It’s Gay Valimont- the only Democrat running against Matt Gaetz. If you havn’t heard of me before, you can go read my intro article HERE.
The new year has begun and my commitment to our campaign has only grown stronger. Why? I could tell you that the holidays gave me the opportunity to reflect on the last four months and, with the exception of a possible stalker, our campaign has exceeded all expectations. Or I could tell you that I have been personally floored by the number of Republicans that have reached out to me directly, because if you believe national media, none exist on the Panhandle. Or how I have also been pleasantly surprised by the number of small dollar donors that have invested in our campaign so early in the race. While all of these positive things are true, the real reason is “Florida Politics’ Man of The Year: Matt Gaetz (no really!)”.
While Matt Gaetz has been named the Florida politician of the year, even the writer admits “Yes, many reading this will reflexively recoil at the selection. But the truth is Gaetz stands on a small island of Florida politicians who ended the year in better shape than they started. Who else should even be considered?“
So, as I understand it, the premise for the assigned title is akin to Hitler winning Time Magazine’s '‘Man of the Year '' in 1938. And before anyone gets upset, let me unequivocally say Gaetz is in no way the same as Hitler, but the premise for the designation is the same. Hitler won the distinction because he shook Europe with unconscionable hate, in earthquake fashion. When readers complained, Time explained “it is not an expression of commendation’. They defined it as “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill’.
Ok. I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.
I have to remind myself that Gaetz thrives on being hated by most and revered by some, as long as he is able to control the news cycle. His goal from the beginning of the 118th Congress is to stall by any means possible and shut down the government. PERIOD. After Gaetz cleverly used his “trump card” to remove his own speaker, our federal government was paralyzed with the same looming funding deadline. The new speaker was finally elected, but agreed to the same funding deal as McCarthy to keep the government open, with Gaetz’s approval. What was it for? Single subject spending? Nope. The first bill introduced for Israel funding had tax cuts for the rich attached. Clearly, the man stands for nothing, but himself and it’s been my experience so far that Northwest Florida is figuring out “The Matt Gaetz Show”.
I’m so grateful for every single person who has supported my campaign so far.
I promise you all- I will work every day to make you proud. We will beat him.
You can support my campaign here: gayforcongress.us/...
Thank you,
Gay Valimont
Candidate for FL CD-1
#GetGaetzGone