Ahhh, Florida... Land of beaches, retirees, and tap water that is so gross and sulfurous it smells like Satan passed gas every time you turn on the shower.
The year: 2008. A coworker and I were on a business trip to Orlando. Thanks to a generous per diem, we got to eat meals on the company dime. We ate in nice restaurants and mostly had a good time. But one particular meal experience stands out, even sixteen years later.
It seemed like the topic on everyone's lips was the presidential election. For you young'uns out there, it's hard to overemphasize how momentous that election felt. After all, it looked like we very well might elect our very first black president! It was kind of electrifying.
So anyway, my coworker and I were chatting about what a big deal it was - and about how worryingly brain-dead Sarah Palin seemed to be. How could John McCain pick her as a running mate? I mean, here was a guy who we disagreed with, but he seemed to be principled. And then he picked this fringe nutcase for VP?
Oh, what sweet summer children we were. We didn't recognize that Palin was a harbinger of horrifying things to come, and what the already-loathsome Republican party was going to turn into. But I digress...
So there we were, discussing the finer points of campaign promises and all that hope-y change-y stuff Obama was running on, when our waitress tentatively approached us. "You guys sound really knowledgeable," she said, or something to that effect, and she asked us who we were planning to vote for.
She seemed earnest and genuine, and she clearly wasn't looking for an argument, she just seemed a bit at a loss. I felt bad for her. So I told her I was going to vote for Obama, my coworker agreed, and we spent a few minutes explaining why.
When we asked her about her own plans, she looked worried and said, "I just don't know." So we asked her why.
Her answer has stuck with me ever since. "I'm not sure America is ready for a black president, but I don't think a woman should be a heartbeat away from the presidency either."
Let that roll around in your mind a bit. She was in a bind, because her racism had been forced into conflict with her ingrained self-defeating sexism, and she didn't know what to do.
In 2008.
Every time I wonder if maybe Florida might finally pull its collective head out of its collective ass, my mind goes back to that conversation and I remember just how completely and thoroughly broken the state is.
It isn't just Florida either. Much of the US South and Midwest are in the same boat mentality-wise. I sincerely think we're going to be stuck in this limbo until most of the boomers are gone, but there are plenty in my generation (millennials) that are just as thick-headed. Gen X is right there too.
If it wasn't for my horse I wouldn't have spent that semester in school.
That's not a Florida story, that's an America story.
A rural area in 2016: Clinton thinks she's owed the white house, and she basically already had her turn. So Trump I guess!
Does this fucker not get it? State laws don’t supersede federal laws.
He gets it all too well. He's trying to provoke a nullification crisis and start Civil War 2: fascist boogaloo.
Of course he gets it. DeSantis is an intelligent man and lawyer. Here's the thing; He cannot lose with this stance. It's a no-brainer.
He gets to appeal to GOP voters up front and hits 'em again when he's shot down. "Damned woke mind virus Democrat communist haters and legislating-from-the-bench liberal judges! Keep voting for me and we'll eventually win!"
He's term limited as governor. Question is what he does next.
Hopefully fucking croak somehow.
There's plenty of swap in Florida
Yes, but only for one term. He is eligible again after sitting out for one term, unless of course they manage to change their Constitution.
I mean… if the USSC ends up ruling in June that a sitting president can, as an official act, order the assassination of a political rival… maybe he gets a visit from an officially-ordered spec ops team to “nullify his opposition”?
Who fucking knows at this point. I feel like we’re rapidly approaching the point where nobody’s even pretending that the rules even exist anymore.
when he's shot down
That's optimistic. The leaders of the fascist GOP seem to have been given pretty much free rein by the extremely overcautious Garland DOJ.
His MO is to pass illegal/unconstitutional bills and use it to fundraise while the state has to pay to defend (and lose) their case defending it.
How is a governor signing a blatantly unconstitutional law or refusing to comply with a federal law not a crime? The latter at least should end up with the FBI arresting desantis.
Is there a legal mechanism to go after him for any of this?
Lawsuits
Sure, but how do they go about enforcing the judgement?
States are sued all the time. They usually win but lose a lot too. The court that decides in the plaintiff's favor issues the judgement and it's enforced like any other judgment.
The federal government can just start locking up the people that get in their way, judgement or no. How do you think schools in the South were desegregated? The national guard was taken over by the president and the national guard made it happen.
This isn't going to happen though, because Meatball Ron is a coward.
It’s buying him votes. I guarantee he doesn’t care one way or the other about any of the issues. He’s going to say/do whatever he needs to in order to remain in office.
He’s not electable this term, so he’s doing all this to try for Trump’s VP.
Eh? They will just call his bluff and say they are pulling highway and other federal funding. Just like the feds did to bump the drinking age from 18 to 21 in years past
Sounds like Biden should start cutting federal funding of projects in Florida.
He said that the rules would “likely conflict” with two bills in the legislature: one allowing teachers to misgender and deadname trans students and a second forbidding discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in all grade levels.
The classiest 'fuckin try me' ever
Picard knew how to deliver.
Isn't there something in the Constitution about federal laws overriding state laws when they conflict?
There is indeed. It's not like fascists like Desantis care about that document when it gets in the way of their bigotry, though.
It's also not like the current administration has a good track record holding powerful fascists accountable for their crimes, so I fully expect that he'll get away with this just like his human trafficking of asylum seekers 🤬
Challenge accepted.
Can someone PLEASE Murder a bunch of Schoolchildren so I, a PROUD PRO LIFE REPUBLICAN, can PRETEND to Care about the Constitution again?
He's just going to continue to get spanked in Federal Court.
He's like 0 - 8.
Turns out that's not a benchmark the right judges their actions on.
Story time!
Ahhh, Florida... Land of beaches, retirees, and tap water that is so gross and sulfurous it smells like Satan passed gas every time you turn on the shower.
The year: 2008. A coworker and I were on a business trip to Orlando. Thanks to a generous per diem, we got to eat meals on the company dime. We ate in nice restaurants and mostly had a good time. But one particular meal experience stands out, even sixteen years later.
It seemed like the topic on everyone's lips was the presidential election. For you young'uns out there, it's hard to overemphasize how momentous that election felt. After all, it looked like we very well might elect our very first black president! It was kind of electrifying.
So anyway, my coworker and I were chatting about what a big deal it was - and about how worryingly brain-dead Sarah Palin seemed to be. How could John McCain pick her as a running mate? I mean, here was a guy who we disagreed with, but he seemed to be principled. And then he picked this fringe nutcase for VP?
Oh, what sweet summer children we were. We didn't recognize that Palin was a harbinger of horrifying things to come, and what the already-loathsome Republican party was going to turn into. But I digress...
So there we were, discussing the finer points of campaign promises and all that hope-y change-y stuff Obama was running on, when our waitress tentatively approached us. "You guys sound really knowledgeable," she said, or something to that effect, and she asked us who we were planning to vote for.
She seemed earnest and genuine, and she clearly wasn't looking for an argument, she just seemed a bit at a loss. I felt bad for her. So I told her I was going to vote for Obama, my coworker agreed, and we spent a few minutes explaining why.
When we asked her about her own plans, she looked worried and said, "I just don't know." So we asked her why.
Her answer has stuck with me ever since. "I'm not sure America is ready for a black president, but I don't think a woman should be a heartbeat away from the presidency either."
Let that roll around in your mind a bit. She was in a bind, because her racism had been forced into conflict with her ingrained self-defeating sexism, and she didn't know what to do.
In 2008.
Every time I wonder if maybe Florida might finally pull its collective head out of its collective ass, my mind goes back to that conversation and I remember just how completely and thoroughly broken the state is.
It isn't just Florida either. Much of the US South and Midwest are in the same boat mentality-wise. I sincerely think we're going to be stuck in this limbo until most of the boomers are gone, but there are plenty in my generation (millennials) that are just as thick-headed. Gen X is right there too.
If it wasn't for my horse I wouldn't have spent that semester in school.
That's not a Florida story, that's an America story.
A rural area in 2016: Clinton thinks she's owed the white house, and she basically already had her turn. So Trump I guess!
Does this fucker not get it? State laws don’t supersede federal laws.
A link for Ronnie Meatball’s education
He gets it all too well. He's trying to provoke a nullification crisis and start Civil War 2: fascist boogaloo.
Of course he gets it. DeSantis is an intelligent man and lawyer. Here's the thing; He cannot lose with this stance. It's a no-brainer.
He gets to appeal to GOP voters up front and hits 'em again when he's shot down. "Damned woke mind virus Democrat communist haters and legislating-from-the-bench liberal judges! Keep voting for me and we'll eventually win!"
He's term limited as governor. Question is what he does next.
Hopefully fucking croak somehow.
There's plenty of swap in Florida
Yes, but only for one term. He is eligible again after sitting out for one term, unless of course they manage to change their Constitution.
https://ballotpedia.org/Governor_of_Florida
Eats babies whist dressed in full drag.
I mean… if the USSC ends up ruling in June that a sitting president can, as an official act, order the assassination of a political rival… maybe he gets a visit from an officially-ordered spec ops team to “nullify his opposition”?
Who fucking knows at this point. I feel like we’re rapidly approaching the point where nobody’s even pretending that the rules even exist anymore.
That's optimistic. The leaders of the fascist GOP seem to have been given pretty much free rein by the extremely overcautious Garland DOJ.
His MO is to pass illegal/unconstitutional bills and use it to fundraise while the state has to pay to defend (and lose) their case defending it.
How is a governor signing a blatantly unconstitutional law or refusing to comply with a federal law not a crime? The latter at least should end up with the FBI arresting desantis.
Is there a legal mechanism to go after him for any of this?
Lawsuits
Sure, but how do they go about enforcing the judgement?
States are sued all the time. They usually win but lose a lot too. The court that decides in the plaintiff's favor issues the judgement and it's enforced like any other judgment.
The federal government can just start locking up the people that get in their way, judgement or no. How do you think schools in the South were desegregated? The national guard was taken over by the president and the national guard made it happen.
This isn't going to happen though, because Meatball Ron is a coward.
It’s buying him votes. I guarantee he doesn’t care one way or the other about any of the issues. He’s going to say/do whatever he needs to in order to remain in office.
He’s not electable this term, so he’s doing all this to try for Trump’s VP.
Eh? They will just call his bluff and say they are pulling highway and other federal funding. Just like the feds did to bump the drinking age from 18 to 21 in years past
Culture war is his only metric. Fuck this guy.
Sounds like Biden should start cutting federal funding of projects in Florida.
The classiest 'fuckin try me' ever
Picard knew how to deliver.
Isn't there something in the Constitution about federal laws overriding state laws when they conflict?
There is indeed. It's not like fascists like Desantis care about that document when it gets in the way of their bigotry, though.
It's also not like the current administration has a good track record holding powerful fascists accountable for their crimes, so I fully expect that he'll get away with this just like his human trafficking of asylum seekers 🤬
Challenge accepted.
Can someone PLEASE Murder a bunch of Schoolchildren so I, a PROUD PRO LIFE REPUBLICAN, can PRETEND to Care about the Constitution again?
He's just going to continue to get spanked in Federal Court.
He's like 0 - 8.
Turns out that's not a benchmark the right judges their actions on.
Arrest him for sedition