It seems as though Charlie Crist (D) isn't too keen on winning the appeal of Floridan voters. On Thursday, Rep. Crist flat-out called Governor Ron DeSantis (R) a fascist and said that his supporters have "hate in their hearts," adding that he didn't want their votes. Now, his new running mate may just sink his popularity even further. Karla Hernandez-Mats is the head of United Teachers of Dade, a large teachers' union in the Miami-Dade area.
This alone is not entirely objectionable. What she has done in her position is what raises some eyebrows. Hernandez-Mats was strongly in favor of Florida schools remaining in lockdown, pushing hard against DeSantis' initiative to reopen schools, calling it "completely contradictory to what we know to be the facts of this pandemic."
To this end, she drove hearses in front of a school board meeting in July 2020, a crass publicity stunt insinuating that kids would die if schools opened up. This past July, the United Teachers of Dade, the union she leads, called parents who protested mask mandates in school fake parents and "soldiers of faux rage" who "keep their base fired up with bogeymen and conspiracy theories."
Except those aren’t parents. In fact, many of them dont even have children. They are soldiers of faux rage, false narratives, and political interests that want to create chaos and keep their base fired up with boogey men and conspiracy theories. #fakenews
— United Teachers of Dade (@UTD_AFT1974) July 20, 2021
"Except those aren’t parents. In fact, many of them dont even have children. They are soldiers of faux rage, false narratives, and political interests that want to create chaos and keep their base fired up with boogey men and conspiracy theories. #fakenews," the union tweeted.
In October, Hernandez-Mats tweeted a cartoon comparing parents who wanted to reopen schools to slasher villains Pennywise, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface.
For any of you following the school board meetings, you know that the craziness is real. God be with us. #antivaxxers #disinformation #misinformation pic.twitter.com/FczrhSebGb
— Karla Hernández (@KarlaforFlorida) October 22, 2021
"For any of you following the school board meetings, you know that the craziness is real. God be with us. #antivaxxers #disinformation #misinformation," her tweet reads.
Easily the most chilling part of Hernandez-Mats' past is her possible protection of Wendell Nibbs, who acted as UTD's "attack dog," defending the union, while also repeatedly raping female students at Brownsville Middle School.
Hernadez-Mats also eulogized Fidel Castro after the Cuban dictator's passing in 2016:
A political figure dies at 90. Most in Miami rejoice, many in Cuba mourn #FidelCastro
— Karla Hernández (@KarlaforFlorida) November 26, 2016
"A political figure dies at 90. Most in Miami rejoice, many in Cuba mourn #FidelCastro," she wrote.
