Ron DeSantis gave Ashley Brundage, a trans Democrat, an award. Now she’s challenging GOP power. DeSantis said he never would have given her the award if he knew she was trans. Now she’s running to be the first trans woman in the state legislature.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/08/ron-desantis-gave-ashley-brundage-a-trans-democrat-an-award-now-shes-challenging-gop-power/
48 Comments
Conservatives go, “You can always tell” then give awards to trans people without realizing at all.
DeSantis is such a fucking chode.
Ah, conservative values: “I can’t judge you until I know what your genitals look like”.
The party of family values, indeed.
>Ashley Brundage, 44, a DEI educator, former bank executive, a devoted parent to two teenage boys, and a major booster for her hometown of Tampa, could move one step closer on Tuesday to becoming the first elected transgender lawmaker from Florida.
>If she does prevail, Brundage will face Republican incumbent Karen Gonzalez Pittman, a former teacher in the district who voted in favor of Don’t Say Gay legislation and book bans in school libraries. (Brundage is the award-winning author of [*Empowering Differences: Leveraging Your Differences to Impact Change*](https://www.amazon.com/Empowering-Differences-Leveraging-Impact-Change/dp/1736087134).)
>Her opponent has “only helped to scare away people from wanting to come to Florida” with the “draconian laws” she’s helped to pass, Brundage says.
>***And so, yeah, I’m not afraid of having a glowing letter of support from Ron DeSantis, because there are 38% Republicans in my district who should know that Ron DeSantis gave me an award, and that should be a reason why they should consider voting for me because of my work in the community. My opponent in the general election hasn’t done any economic empowerment work for our community and has only helped to scare away people from wanting to come to Florida with these draconian laws they’ve been passing. This is the stuff that does not help our economy long term and we haven’t even begun to feel the negative economic effects of some of these culture war topics.***
>***So, yeah, I’m gonna use that letter. I’m gonna tell the voters what they need to know about me from Ron DeSantis in his own words: “Ashley was a shining, positive example and role model for our community.” He also told the Daily Mail that he is going to have me removed from their website as a winner of the award, and I hope that he comes to try to pry this letter from my cold, dead hands, because he’s going to have a lot of fun trying to do that.***
Yup. Ron DeSantis is such a petty pillock. DeSantis is a snollygoster. He exemplifies everything wrong with politics in general. He would rather hate on others for not being his kind of Christian nationalist, instead of welcome everyone to his party.
What a joke DeSantis is! I hope Ashley wins and waves the letter from DeSantis in his face when she’s sworn in, just to spite him.
“You know those great deeds you did? They er….they don’t count.”
“But they did when you gave me an award?”
*Republican sweats nervously*
Isn’t saying you wouldn’t have given an award to someone if you knew they were trans the ultimate self own in terms of your views on trans rights? Like, “when I didn’t know we had a great relationship and I saw her potential….. so it’s not her….. it’s me”
This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/08/ron-desantis-gave-ashley-brundage-a-trans-democrat-an-award-now-shes-challenging-gop-power/) reduced by 96%. (I’m a bot)
*****
> Ashley Brundage, 44, a DEI educator, former bank executive, a devoted parent to two teenage boys, and a major booster for her hometown of Tampa, could move one step closer on Tuesday to becoming the first elected transgender lawmaker from Florida.
> Her opponent has "Only helped to scare away people from wanting to come to Florida" with the "Draconian laws" she's helped to pass, Brundage says.
> In 2022, you received a Spirit of the Community award from the Florida Commission on the Status of Women for bringing tens of millions of dollars to the Tampa area with an international economic empowerment conference, and you got a letter of congratulations from Governor Ron DeSantis.
*****
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You go, girl!
Ashley is smart, accomplished, and hardworking. So naturally she doesn’t have any business being near the Florida Statehouse. (2nd sentence is obviously sarcasm)
“I just thought she was hot … before I knew she was trans … like it’s not fair …”
The “we can always tell” crowd folks. They love to scream violence at us online and then have absolutely idea when we exist around them when we’re in public. It’s laughable and sad and disgusting, as it’s always been
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It’s almost like you can objectively assess a human being on their merits when you don’t deliberately inject culture war bullshit into the matter.
What a fucking moron lol how do you give an award to someone and know nothing about them
If her being trans is the only issue, where does this fall in their meritocracy bullshit?
He hate that just radiates off this asshat Desantis is nauseating
He’s going to demand to see everyone naked before giving awards from now on.
The casual admission that merit is not the sole basis on which he gives awards is just wild to me.
Is that not textbook discrimination?
I really *really* hope she wins, but it is Florida
This is proof that republicans live off hate. It does not matter that what she did was deserving of an award, they will only support people who, look, act, and believe as they do.
Just imagine the word trans was replaced with “I would never have given her the award if she was *insert group here.”
Ron (next week?): I never would’ve sucked his dick if I knew that he was gay!
These motherf*ckers are the reason that Pontiac doesn’t make the Trans-AM any more!
….Door is *that* way right? Yeah yeah, I’m going.
Do trans people have protections at all? Wouldn’t not giving them the award because of them being trans fall under something somewhat illegal?
Dumbass can’t even tell who he’s discriminating against.
DeSantis, again, failing to be normal.
Is he angry that her heels are taller?
Why the fuck does that weirdo in heels now care that she’s trans? They need to stop worrying about other people’s bodies ffs.
really shows that its about nothing with them.
I am sure Ron DeSantis knew, but is now acting like he didn’t know because he got found out!
All DeSantis’ nonsense aside, she seems like a great candidate! I hope to see a lot more from her in the future.
Wow. That is pretty much the definition of both bigotry and discrimination, Rhonda Santis.
Ron gave her a “passing” grade!
He was trapped!
Blatant bigotry
That headline alone is enough to earn my vote. Fuck desantis
You think these clowns will ever consider the irony, in the fact that something they fight so hard against, in the name of normalcy and God, isn’t even something they’re able to distinguish with the naked eye? It bothers them so much yet the only way this can even happen is if they’re being actively informed beforehand. He gave this lady an *award* for fucks sake but now it’s a mistake because he didn’t properly know her gender? This is like a headline from the Onion.
Karma’s a bitch.
Dei
If she’s highly qualified why not? I want smart good people in office. Thats my main decision when voting. Is the person a good person and the best for the job?
I’m so sick of the republican cruelty. That’s what it is. Everything they do has a touch of cruelty in it.
Sad Desantis…your way has failed. Dead end.
So she deserves an award until the bigot meatball Ron finds out and then she isn’t worthy based on his prejudices. Florida deserves better than DeSantis but probably won’t get anyone better. Too many racist knuckle draggers living there.
He is garbage. Awarded a person for what they accomplished and then backpedaled because who they are. If that’s not bigotry I don’t know what is.
Wait, Dan Coulter was the first.
Did no one in Ron DeSantis cabinet tell him that she is trans or was he not paying attention when they told him either way just make DeSantis look like a hateful dumbass and I hope Ashley wins the set that she’s running for.
Is he going to start “grabbing pussies” at the door now to make sure the shes aren’t packing?
I have a trans friend and even they don’t spend as much time thinking about trans people as Republicans. The amount of time wasted having to combat these dipshits for hating on what is in reality a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of the populations is just infuriating. Just get over it already and let people live their lives how they want to so long as they’re not hurting anyone else. Sheesh.