Free Republic

State Rep. Randy Fine, a Jewish Republican legislator in Florida, has switched his support from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former President Donald Trump, contending that the governor has not demonstrated enough action to combat antisemitism.Fine began his op-ed, shared on social media as well as in the Washington Times, by telling readers that he was jumped by a Nazi two weeks ago in the Sunshine State, explaining he was a “target” as “the only Republican Jew elected to the Florida Legislature.”“And you will find few people in the Legislature who have championed Mr. DeSantis more,” he wrote.Fine noted his...

State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) has become the first GOP lawmaker to break with DeSantis. That’s after nearly the entire Republican legislative caucus backed the governor for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination. In a 637-word opinion article, posted this week in the Washington Times, Fine said he was switching allegiance to former President Donald Trump after DeSantis' inaction on antisemitism. Fine shared his grievances with us on Tuesday..... "Look — Gov. DeSantis says all the right things but a lot of times the action isn't behind it, and President Trump sometimes says the wrong things, but the actions are...

Rep. Randy Fine I got jumped by a Nazi in Florida. On video.Two weeks ago. In Ron DeSantis’ Florida, that’s no big deal. I’m a target; I am the only Republican Jew elected to the Florida Legislature, and you will find few people in the Legislature who have championed DeSantis more. I endorsed him before he was the Republican nominee for Governor. I was his Jewish Outreach Chair. I carried his bills to take on Disney, and end child mutilation in the name of fake gender “science.” Every piece of legislation you hear him talk about regarding Jewish issues is...

The Florida Senate passed on Wednesday legislation to end Disney’s special tax and governing jurisdiction. The Senate passed S. 4-C, which is the legislation that would dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, otherwise known as the special tax and governing jurisdiction for the Walt Disney World Resort. The legislation passed with 23 votes in favor of the bill, and 16 against the bill. The Florida legislature authorized the special district in 1967 to boost economic development and tourism; however, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida Republicans proposed the legislation to eliminate the special district after Disney has continued to oppose...

The Republican-led Florida Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would eliminate a special tax district that has allowed Walt Disney Co. to govern the land where its theme parks sit, as lawmakers target the company for opposing legislation restricting classroom instruction on gender and sexuality. The measure still needs to pass the GOP-led House, which is expected to approve it. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called for lawmakers to consider such a bill in a special session he convened this week, has made clear he would sign it. The measure potentially delivers a blow to the company’s operations in the...

A Florida lawmaker is considering legislation that would cut funding for school districts that implemented mask mandates despite a recent executive order, the Tampa Bay Times reported Monday. State Rep. Randy Fine, who chairs the PreK-12 Appropriations subcommittee, proposed a move that would punish the dozen districts that mandated masks, the Times reported. He said the school districts should have $200 million taken away and given to the 55 other districts that adhered to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order. DeSantis passed an executive order banning mask mandates in schools as part of a “Parent’s Bill of Rights” that he signed into...

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s ties to a leading anti-Israel group are generating scrutiny among Jewish voters, particularly in Florida, a perennial swing state populated by a large number of staunchly pro-Israel voters. As California’s attorney general and then as U.S. senator, Harris forged a relationship with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the nation’s top anti-Israel groups and advocates for boycotts of the Jewish state. CAIR advised Harris on community issues during her time in California politics, and she later offered the group her "gratitude and admiration" in a 2018 personal letter to the group. Harris’s association...