A.G. Gancarski
It’s been interesting to watch the evolution and the dissemination of memes in the Jacksonville mayoral race.
Just days after Mayor Alvin Brown made rhetorical overtures to his party’s left flank on issues such as discrimination legislation, a minimum wage hike, and the necessity of funding our local Safety Net hospital, UF Health, the Republican Party of Florida struck back. It has sent out a mailer in recent days promoting vote by mail. Its main rhetorical thrust is lambasting “liberal mayor” Brown and linking him to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The claims are nothing new. The Clinton part of the mailer reminds Jacksonville voters that Brown was an “adviser” to her campaign in 2007, and that Brown worked in the White House when her husband was president. The Obama section likewise reiterates claims that Brown donated to Obama for America and pushed the Affordable Care Act. It also pushes a new claim that “Brown’s team is stuffed with Obama loyalists and is essentially being run by the Florida Democratic Party.”
The section devoted to Brown also recycles familiar claims that have been disputed by both the campaign and policy sides of the Brown operation, such as “murder up 52%,” “cut 147 police officers,” “14% property tax hike,” and “proposed $240M in debt.”
While the sections devoted to Democrats use a black background with yellow type, the two sections devoted to Curry lay dark blue text over a soothing, light blue background, reiterating familiar arguments for the most part, including the four pillars of his plan to restore Jacksonville.
A couple of lines that may be of interest to people who read these things closely include “Lenny will defend the right to life and liberty for every Jacksonville resident, regardless of area or background” and “Lenny supports the traditional family.”
The Curry campaign, via the John Delaney endorsement last week, successfully pushed Brown toward some center-left rhetorical positions that have yet to have any real relevance to administration policy, which continues its quasi-conservative drift.
Having moved Brown from his “conservative Democrat” posture, the Curry camp clearly feels confident in establishing dominion over the center-right section of the electorate, which historically has been the sweet spot for Jacksonville mayoral candidates. Judging from the mailer’s list of endorsements, it was prepared before last Wednesday: Delaney’s name is absent from the roll call of GOP luminaries in Curry’s corner.
