The last week is the perfect encapsulation of just how far to the right Ron DeSantis is as he competes for the MAGA base. DeSantis spent the first half of his week showcasing his fringe positions by touting dangerous anti-vaccine rhetoric and announcing his opposition to marriage equality protections. It didn’t stop there, though – DeSantis reaffirmed his commitment to signing additional, restrictive abortion legislation in Florida right before signing a bill that will gift special interests in Florida millions of dollars while working families foot the bill.
DeSantis orchestrated a major political production to echo dangerous rhetoric on lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines and signal his plan to prosecute providers under his latest move.
Washington Post: “Early in the pandemic, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly praised President Donald Trump for the expedited development and rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. The governor’s office pushed for $480 million in pandemic resources, including media campaigns promoting the shots, according to state budget documents. And DeSantis, a Republican, even lauded the Biden administration for helping to expand access to vaccines.”
HuffPost: “DeSantis, Who Once Praised Vaccines, Now Wants To Prosecute Those Who Pushed Them”
The same day, DeSantis took to the comforts of Fox News to double down on his anti-vaccine stunt and oppose the Respect For Marriage Act, which guarantees protections for same-sex and interracial couples’ right to marry.
DeSantis: “There was certainly no need to do this.”
Despite already signing an extreme abortion ban that has no exceptions for rape or incest and threatens to prosecute providers, DeSantis is setting the groundwork to follow through on his 2018 pledge to pass a dangerous 6-week abortion ban in Florida.
Florida Politics: “Gov. DeSantis ‘ready to sign’ abortion ‘heartbeat bill’”
Politico: “And there will be more steps by DeSantis to lure conservatives to his side in the coming weeks and months ahead. There are already rumblings that state lawmakers will hold special legislative sessions between now and March to tackle issues such as guns and abortion.”
Tallahassee Democrat: “In Florida, strategy sessions involving representatives of DeSantis, including his chief-of-staff, James Uthmeier, and anti-abortion advocates have already taken place, according to some participants who did not want to speak publicly about the internal discussions.
“DeSantis in his 2018 campaign for governor said during the Republican primary that he would support a law banning abortion when a fetal heartbeat is thought to be detected, usually around six weeks.”
To top it all off, DeSantis signed a bill to bail out big insurance companies at the expense of Florida homeowners, who have been suffering from some of the highest housing and insurance costs in the country.
Miami Herald: “It’s unclear if any of the changes will lead to lower rates any time soon for Floridians, who are paying the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the nation. But hundreds of thousands of homeowners covered by state-run Citizens Property Insurance are almost guaranteed to end up paying more.”
In just seven days, DeSantis has come out to flaunt some of the most extreme parts of his agenda as he races to out-MAGA Donald Trump and the rest of the expected 2024 Republican primary field. But he’s not finished yet – as the GOP primary draws nearer, you can expect to see DeSantis take even more dangerous actions and positions at the cost of the people of Florida.
