In a recent interview on Fox & Friends, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said regarding the actions of other state governors to the coronavirus: “If you look around the country, clearly there have been examples of really draconian, arbitrary restrictions that have nothing to do with public health.” To these governors he said: “You’re not a dictator, you don’t have unlimited authority, and people do have rights. I don’t think any governor has the authority to restrict anyone unless there’s a direct relationship to combating this virus.” He thinks that “absolutely it’s gotten out of hand.” In Florida, “we did not do that. We were reasonable,” he said. “We trusted the people to act appropriately and we’ve had better results than some of the states that you’ve seen.”
Not so fast, Gov. DeSantis. As a resident of Florida, I strongly disagree. To cover up your really draconian, arbitrary restrictions, your exercise of unlimited authority, and your violation of people’s rights in Florida, you try to point to other states that did these things to a greater degree. I don’t buy your argument. You spooked the churches into closing. You ordered businesses to close that you thought were unnecessary, you issued decrees like a dictator, and even now you are only allowing restaurants to open at 25 percent capacity. DeSantis is a mini-Mussolini like all of the other state governors that shut down their states. He is just a reasonable fascist. All hail the few governors that did not do so.
8:37 am on May 16, 2020
