The choice for Florida governor should be easy – Charlie Crist or autocrat trump wanna be Ron DeSantis. You now, DeSantis is the guy who appeared in the ridiculous and hilarious ad as Tom Cruise in Top Gun.
DeSantis calls Florida the most free state in the union. Uh-huh. That’s why he passed the Don’t say gay law, is banning books in schools, interfering in how teachers teach, did away with tenure in universities. He passed a law with new guidelines involving race- based discussions in businesses and schools, part of his campaign against critical race theory, an ideology he calls “pernicious.”
Like trump pretending to be a hurricane expert, DeSantis pretends to be an educational expert. He’s also incredibly cruel.
From the NY Times:
“In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a budget that set aside $12 million to create a program for transporting unauthorized migrants out of Florida. He touted it as the highlight of the state’s new spending when it came to immigration.
“But just three months later, the money was being used in a place far from Florida, in a very different way: rounding up Venezuelan asylum seekers on the streets of San Antonio and shipping them on private planes to Massachusetts.” Specifically, to the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
This political stunt was unconscionable. I was born and raised in Venezuela. The Venezuelan people have been living under autocrats since Chavez and now they have Maduro. The little news that comes out of the country is invariably sad and depressing.
According to the NYT, “Florida state records show that an airline charter company, Vertol Systems, was paid $615,000 on Sept. 8 and $950,000 less than two weeks later. The first payment was for “project 1” and the second payment for “projects two and three.” So far, Florida officials have acknowledged only the initial flights and have not spoken of plans for others.”
According to court records, Vertol was once represented by republican Matt Gaetz, another election denier and trump ally and now a close ally of DeSantis. In Gaetz, I see another corrupt politician, involved in sexual escapades and alleged sex trafficking that he has gotten away with.
The way these migrants were recruited – from San Antonio, Texas – is also ugly. A mysterious woman named Perla Huerta was hired to recruit them. Read about it. Here’s a link to the Times story.
Then we come to Hurricane Ian, where DeSantis really tried to act like he knew what he was doing. Even the My Pillow guy showed up in the aftermath of destruction in Fort Myers, apparently advertising his stupid pillows.
Under DeSantis, Florida’s property owners insurance has more than doubled from about $1900 a year to more than $4200. We got walloped and as a result, out mortgage went up $300. This year, more than 10 insurance countries have fled Florida. But for DeSantis, that’s a big ho-hum, no problem. Only now, just weeks out from the election, does DeSantis call a special session to deal with the insurance crisis in Florida. Don’t hold your breath.
Oh, and DeSantis is also a climate change denier and anti-choice. So much for Florida being the freest state in the nation.
In contrast, Charlie Crist is pro-choice, believes that voting is a right, and would reverse the DeSantis limits on mail ballots, and understands that the Republican attack on democracy is an emergency. In 2006, when he was elected governor, the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 had left the insurance market in turmoil. He called a special session in 2007 and worked with both parties to deliver solutions. Insurance companies were held accountable and rates were lowered by 10 percent.
I’ve lived in Florida since 1963, except for the years I was in college in upstate NY. During the years that Crist was governor, from 2007-2011, he was known as “Governor Green.” You know, environmentally active. DeSantis, by contrast, acts like the environment is one of his loyal constituents.
One of the best – and most humorous – comparisons I’ve read about Crist versus DeSantis was here.
So, fellow Floridians, vote BLUE for Crist. We can’t let DeSantis/Top Gun dude damage our state for another 6 six years. With his presidential aspirations for 2024, no telling what other cruel political stunts he’ll pull. His election police already bears a chilling resemblance to the Morality Police in Iran, to the Tonton Macoute in Haiti, the DINA in Pinochet’s Chile. He has the same bug that trump does – I wanna be a dictator or – even better – king!
Who would stop paying the school boards in the districts that mandated masks to contain COVID during the pandemic when students first returned back to school?
Who is suppressing school books and lying about “woke” stupidness and his Don’t Say Gay baloney, and suppressing womens rights. Guess what, the world is progressing whether he likes it or not. If anything the schools are trying to teach acceptance of others who are different rather than hate. I currently have 3 grandkids in Palm Beach County schools, one in each elementary, middle and high school. None of them are being taught or exposed to the lies he is spouting. I could just go on and on about DeathSantis but yes, the corker was him using Floridians tax dollars to transport migrants from another state. That’s incredible. Why doesn’t he use the 12 million to lower homeowners insurance or create affordable housing or send some over to Ft Meyers. Sorry for going on and on I am so angry.