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SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL |
JUL 16, 2021 AT 3:00 PM
TALLAHASSEE — Whose Florida is it, anyway?
I pose this question after seeing Gov. Ron DeSantis hawking online sales of beer koozies that say “Don’t Fauci my Florida.”
Even for the Florida governor’s political base, that message hardly needs an explanation. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, is a public health menace who deprives us of our freedom.
You have to give DeSantis credit. The governor, fully vaccinated and riding strong poll numbers, has the instincts of a snake oil salesman and exquisite timing, too.
The koozies made their debut just as COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing in Florida, the state with one of the highest case rates in the U.S. That means more sickness, hospitalizations and deaths on top of the more than 38,000 lives already lost to a virus and its stronger variant that now stalks us, especially the many unvaccinated, with renewed vengeance.
Less than half of the Florida population (47% as of Friday) is fully vaccinated. As the The New York Times tracking map showed Friday, cases have shot up by 232% over the past 14 days with the Jacksonville area a hot spot for infections. One of every five new cases in the United States is from Florida, the White House COVIC-19 coordinator said on Friday.
Conditions are quickly and dramatically getting a lot worse. But don’t expect any help from your local leaders. DeSantis made sure to tie their hands.
He signed an executive order, followed by a new state law, that wipes out all city and county regulations to protect people from COVID’s risks. He also granted blanket amnesty to any person who violates any masking requirements.
“Don’t Fauci my Florida.” Hilarious! Have another beer!
Nova Southeastern University on Friday issued an order in open defiance of DeSantis that requires all employees, including part-timers and adjunct faculty, to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 20.
Ask yourself: Would you rather put your health and well-being in Fauci’s hands or in DeSantis’?
If your answer is DeSantis, you need something stronger than a cold Corona wrapped in a Fauci-hating koozie.
If you buy one, you’re not only flashing your stupidity, you’re also giving money to “Friends of Ron DeSantis,” the governor’s re-election committee that hopes to turn a profit from sales of koozies, shirts, and ball caps with similar messages.
The attention-getting trinkets are part of a political strategy to infuriate liberals everywhere, and so far it’s working according to plan.
In a letter peddling his wares to supporters, DeSantis uses the pronoun “I” five times before asking for $25 “to fight back against Fauci’s media henchmen.” What DeSantis hasn’t explained is what personal freedom is worth if you’re on a respirator or your lungs are scarred for life.
Don’t get mad, DeSantis haters. Get even. They should be designing their own koozie with a contrasting message.
A counter-koozie showing a finger-wagging DeSantis and the slogan, “Don’t fascist my Florida,” for making it harder to vote or protest, to require annual surveys of the political beliefs of college professors and students, and telling teachers how to teach civics to our kids.
Or maybe that image of DeSantis fumbling to put on his face mask accompanied by a bold face “expiration date” of 11/08/22, the date of the next general election.
Or side-by-side images of a smiling DeSantis and Donald Trump with the caption: “Ronald and Donald.” It would be a public service to Florida voters to remind them at every opportunity from whence DeSantis came -- a dangerous and disgraced former president.
And that’s no joke. Remember, it’s your Florida, too.
Steve Bousquet is a Sun Sentinel columnist in Tallahassee. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 or follow him on Twitter @stevebousquet.
Steve Bousquet is a columnist for the Sun Sentinel who previously covered state government and politics for three decades at the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald. He was the Times' Tallahassee bureau chief from 2005 to 2018 and has also covered city and county politics in Broward County. He has a master's degree in U.S. history from Florida State.
Don’t fascist my Florida, DeSantis
By STEVE BOUSQUETSOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL |
JUL 16, 2021 AT 3:00 PM
TALLAHASSEE — Whose Florida is it, anyway?
I pose this question after seeing Gov. Ron DeSantis hawking online sales of beer koozies that say “Don’t Fauci my Florida.”
Even for the Florida governor’s political base, that message hardly needs an explanation. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, is a public health menace who deprives us of our freedom.
You have to give DeSantis credit. The governor, fully vaccinated and riding strong poll numbers, has the instincts of a snake oil salesman and exquisite timing, too.
The koozies made their debut just as COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing in Florida, the state with one of the highest case rates in the U.S. That means more sickness, hospitalizations and deaths on top of the more than 38,000 lives already lost to a virus and its stronger variant that now stalks us, especially the many unvaccinated, with renewed vengeance.
Less than half of the Florida population (47% as of Friday) is fully vaccinated. As the The New York Times tracking map showed Friday, cases have shot up by 232% over the past 14 days with the Jacksonville area a hot spot for infections. One of every five new cases in the United States is from Florida, the White House COVIC-19 coordinator said on Friday.
Conditions are quickly and dramatically getting a lot worse. But don’t expect any help from your local leaders. DeSantis made sure to tie their hands.
He signed an executive order, followed by a new state law, that wipes out all city and county regulations to protect people from COVID’s risks. He also granted blanket amnesty to any person who violates any masking requirements.
“Don’t Fauci my Florida.” Hilarious! Have another beer!
Nova Southeastern University on Friday issued an order in open defiance of DeSantis that requires all employees, including part-timers and adjunct faculty, to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 20.
Ask yourself: Would you rather put your health and well-being in Fauci’s hands or in DeSantis’?
If your answer is DeSantis, you need something stronger than a cold Corona wrapped in a Fauci-hating koozie.
If you buy one, you’re not only flashing your stupidity, you’re also giving money to “Friends of Ron DeSantis,” the governor’s re-election committee that hopes to turn a profit from sales of koozies, shirts, and ball caps with similar messages.
The attention-getting trinkets are part of a political strategy to infuriate liberals everywhere, and so far it’s working according to plan.
In a letter peddling his wares to supporters, DeSantis uses the pronoun “I” five times before asking for $25 “to fight back against Fauci’s media henchmen.” What DeSantis hasn’t explained is what personal freedom is worth if you’re on a respirator or your lungs are scarred for life.
Don’t get mad, DeSantis haters. Get even. They should be designing their own koozie with a contrasting message.
A counter-koozie showing a finger-wagging DeSantis and the slogan, “Don’t fascist my Florida,” for making it harder to vote or protest, to require annual surveys of the political beliefs of college professors and students, and telling teachers how to teach civics to our kids.
Or maybe that image of DeSantis fumbling to put on his face mask accompanied by a bold face “expiration date” of 11/08/22, the date of the next general election.
Or side-by-side images of a smiling DeSantis and Donald Trump with the caption: “Ronald and Donald.” It would be a public service to Florida voters to remind them at every opportunity from whence DeSantis came -- a dangerous and disgraced former president.
And that’s no joke. Remember, it’s your Florida, too.
Steve Bousquet is a Sun Sentinel columnist in Tallahassee. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 or follow him on Twitter @stevebousquet.
Steve Bousquet is a columnist for the Sun Sentinel who previously covered state government and politics for three decades at the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald. He was the Times' Tallahassee bureau chief from 2005 to 2018 and has also covered city and county politics in Broward County. He has a master's degree in U.S. history from Florida State.
