A.G. Gancarski
Democrats on a Zoom panel Thursday decried a failed response from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis regarding COVID-19 impacts to African-American and Hispanic communities.
Orlando Sen. Victor Torres spotlighted the increased rate of COVID-19 positive tests among Latino and African-American communities.
“We are essential workers … constantly out there being exposed,” Torres said. “A lot of people aren’t being tested in the Hispanic community. We have an issue with the leaders in this state and the federal government.”
“We need to hold Republicans accountable for this … against our people,” Torres added.
Sen. Audrey Gibson, the caucus leader from Jacksonville, focused on preexisting conditions putting some people higher risk for the disease.
The Senate Democratic Leader said “the impact on people of color got lost,” with “diabetes and high blood pressure” eliminated from specific discussion as underlying conditions.
“The DeSantis administration, the Surgeon General should never have dropped that issue,” Gibson said.
The Senator also mocked Jacksonville’s decision to open beaches.
“We open these up for people who aren’t necessarily socially distancing … sending mixed messages,” Gibson said. “There is a rush to open the economy.”
Meanwhile, working people “are being put into harm’s way,” the Senator said.
Tampa Sen. Janet Cruz said that the “black and brown community” shouldn’t “get used by big business trying to open up the state too soon.”
Cruz cited a survey saying 2/3 of Hispanics reported they would not get sick pay if out of work because of a positive test. And nearly half of all Hispanics have suffered job loss, either personally or of someone they know, in this crisis.
“Most of them work in the service industries. A great many of them have to be at the site at which they work,” Cruz said.
Testing has incomplete racial data, painting a flawed picture of how much more these communities are affected than the population at large with 26% of the state’s nearly 29,000 cases being of unknown race.
Rep. Fentrice Driskell, of Hillsborough County, was blunt.
“We need to push for these demographics,” she said.
“We need to know the data,” Gibson added, so that people can “protect themselves.”
The issue went well beyond data, however, with the critique of DeSantis becoming personal.
Cruz alleged a failure of leadership writ large, negatively contrasting DeSantis to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“It’s a big mishmash of misinformation … it’s a disaster,” the Tampa Senator lamented.
“We have a Governor who wants to be President,” Jacksonville’s Gibson quipped.
She then added that Jacksonville’s Mayor and her frequent political antagonist, Republican Lenny Curry, “wants to be Governor.”
7 comments
Johny Reb "seber" Trump
April 23, 2020 at 7:36 pm
The Demorats, are just what they are assssssssessss. They are using a tragedy to claim its racism. Never let a tragedy go to waste, that is their motto… Everything is about race race race all the time.. People especially WHITE people are sick and tired of the same old crap, day after day… President Trump by a landslide in November 2020.
Linda Dixon
April 23, 2020 at 7:51 pm
It is heartbreaking what the world is going through because of this virus. It affects all of us. Sadly, minorities are effected because the cities they live in are in such poor conditions – the homes, apartments, streets with trash and mice, homelessness, and on and on; ALL due to destructive policies their liberal mayors, counsels, committees, commissioners and Gov’s apply and pass. Those policies are the cause for those conditions. To this day, I don’t understand what it will take to change the minds of the residents in those cities about the way they vote and why. The continue to vote for policies that hurt them. It is very sad as none of us want to see anyone suffer for any reason. What will it take to wake up folks living in extreme crime areas, the same cities, because of those liberal policies?
Ocean Joe
April 24, 2020 at 11:03 am
Heartbreaking that the GOP has a lawsuit pending before the US Supreme court (which it now controls) to throw 32,000,000 lower income people off health insurance. Maybe those folks arent as dumb as you think they are.
Linda Dixon
April 24, 2020 at 3:33 pm
Ocean Joe: Thank you for responding. First, HALLELUJAH THAT THE SUPREME COURT HAS MORE CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICES NOW!!! CELEBRATE, CELEBRATE, DANCE TO THE MUSIC!!! Second: Most folks can get health coverage through work…get it? Don’t preach to me. I PAID for my health insurance and lost it due to Obama Care so that those folks who sit on their rear ends can get it free. Certainly, the disabled should receive free healthcare. Able bodied people need to pay their own way, period. I also lost my doctor of 17 years because of the lying Barry who said that we would be able to keep both. I’m guessing you don’t care about folks whose insurance that they paid for all of their working life is now unaffordable due to the very high cost of ACA.
martin
April 24, 2020 at 8:51 am
drive by shootings are still happening daily. Any dem. care to comment? Stop this corona virus is racist crap. Any excuse to blame the white man for a personal failing. Obesity, type II diabetes, kidney disease, high blood pressure–look inward. Correct the problem from within, and stop pointing fingers at everyone else.
Sonja Fitch
April 24, 2020 at 9:24 am
Duffus Desantis does not give a shit! Duffus Desantis lies about the testing(slowing it down) to make Duffus Desantis look like a leader instead of a damn paranoid delusional racist liar!
martin
April 24, 2020 at 7:00 pm
I was at a Publix this morning. The only person not wearing a mask or any type of mouth and nose covering was an obese African American woman. Case closed!
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