News/Commentary

Talk about bad optics! Democrats dance in the aisle of Florida state legislature

May 9, 2023 | | Print Article

In one of those stories that flew under the radar, a video made the rounds last week featuring a group of primarily Democratic state lawmakers dancing to “Cupid Shuffle” on the floor of the Florida House and even caught the attention of conservative actor James Woods.

Taking to Twitter to share the footage, Woods observed, “While you work two jobs and can’t put food on the table…”

Granted, the optics at play here are terrible, but the fact is that Democrats are little more than back-benchers in the Florida legislature. Republicans enjoy a supermajority in both chambers along with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis — which may explain why the rest of the country is beating the door down to get into the Sunshine State — and Democrats have no real impact on what’s being passed.

In fact, with the legislative session recently ending, the GOP had what some have called the most successful session ever, running the table with their legislative pursuits.

One such example is seen here:

(The Florida legislature only meets once a year for 60 days, outside of any special sessions called, and being a state representative is a part-time gig with an average salary of just under $30,000 a year, plus travel and related expenses.)

The dancing came in the final days of the legislative session and took place prior to that day’s session becoming active. In a perfect encapsulation of politics in America today, social media users claimed the video depicted Republicans dancing after passing “anti-trans” legislation — this being what the radical left calls any bill intended to protect minor children from critical gender theory and body mutilation.

“After banning trans people from public bathrooms, banning trans kids from getting health care, legalizing the kidnapping of trans kids and banning any mention of gay or trans people in grades K-12, Republicans in Florida danced and Democrats joined them,” one poorly-informed TikTok user claimed, according to Politifact.

In a rare fact check favoring the right, the outlet spoke with Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who explained that music is generally played on the floor before the legislative session begins and that on May 2, which had been deemed Boots Day, the House music started with “Cha Cha Slide.” A Democratic lawmaker then requested “Cupid Shuffle,” and the line dance was on.

“Three minutes later, it was over. That was it,” the progressive left lawmaker said. “It wasn’t after a vote. It wasn’t in the context of a vote. It was literally before the gavel even started things.”

Interestingly, while Democrats like Eskamani spend much of their day crying out about how bad things are in Florida under Gov. DeSantis, things aren’t bad enough to keep the hypocrites from dancing in the aisles.

As for the optics, here’s a sampling of responses to Woods’ tweet, as seen on Twitter:

Tom Tillison
Latest posts by Tom Tillison (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles