Florida governor joins the Death March

[RandySF]

TALLAHASSEE — While New York, California and other states shutter their economies to keep the coronavirus at bay, Gov. Ron DeSantis is refusing to follow the herd.

His cure-can’t-be-worse-than-the-disease approach has put the Republican governor under a glaring spotlight locally and nationally as cases of the virus in Florida surge past 1,400. It’s a philosophy that aligns DeSantis with other conservatives, including President Donald Trump and Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva, a Republican with a strong libertarian bent.

On Tuesday, state Senate Democrats began papering the governor’s office with letters urging him to issue a shelter-in-place order.

“That is the dumbest s--- I have heard in a long time,” said state Sen. Oscar Braynon (D-Miami Gardens). “This is a day-by-day crisis. Italy damn near saw 1,000 people die in one day, and there are people proclaiming we got this and have it solved in 15 days?”

DeSantis has grown only more defiant. On Monday, instead of buckling to political pressure to issue a shelter-in-place order, he said he would restrict visitors coming into the state from coronavirus hot spots including New York. And he’s now literally ignoring pleas from Florida Democrats to be more aggressive.



https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/03/24/dumbest-s-desantis-takes-heat-as-he-goes-his-own-way-on-coronavirus-1268818

[Roland99]

1. yeah...a completely unenforceable measure just for show

Gov moRon

[handmade34]

2. restrict visitors coming into the state from...New York

it would be funny if not so stupid

[lagomorph777]

20. The country is being divided into Blue States and Dead States.

How will that work out for the Russiapublicans? Not well, I imangine.

[Pantagruel]

3. Surround Fla.

Don't let anyone out.

[Cosmocat]

4. Gotta tell you, if C-19 takes root in The Village it will be a blood bath

might help with swing the state back to dem, but otherwise ...

[FM123]

10. Yep, whether red or blue, I worry for all the old folks there....

[Native]

13. Did you see DeSantis's press conference from The Villages yesterday?

they are going to set up a drive-thru testing site in The Villages that people will be able to drive through in their golf carts!

[Cosmocat]

17. That fits

nm

[OrlandoDem2]

5. "DeSantis has only grown more defiant". Such a Trumpism characteristic.

[stillcool]

6. this could be the start of something big..

the un-"united" states.

[SunSeeker]

7. DeSantis is an idiot. Letting Covid-19 spread will not help the economy.

We'll still have a crashed economy, but with an extra 2 million dead.

[Bev54]

8. I see now he is requiring quarantine for all

those coming from NY. He is as stupid and petty as Trump. Quarantine for all coming into the state may make sense but from just one place is his attempt of disparaging Cuomo.

[FM123]

9. DeSantis is not doing enough.

And the level of concern from officials down here varies from town to town and county to county.
I just saw on local news that in the town of Plantation (Broward County) they now have a specialized Covid19 rescue team that drive special ambulances ONLY for those suspected to have Covid19 so they don't cross contaminate with the general population. It shouldn't be up to each neighborhood to figure out how to keep themselves alive. DeSantis as governor must do more.

[Crunchy Frog]

11. All those conservative retirees. Maybe the state will go blue for the election. n/t

[obamanut2012]

12. Except for the three SOFL counties where we didn't vote for him

WE are on lockdown.

[OnDoutside]

14. We need Van Jones to say he's Gubernorial in this moment !!!

[tavernier]

15. We are all self isolating here in the Keys.

And the restaurants, hotels, and motels are closed, except for take out. I believe we’re getting ready to blow the bridge any day now to keep that other part of Florida out. Long live the Conch Republic!!

[PA Democrat]

16. Florida's population is almost 36% of Italy's.

He thinks restricting visitors from "hotspots" is enough. Florida is well on its way to becoming a hotspot itself and has done next to nothing to mitigate the spread of the virus.

I hate to say it but we are probably going to see some horrific numbers coming out of Florida in the very near future.

[spinbaby]

18. History repeats itself

They say history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. In the 14th century, bubonic plague was spread throughout Europe by people fleeing the Black Death. Today we have people fleeing New York taking disease to Florida.

[Hortensis]

19. "That is the dumbest s--- I have heard in a long time,"

My jaw dropped, and he'd already validated many times over the decision of the people of Florida to elect a total far-right nincompoop. He hasn't even come through with his promise to drive around in his pickup kidnapping brown-skinned people, and that seemed to be the one thing he might be capable of.