Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just can’t help himself: If there is a way to wield authoritarian power to advance his own political ends, he will do it and Florida law and Floridians be damned.
The Tampa Bay Times has reported on Puddin Fingers’ latest nefarious attempt to undermine Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana use. Herr Governor used the Florida Department of Transportation to issue a 30-second public service announcement paid with state funds asserting that “DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk.”
Except: The preliminary results of an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study of injured drivers who visited emergency rooms in California, Colorado and Oregon showed that drivers who used marijuana alone were no more likely to be involved in crashes than drivers who hadn’t used the drug. That is consistent with a 2015 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that found that a positive test for marijuana was not associated with increased risk of being involved in a police-reported crash.
But that’s not all. Not content to let the citizens of Florida make up their own minds about access to reproductive medical treatment, the failed presidential candidate and go-go boot–wearing governor also sent his private army of goons to the homes of people who had signed a petition to get Amendment 4 on the ballot to ostensibly corroborate that they actually signed the petition, which would overturn Florida’s Draconian six-week abortion law. This, after the deadline to challenge the petition had passed.That was a ham-handed and clearly illegal use of state resources to further MeatBall Ron’s personal agenda.
But wait, there’s more. Politifact caught DeSantis in a bald-faced lie about Amendment 4:
“I hear that Joe Biden is on his way to Florida this afternoon,” DeSantis said during an April 23 news conference ahead of the president’s Tampa speech. “And now he’s coming down to try to support a constitutional amendment that will mandate abortion until the moment of birth.”
That oft-repeated and totally inaccurate assertion is popular among anti-abortion MAGA Republicans, including the current candidate for president and his knuckle-dragging vice president pick.
It’s tempting to feel sorry for DeSantis and his weak, ineffectual attempts to remain relevant on the national stage … but we resist the temptation and see him for what he is: A terrible governor and failed presidential candidate whose political career is basically over, but who continues to wreak havoc on the lives of the Floridians he supposedly serves.
