The forces of good can come out on top if people are willing to be persistent and tell the truth.

Leading up to the August 23 primary in Citrus County, Florida, the powerful leftist interests pulled out all the stops to pummel our MassResistance chapter — and elect their endorsed radical candidates. But that’s not how it worked out. Our Florida MassResistance chapter fought back unrelentingly. All of the Left’s endorsed candidates lost, while one of the candidates our Florida chapter supported won a County Commission seat.

Citrus County, located north of Tampa, is one of the most conservative Christian (and Republican) areas of the state. But like many other supposedly “red” areas, the local media leans far-left. And leftists have seeped into local elected offices by running as Republicans. Adding to that, the LGBT movement is pushing its agenda hard in conservative areas. So local citizen groups need to be on the alert, stand up and fight back. MassResistance is often called on to help.

It Began With Stopping the Library’s “Pride” Display

As we reported earlier this year, this fight started back in June 2021. People in town were outraged that there were “Gay Pride” displays in the library entrances that year, and fought to keep them out this year. But the leftist majority on the County Commission (which controls the Library Advisory Board) sided with the library staff who wanted the displays — and wouldn’t budge.

One of several Citrus County library displays last year that greeted people as they walked in.

Our MassResistance chapter organized a huge wave of community opposition, including vigorous testimony at County Commission and Library Advisory Board meetings, plus a petition with nearly 1,000 names. (The leader of the Citrus County MassResistance group, John Labriola, also documented the fight on his well-read Citrus Crusader blog.)

Finally, on April 6 the Citrus County Library Director capitulated, at least temporarily. Under pressure, he announced to the local media that he has “no plans to put up an LGBTQ Pride Month display this June.”

Focus Moves to the Upcoming Election

The next step was to make sure it never came back.

Their first plan was to get a majority of pro-family people on the Library Advisory Board. But on April 26, the County Commission and representatives from the two local city councils who make up the Library Governing Board (which appoints members to the Library Advisory Board) decided to reject all 39 new applicants and to reappoint the existing members of the leftist-dominated Library Advisory Board.

The politicians clearly needed a shakeup. So the focus fell on the August 23 primary elections for County Commission and other offices. (In Citrus County, most local races are decided in the August primaries because virtually everyone runs as a Republican, including the liberals who know they can’t get elected there if they have a D after their name.)

Chamber of Commerce Attacks, Lashing Out Against Conservative Christians

Across the U.S., local Chambers of Commerce (similar to the national Chamber) have taken their cues from corporate America and have become forces dedicated to pushing the country leftward, and the Republican Party along with it.

About three weeks after the Library Director’s announcement to cancel the “Pride” displays this year, the president of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce lashed out at conservative Christians. During the April 26 Library Governing Board meeting he spoke up during the public testimony period and compared those wanting to protect children from LGBT propaganda to segregationists like Gov. Wallace of Alabama who wanted to keep blacks from enrolling in the University of Alabama in 1963! He called these Christians “agitators, and you have not heard the last of them.”

But pro-family people weren’t taking it. Their outrage only got stronger! There were demands for the president of the Chamber to resign. There were calls for local businesses to leave the Chamber.

The Chamber president, not surprisingly, came back with even more bigotry and vitriol. On May 13 he told the Chamber members that he would continue pushing leftist ideology — and the members applauded him!

No “Pride” Month Library Displays in June!

As promised, the Citrus County Library Director relented to MassResistance pressure. There were no “Pride” month displays, posters, etc., in the Citrus County libraries during June (or any other time) this year.

As the Citrus Crusader reported, the vindictive Chamber of Commerce president marked the first day of June with a special LGBT-themed email blast to all the Chamber’s 600-plus member businesses.

The Local Leftist Newspaper Begins Its Attack on MassResistance

As in most of the country these days, the local newspaper, the Citrus County Chronicle, is far-left, anti-Christian (every October, the Chronicle holds a transsexual Drag Queen show as a breast cancer research benefit), and is shamelessly unprofessional in its journalism.

As soon as the Chronicle realized that Florida MassResistance was supporting candidates, it began a series of vicious attacks on the group and on John Labriola, our leader in Citrus County. They continuously brought up the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which labels hundreds of conservative organizations and churches as “hate groups.” The SPLC is a universally discredited left-wing, anti-Christian attack group — and is itself a hate group. The SPLC has even been debunked in the editorial pages of the liberal Washington Post.

The Chronicle started off with a vicious attack editorial targeting MassResistance. (Note: their articles are behind a paywall.) More negative articles followed.

But the Citrus Crusader fought right back even harder. And people in the area took notice. It became clear in Citrus County that this was a battle between normal values and extreme cultural Marxism — and that as usual the Left would stop at nothing to demonize their opponents. Many residents weighed in on the debate with letters to the editor of the Chronicle:

 

As the August 23 election neared, the Citrus County Chronicle endorsed candidates in three races — including the husband of the publisher of the Chronicle for a County Commission seat!

According to reports, Chamber of Commerce business elites enthusiastically supported (and helped finance) all three.

Primary Night Victory: Chronicle Newspaper and Chamber of Commerce Lose Big!

The August 23 primary was a disaster for the Citrus County Chronicle. All three of its candidates lost. A MassResistance-supported County Commission candidate won. Here are the three races:

• County Commission District 2: The MassResistance-supported candidate crushed her Chronicle-endorsed liberal opponent by a 14-point margin. She faces only token opposition in the November election.
• County Commission District 4: The husband of the Chronicle publisher lost.
• School Board: The Chronicle-endorsed far-left candidate got only 25 percent of the vote, coming in third.

Read more about this in the Citrus Crusader report. Needless to say, MassResistance was thoroughly exonerated of any of the Chronicle’s hate journalism.

Final Thoughts

John Labriola and his Citrus County MassResistance activists are a shining example of what the conservative movement usually fails to do: tell the truth (even if it’s politically incorrect) and always be relentless. And never be intimidated by the media’s attacks or by powerful RINOs in the community.

John is now taking it to the next level by running for office himself in the upcoming Nov. 8 election. He’s a candidate for city council of Inverness, the county seat of Citrus. His platform includes a pledge to continue fighting the LGBT indoctrination agenda by taking the battle directly to the leftist forces that are working to undermine the area’s conservative Christian character. His candidacy could become a template for grassroots conservative activists everywhere, and it’s already causing panic among local liberal elites. Read more about it by checking out his campaign website (and consider making a donation).

Bring on the battles!

Originally published at massresistance.org. Reprinted with permission. For additional media content, see original post.