Ron DeSantis 2024 (Campaign suspended on January 21, 2024)

[JohnGalt]

Is this the same Florida where voters had voted to restore voting rights to felons who had served their sentences, only to be denied by the legislature? So those 20 voters caught may have been legal in a different workd? Duh, of course it is.

[Moriarty]

@JohnGalt

Is this the same Florida where voters had voted to restore voting rights to felons who had served their sentences, only to be denied by the legislature?

Don’t ruin the narrative! This isn’t about abusing bureaucracy to make marginal people’s lives harder, just to score political points. It’s fighting crime!

In 2018, nearly two-thirds of Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restores voting rights to most people with felony convictions who have completed the terms of their sentence. The amendment originally restored the right to vote to roughly 1.4 million people.

But shortly after the election, the state’s GOP-controlled legislature passed a law requiring that people with felony convictions pay off all fines, fees, and restitution associated with their sentence before they are eligible to register to vote. After GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law in June 2019, roughly 774,000 people who would have been eligible to vote were no longer allowed.

Multiple voting rights groups brought legal challenges to the law, and in an opinion in May 2020, a federal judge said Republicans had created an “administrative train wreck” and ruled that the people blocked from voting could still participate in elections. But a federal appeals court overturned that order. The back-and-forth created widespread confusion and left many Floridians unclear about their eligibility to vote.

Florida gave voting rights to people with felony convictions. Now some face...

[Atamasama]

@Moriarty

But shortly after the election, the state’s GOP-controlled legislature passed a law requiring that people with felony convictions pay off all fines, fees, and restitution associated with their sentence before they are eligible to register to vote. After GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law in June 2019, roughly 774,000 people who would have been eligible to vote were no longer allowed.

Nothing wrong with that, that’s something called a “poll tax” which is a time-honored American tradition!

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxiv

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax.

Wait, what is this “Constitution” thing people are talking about, isn’t that just a Dungeons and Dragons term?

(Sadly enough, this kind of law is also in place in my own state, Washington.)

I guess maybe if you don’t call it a “tax” it’s okay though. Just call it a “gibblegorch”.

[Moriarty]

Ronald’s ongoing efforts at bettering the lives of ordinary Floridians took another hit last week by one of those ornery judges who doesn’t appreciate the fact that Ronnie’s campaign ads across the state thank him for keeping the state free.

See, his Stop Woke Act (yep, they called it that), which sought to prevent companies from making their employees feel bad about their color, was deemed some sort of dystopian overreach.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Chief Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction blocking the private employer provisions in the law, known as the “Stop WOKE Act,” saying it violates free speech protections under the First Amendment and that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause for being impermissibly vague.

“Recently, Florida has seemed like a First Amendment upside down,” Walker wrote in the ruling, comparing the law to the fictional “upside down” in the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”

“Normally, the First Amendment bars the state from burdening speech, while private actors may burden speech freely,” the Obama-appointed judge continued. “But in Florida, the First Amendment apparently bars private actors from burdening speech, while the state may burden speech freely.”
…
The law prevents workplaces from requiring employees to attend any activity that violates any of eight concepts, like instilling that someone bears “personal responsibility” for historic wrongdoings because of their race, color, sex or national origin.

Glad he’s putting the state’s resources to such good use!

Judge blocks DeSantis’s ‘Stop WOKE Act,’ says Florida feels like a ‘First...

[OttoDaFe]

@Atamasama

… (Sadly enough, this kind of law is also in place in my own state, Washington.) …

As of the first of this year, that’s no longer the case (I only know this because of an op-ed in the local fishwrap). So at least in this regard the Soviet is ahead of Florida.

[Atamasama]

As someone employed by that government, I feel a lot better. Thanks for that.

[Sherrerd]

@Moriarty

See, his Stop Woke Act (yep, they called it that), which sought to prevent companies from making their employees feel bad about their color, was deemed some sort of dystopian overreach.

No doubt every good Republican thrills to Ron DeSantis’ clarion call: THE STATE WILL CONTROL EVERY ASPECT OF EVERY PRIVATE BUSINESS!!!

The Republican ideals made flesh!!!

[Guest-starring_Id]

Some of the fallout from DeSantis’ voter fraud policies in this Miami Herald article that surprisingly wasn’t paywalled.

‘How did I commit fraud?’ Ex-felon voters confused by arrests, DeSantis’...

Five of those arrested Thursday on voter fraud charges told the Herald/Times they believed they were able to vote and had faced no issue registering. They said they would not have voted had they known their previous convictions made them ineligible.

[Sherrerd]

@Guest-starring_Id

“Five of those arrested Thursday on voter fraud charges told the Herald/Times they believed they were able to vote and had faced no issue registering. They said they would not have voted had they known their previous convictions made them ineligible.” --from source above

I know racism kills brain cells, but: how can anyone believe that such a scam should be supported? A state will register you to vote and then declare that you had no right to vote…???

If they register you, then you are eligible. How is this not enshrined in law?

(I don’t mean just ‘submit an application to vote,’ obviously—I mean ‘the state sends you proof that you are registered’.)

What’s next? Non-white people go to the DMV, take the tests, and are issued a driver’s license—then as they leave the parking lot are arrested for driving without a license? I mean, why not?

[Icarus]

This. One could argue that this is actually a dispute between two agencies of the same government, and not “individual voter fraud”.

But we all know the Election Police law was enacted as political theatre in the first place.

Did I say, “we all know”? Yes, and to pre-empt debate on the clause, anyone denying this reading is being disingenuous and deliberately obtuse.

[JohnT]

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

[Sherrerd]

In re Ron DeSantis’ “Dukakis” moment:

The ad from which the photo is taken actually centers around Ron’s penchant for being rude to reporters.

Presented for the excitement and approbation of right-wing blockheads everywhere, the ad contains several examples of Ron being really rude to people who have less than a hundredth-part of his power. In other words, Punching Down—just the thing to thrill the Republican base.

The Top Gun gear is intended, one assumes, to reinforce the OOOOOOO, He’s a REAL Man!!!11!1! vibe.

Few thinking viewers were having any:

Ron DeSantis Releases 'Top Gun'-Inspired Ad And The Twitter Mockery Is Top-Notch

[Guest-starring_Id]

Yes - ‘blockhead’ is still the best descriptor for this ham-fisted weasel.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

[Album] Green Helmet Ron

[Aspenglow]

@Sherrerd

The Top Gun gear is intended, one assumes, to reinforce the OOOOOOO, He’s a REAL Man!!!11!1! vibe.

140 million dollar war chest, and the best they can come up with is this ad and “Big Dick Energy”?

Between these cringe worthy faux pas and his overt authoritarianism, I think he’s exactly the right candidate for Republicans.

Do another flying big dick ad, Ron!!

[ekedolphin]

(Sorry, I thought we were talking about Texas’s governor. Rescinded.)

[not_what_you_d_expect]

Ron Desantis is such a fucking tool. Jesus, I almost moved back to Florida 4 years ago. Saved by a preemie granddaughter.

[Ann_Hedonia]

As opposed to Tiny, Really Unbelievably Miniscule Penis energy?

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Bleccccch:

DeSantis celebrates as most of his school board candidates win their Florida...

[Moriarty]

@Elendil_s_Heir

Bleccccch:

And if you’re wondering how well DeSantis’ school reforms are going, well…

A Florida school district rejected a donation of dictionaries after putting a freeze on new books in libraries and classrooms as officials navigate a new state law designed to make it easier to pull books deemed objectionable…

The new law requires a certified education media specialist to review and select all reading materials in schools. The school board has approved the job description for the role but currently no one fills the position.

“We can’t take these dictionaries! What if they have words in them that aren’t government approved?!”

Have I mentioned before how proud Ronnie is that he has “kept Florida free”?

https://www.axios.com/2022/08/23/florida-school-district-books