taken to jail, witnesses said.
They were charged with trespass after warning and taken to the county jail for processing, according to a statement from the Tallahassee Police Department.
Shortly after midnight, Fried tweeted: “I’m out. And not ever backing down. Just [expletive] vote @FlaDems!!!”
DeSantis will soon sign a so-called “heartbeat bill” that will effectively make abortion illegal in Florida and rob about 11 million Florida women of their bodily autonomy and consign us to second-class citizenship and substandard medical care. So yeah, it’s good to see the state party leader out there raising hell.
I don’t know if a more activist approach will turn things around anytime soon, but damn it, it’s a start. And it’s a refreshing change from the usual suspects huddled around conference room tables in Miami poring over useless reports from expensive consultants. Go Nikki!