How Ron DeSantis Ruined His Political Career
I had no idea who Ron DeSantis was when I moved to Florida. The governor at that time was Rick Scott, a billionaire who had made tons of money on healthcare while fighting against national reforms to the industry. Scott is currently the junior Senator from Florida.
Florida is now the prime whipping boy of comedians wanting to poke fun at a state, but it’s deeper than that. Imagine if all the worst prejudices and hate from the southern states had seeped into Florida. Well, that’s how it feels here.
It didn’t start with hanging chads on a ballot or the incredibly wealthy elitists who oversaw the election in 2000. The rich political powerbrokers wanted Bush to be president and didn’t care about democracy nearly as much as their BMWs and Bentleys. The Sunshine State has always suffered from self-interest and cronyism of the highest order.
Early Floridians had an unnatural proclivity to lie and deceive anyone who would listen. Remember the stories about people being sold swampland that the government promised would be drained to make them rich? Didn’t happen. Florida killed Black people through negligence and lies. I am not making this up; read this if you care.
Ron DeSantis could have been the blue-eyed, fair-haired boy of the Republican party, but he doesn’t understand the essence of America. His immigration policies and laws, had they been in place at the time, would have kept his own grandparents out of the country. Today, immigrants are afraid to come to Florida to get jobs picking the bountiful fruits and vegetables. Ronnie is a true visionary, eh?
DeSantis’s blindness was triggered by Donald J. Trump’s immense popularity. Florida has always been a hotbed for far-right radicals, white supremist groups and antisemites. Proof, the Ku Klux Klan’s national headquarters were once located in Clearwater, Florida. They have since moved to DC.
According to www.stacker.com, Florida was the number one supplier of dickheads who descended on the US Capitol in January of 2021 and staged a vicious melee to keep Donald J. Trump in office. 91 rioters were Floridians, giving us 4.1 idiots per million residents. The Sunshine State is home to more than one-third of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were charged for their involvements in the riot. Oh, I am so proud.
Ron DeSantis didn’t cause January 6th, of course, but would the facts of that travesty make a young, supposedly bright lawyer/politician think the best way to win the state, and thus the nation, was to be exactly like “the Donald?” DeSantis is finally admitting the 2020 election was not stolen. Now, the MAGA ex-president hasn’t lobbed his Trump-bomb just yet, but it’s coming, and when it hits DeSantis will drop even further in the Republican polling.
Florida has 5,263,269 Republicans, 4,721,471 Democrats,286,493 in other parties and 3,911,131 with no affiliation. The gasp you hear comes from the realization that a state with a total population of 21.7 million folks has only 14,182,364 registered voters.
DeSantis brain has been infected by the far-right radicals in the Florida legislature, you know, people who have the same DNA as Matt Gaetz. They want to end diversity, shove the gays and trannies back into their closets and rewrite history so that white kids don’t have to feel bad about slavery. When did the radical right whackos start caring about feelings?
Consider this. The Ocoee Massacre took place on November 2, 1920, when fifty African American Floridians were killed while attempting to exercise their legal and democratic right to vote. It is illegal to teach this fact in Florida schools because of Ron DeSantis. We have a state government banning the truth.
DeSantis claims he’s protecting the kids, when in fact he is spreading hate and disregard for basic American freedoms. By passing the “Don’t Say Gay” law, he has decided that not talking about homosexuality will make it go away. What’s really leaving the state of Florida are valuable conventions, meetings and corporations. Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, called DeSantis “anti-business.” Wow, a Republican who impedes commerce.
This isn’t just my opinion. Here’s a quote from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, “Saying Gov. Ron DeSantis has followed the autocratic examples of governments in Russia and China, a group of mostly Republican former high level government officials has called the Florida governor’s takeover of Disney World’s governing district “severely damaging to the political, social, and economic fabric of the State.”
DeSantis is hurting students. Florida is now in a fight with the College Board, the educational non-profit that creates and distributes Advanced Placement courses for American high schools. Isn’t it sad that their AP courses are being pulled out of Florida schools? In an eleven-hour retreat, the Florida Board of Education has allowed the AP psychology course to proceed, even though it addresses gender issues head on. So, they haven’t thought things through and that’s on DeSantis.
How can Ron be the governor of all the people when he ignores those who disagree with him? This intolerance is unacceptable in 2024. Most smart people think he’s dumber than Trump, whom he could have replaced as the party leader, but instead he’s destroyed his political career.
As donors move their financial campaign support from him to others, DeSantis continues to tout things that are UNTRUE. More than 80,000 Floridians died from Covid, while DeSantis urged the data keepers to fudge the figures to make him look better. Many of the fatalities were housed in assisted living facilities, with DeSantis paying lip service to the fact but failing to pass any legislation to protect the elderly.
I had to drive four hundred miles for my first Covid vaccines because DeSantis gave Publix, a Florida-based grocery chain, the right to administer the shots. Their computerized registration system was horrible, and I paid the price. This might be a good time to mention that Publix has been a large contributor to many DeSantis campaigns. It’s all politics as usual, without transparency. Ronnie’s looking like just another grifter in a cheap suit.
One of the battle cries of the far-right was banning Critical Race Theory in all schools, even though it wasn’t being taught anywhere. We know that racists have pushed for this prohibition for years, along with ending affirmative action. If you go along them you are helping racists “take back their country,” but you can’t argue that slavery was good for any slave. And that’s not out of context; it’s written in the policies.
Critical Race Theory is simple. Professor Derrick Bell first articulated the idea that powerful white people will manipulate governments to pass laws to help the white race. Part of CRT is redrawing the electoral maps to decrease the power of the Black vote. By passing the ban on CRT and disallowing discussion about American history, diversity and equality, Florida and DeSantis have shown that Bell was right. Their actions prove the very essence of Critical Race Theory, meaning it’s not a theory; it’s a fact.
Many insurance companies have left Florida, and with all the time Tallahassee spent on passing loathsome hate bills and revolting gun laws, they didn’t spend much time on insurance. Not only have major insurance firms pulled out of Florida, but some left without paying their policyholders after the hurricane. So, it seems white people and retirees also don’t matter to DeSantis.
The Florida governor has made it harder for women to seek and get uncensored healthcare (Abortion Bans), he made a jury majority unnecessary for an execution (Death Penalty), and he made it easier for anyone to get and openly carry a firearm without a permit (Guns). He came down hard on immigration, which hurts the agricultural industries, but made it easy for any parent to get vouchers so their kids don’t have to go to the public schools. Overall, Ron DeSantis has moved the state to an untenable, far-right position.
DeSantis’s rise to the office of Florida Dictator has made the state less attractive to many companies, people and artists. Georgia has already taken a substantial portion of the movie business away from Florida, and the education crisis in Florida is massive, with many well-qualified teachers and professors resigning from a dystopic and draconian teaching environment.
Ron DeSantis is a monster, who attempted to create the illusion that if he wins, we win, but in truth his winning would be a loss for all of us. As a sports fan, I’ll use this metaphor. Ron DeSantis, a former little league star, is the baserunner who sprinted past the bag, then realized he’s in jeopardy and it’s too late to return to the base. He will get tagged out by the donors, the party, and the people. He will be sent back to Florida with his tail between his legs, just what we don’t need.
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