“The applause for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis from a ballroom full of Republican activists was loud and long — and it happened before the Florida governor even took the stage. …
“With more than 40 months before November 2024, in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, the race for the Republican nomination for president is already underway. And while the 42-year-old governor said nothing concrete about his future plans beyond winning reelection next fall, DeSantis hinted at his ambitions with his final line of the night: ‘I can tell you this: in the state of Florida, with me as governor, I have only begun to fight.’ …
“He also used the platform to promote his tenure as governor. Citing vague concerns about elections in other states, DeSantis touted a new controversial law he signed in Florida implementing the ‘strongest election integrity measures anywhere in the country.’ And he celebrated Florida as the leading state for opening up amid the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Read story here.
DeSantis is arguably America’s worst governor. Those “vague concerns” are based on wild conspiracy theories and unvarnished lies, and the “controversial law” he signed seeks voter suppression, not election integrity. By resisting Covid-19 safety measures from the very start, and pushing for premature reopening, he made Florida a dangerous place (only California and New York have more Covid-19 deaths, and Florida’s death rate is 227% times of Washington’s).
Governments, of course, possess the power to kill their own citizens. They do that when they send solders to war. As the elected governor of his state, DeSantis acted within his authority by prioritizing business profits above lives.
His other policy positions are, for the most part, just as bad. He embraces the discredited supply-side economics beloved by the tax-averse wealthy class. He has a zero rating on LGBQT issues from the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBQT advocacy group (read about them here). He attacked Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election; he’s not someone you would want guarding the cookie jar.
DeSantis has every right to brag about his policies, and the audience has a right to cheer him; nobody will interfere with that. His party can nominate him for president, and they can vote for him; nobody will interfere with that, either. (Too bad it isn’t mutual.)
But I’ll never vote for anyone with his, or their, priorities.