Ron DeSantis, enemy of the people

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In order to understand the depths of the abuse of power Ron DeSantis has stooped to, you must first understand that former Hillsborough County Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren is an elected official, not an appointed one. He was first elected by the people of his county to the post of State Attorney in 2016. He was re-elected in 2020 by a 53% majority. DeSantis removed him from office — truthfully, he abrogated the voting rights of an entire Florida county — because DeSantis doesn’t like Warren’s politics. Period.

In other words, Ron DeSantis has decided he’s a dictator who can ignore both freedom of speech statutes enshrined in the United States Constitution and the Florida State Constitution. He arbitrarily and unlawfully removed Warren because Warren dared to proclaim that he would not prosecute a woman for getting an abortion. Warren had better things to do than prosecute women for exercising power over their own bodies.. DeSantis didn’t like that so he removed Warren from office, effectively cancelling the will of the people of the state of Florida, most of whom abhor the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

Andrew Warren is taking Ron DeSantis to court next month for unlawful termination. I hope he wins and is awarded back pay plus a huge bonus. I hope self-anointed dictator DeSantis is humiliated by the defeat, and I hope it goes a long way toward defeating his bid for re-election in November.

Should Warren unaccountably lose the case, or should the case drag on beyond the end of the year, there’s additional hope for him. If DeSantis is defeated in November by Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, Crist promises to reinstate Warren to his original position. Either way, Warren has two chances to see justice wrought from this unforgivable wrong committed against him.

In this way DeSantis is no different from any other Republican today. They depict themselves as defenders of the Constitution (particularly the Second Amendment), but they are in fact really users of the Constitution. When the Constitution supports their position they use it, when it’s inconvenient they ignore it.

The Republican Party has deteriorated into a party of hate, greed and vengeance. We must not allow them to regain power in November. It is up to us to stop them. By doing so, we will avert disaster and find justice for people like Andrew Warren. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.

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