Citrus County, Florida may have become the first community in The Sunshine State to yank ALA dues in recent years. The county commission approved a library budget that did not include money for the controversial national library organization, which is currently led by a self-described Marxist lesbian named Emily Drabinski.
The vote on the library budget, which was Sept. 7, came after a library advisory board voted 5-1 in late August to recommend dropping the annual dues that come from Citrus County taxpayers.
Citrus County, home to approximately 153,000 Floridians, touches the Gulf Coast on Florida’s west central coast. Its residents voted 74%-25% for Gov. Ron DeSantis over Charlie Crist last year.
Brian Camenker, who leads MassResistance, tells AFN the library board vote sailed through after two “leftists” on the board didn’t show up. Then the county commission, which wrestled over allowing a “Pride” display last year, was faced with whether to follow the recommendation.
“They just quietly pulled it out of the budget and that was that,” Camenker recalls.
Drabinski, the out and proud Marxist
The far-left views of the American Library Association have gone mostly unnoticed or ignored by the public, as have those same dangerous political views inside numerous library branches, but then Drabinski pulled away the communist curtain.
"Hey, I cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary,” Drabinski tweeted after her election in April 2022, now 17 months ago.
It took months for the public to learn what the ALA had done, so the backlash was slow, but numerous states have now taken action to cut ties with the ALA.
“Our oath of office and resulting duty to the Constitution forbids association with an organization led by a Marxist," the Montana State Library Association said in a letter to the ALA.
Finally reacting to the backlash, Drabinski complained to NBC News last month that she was the victim of unfair “targeted attacks” by critics, though historians similarly say Communism unfairly targeted 100 million people, who are no longer alive, during the 20th century.
Even in her semi-apology, Drabinski's interview with NBC News was sprinkled with Marxist, collectivist ideology.
"My own personal political viewpoint is a target right now, but my personal agenda doesn’t drive the association,” she said, referring to the ALA. “It’s the agenda of all of us together.”
'Marxism is the end of our freedom'
Camenker and MassResistance learned about the grassroots lobbying effort from John Labriola, a Citrus County activist and MassResistance member. Labriola also writes a political blog named Citrus Crusader, and the national organization credits the local activist for using an email list to put citizens in the seats just one day before the library board was set to meet.
According to Labriola’s own story, Citrus County commissioners explained why they would cutting ALA dues from the upcoming county budget.
“Marxism says you don't own your property. Marxism says you don't get to make decisions about your kids. Marxism is the end of our freedom," said Commissioner Diana Finegan. "I took an oath to the Constitution, and for me that will always be standing against Marxism."
