The death toll from Hurricane Ian is rising, and more than a million people in Florida and the Carolinas are without power. President Joe Biden is coming through with federal disaster aid, and he's not demanding ritual humiliation from his longtime foe, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Newsmax has claimed (without evidence) that Biden blamed DeSantis for the hurricane, but in reality, Biden has spoken regularly on the phone with the governor, helping coordinate the response to the devastating storm. He's scheduled to visit Puerto Rico and Florida this week, provided his plane isn't redirected to Martha's Vineyard.
Republican strategists consider this an opportunity for DeSantis to demonstrate that he's more than just a fascist bully. He can also effectively perform the role of governor during a crisis.
“DeSantis is showing — though the process is ongoing — that he can play both the political culture warrior and the in-charge governor of the entire state,” former Republican National Committee spokesman Doug Heye said, calling DeSantis a “Trump with substance.”
Let's not get carried away. Like Donald Trump, DeSantis can't act like a normal person for long without straining himself.
Speaking in St. Augustine Friday, DeSantis expressed concerns about looters exploiting the situation. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that she'd asked "state attorneys to seek the longest pretrial detention possible to keep [any arrested looters] locked up so they cannot commit new crimes." The super woke Sixth Amendment might prefer looters are actually tried and convicted of crimes before they're imprisoned long term. Moody at least didn't winkingly suggest that residents can and will shoot potential looters on sight. That was classic Ron DeSantis.
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warns people not to loot homes amid hurricane recovery: "You never know what may be lurking behind somebody's home...we're a Second Amendment state." https://t.co/zEQTa6EZra”
— CBS News (@CBS News) 1664593216
"You could have people bringing boats into some of these islands and trying to ransack people's homes," DeSantis said. "I can tell you in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody's home. And I would not want to chance that if I were you given that we are a Second Amendment state."
"Florida: You Never Know What May Be Lurking Behind Someone's Home" is more a tagline for a horror film than an appealing tourist slogan. Florida doesn't have exclusive rights to the Second Amendment, but it does boast dangerous "stand your ground laws" that promote white vigilantism.
You can't shoot all your problems, though, especially during a hurricane. DeSantis and local officials didn't issue evacuation orders for Lee County until last Tuesday, just 24 hours before Hurricane Ian made landfall. Several neighboring counties had already issued mandatory evacuation orders. Days before the storm hit, the National Hurricane Service predicted the possibility of sudden water surges, which is just what happened. People desperately sought shelter in attics and on rooftops.
However, DeSantis regrets nothing.
"They were following the data, and you remember people were looking initially at the panhandle on Sunday," the governor told reporters in Fort Myers on Saturday, referring to where the storm was expected to hit. "Then Monday came and people were thinking maybe north of Tampa Bay. When we went to bed Monday night, people were saying this is a direct hit on Tampa Bay, worst-case scenario for the state."
Sunday, Sheriff Carmine Marceno reported at least 43 storm-related deaths in Lee County. He stands by the late evacuation, as well, and echoed DeSantis's creepy comments about looting.
“If someone makes the error to walk into someone’s house, rob, steal and loot,” he said, “they are going to be carried out. Carried out. And I’m certain about it.”
These guys aren't even pretending there's some creepy end of days Purge situation. No, he's encouraging the summary execution of petty thieves.
No one should have their stereo stolen while contending with a natural disaster, but more people have died in Lee County from the hurricane than anywhere else in the state. That seems like the more serious issue.
[ Politico / The Hill / Fox35 Orlando / New York Times ]
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