Christian Ziegler, Vice Chairman of the Florida Republican Party, castigated the Biden administration on Sunday over its response to the pro-freedom uprising by Cubans against their communist government, saying that the Democrats have effectively ceded Florida to the Republican Party for the foreseeable future.
The remarks come as Cubans took to the street in rarely seen demonstrations to protest the impoverished conditions of the island, their lack of freedom under the communist regime, and did so while chanting “Liberty” and “Freedom” and waving an American flag.
Despite this, Julie Chung, Acting Assistant Secretary for U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said that the protests were centered around the coronavirus pandemic.
“Peaceful protests are growing in #Cuba as the Cuban people exercise their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID cases/deaths & medicine shortages,” Chung tweeted. “We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors in need.”
Ziegler responded on Twitter, writing: “Well… I will be adding this gem into my GOP stump speeches across Florida. May even need to print it out when I visit Southeast Florida. They were already heading this way, but Democrats just ceded Florida for the foreseeable future.”
“Cuban-Americans across S.E. Florida are nervous for their family & friends, but also celebrating them for rising up AGAINST Communism and FOR Freedom,” Ziegler continued. “Hey Joe – The American flags carried in protests across Cuba represent FREEDOM, not COVID.”
Cuban-Americans across S.E. Florida are nervous for their family & friends, but also celebrating them for rising up AGAINST Communism and FOR Freedom.
Hey Joe – The American flags carried in protests across Cuba represent FREEDOM, not COVID.
— Christian Ziegler 🇺🇸 (@ChrisMZiegler) July 12, 2021
The media often tries to claim that Florida is a purple state, but the state has become more and more red in recent years, voting for former President Donald Trump twice, electing a Republican governor (the state’s fourth consecutive Republican governor), giving majorities to the Republican Party in the state House and Senate. The state’s two U.S. Senators are Republicans and 16 out of the state’s 27 congressional districts are Republican, a number likely to grow in the Republican Party’s favor in 2022 since Republicans control redistricting and the state gained a U.S. House seat in the recent census.
“I am just amazed by this Tweet. When the Democrats’ thirst for communism meets the hunger for control in the name of COVID, they get delusional & dumb,” Ziegler continued. “The Biden position on display is beyond insulting to freedom loving Cubans both home & abroad. It will not be forgotten.”
“I walked door-to-door in the heart of Hialeah with Rep. @Daniel_PerezFL,” he added. “Let me tell you one thing I did not hear from 1 Cuban – The need for people in Cuba to rise up in response to COVID. Instead, every conversation focused on the need to rise up against COMMUNISM.”
The remarks come as the Republican Party has made significant gains with Latinos in recent years due to the Democrat Party’s march toward the far-left, a reality admitted by prominent liberal writers.
Andrew Sullivan recently wrote:
… check out Kevin Drum’s analysis of asymmetric polarization these past few decades. He shows relentlessly that over the past few decades, it’s Democrats who have veered most decisively to the extremes on policy on cultural issues since the 1990s. Not Republicans. Democrats.
On immigration, Republicans have moved around five points to the right; the Democrats 35 points to the left. On abortion, Republicans who advocate a total ban have increased their numbers a couple of points since 1994; Democrats who favor legality in every instance has risen 20 points. On guns, the GOP has moved ten points right; Dems 20 points left.
Political polarization in the US decreased slightly between 1994 and 2004, then increased dramatically between 2004 and 2017. Most of the movement was on the left. pic.twitter.com/dlxaTQN49a
— Paul Graham (@paulg) July 4, 2021