Gov. Ron DeSantis is playing a game of smoke and mirrors with Floridians. His announced goal is to cure Florida of the reported ailments of the border crisis, election fraud, critical race theory, “trendy ideologies” in education like gender ideology and queer theory, indoctrinators hiding on every corner and in every classroom, diversity initiatives at public universities.
The list goes on.
Part of the public eats up what he’s saying and cheers him on. The other, including the Miami Herald Editorial Board, is outraged with the almost daily barrage of manufactured crises (save for the one at the border). As the Editorial Board recently argued, DeSantis is a master of distraction. What gets lost in all that smoke he creates are the true impacts of DeSantis’ policies.
Whether you’re urging him on or screaming at the top of our lungs, you’re likely overlooking how much power DeSantis has concentrated in his own hands, and the hands of future governors. He’s getting plenty of help from lawmakers, who just gave him the ability to transport migrants from anywhere in the nation, along with $10 million from taxpayers, no questions asked. They also made it easier for the state to pursue election fraud cases without having to go through locally elected prosecutors.
This consolidation of power in Tallahassee predates DeSantis. For years, lawmakers have passed so-called “preemption bills” that prevent cities and counties from enacting their own regulations, usually ones that powerful special interests don’t like. Under DeSantis, that phenomenon is happening with unprecedented speed, benefiting mostly the state’s chief executive.
The latest example of that comes with suspicious timing.
After public outcry, the Florida High School Athletic Association nixed a proposal to force female athletes to disclose to schools information about their menstruation. Just a week later, the Republican-controlled Legislature advanced a bill that would put DeSantis in charge of appointing all the members of the association’s governing board. DeSantis tried to take over the FHSAA, a private entity, last year, as originally reported by journalist Jason Garcia, but lawmakers didn’t go for it.
It’s also interesting that DeSantis and Republicans — self-appointed defenders of parental rights — were unusually quiet about the proposed menstruation requirement. After all, it was parents in Palm Beach County who first raised privacy concerns over having to turn over that information to schools when athletic forms migrated online.
The real danger here isn’t just in what may happen at the FHSAA if, and when, DeSantis takes over. The true danger lies in how lawmakers have enabled the executive power to be in control and monitor the most granular aspects of the workings of Florida’s institutions with little accountability.
Since the legislative branch has abdicated its responsibilities, the only check and balance left are the courts, and we know how expensive that is.
It takes great courage to call out this type of power grab when it’s coming from your side of the aisle. However, is no Republican up to that task?
To the Floridians who are egging the governor on, think of what could happen if the tide turns, and you don’t like the next person in the governor’s mansion. If DeSantis continues to amass power, it will be too late to reverse course. That is what gets obfuscated by DeSantis’ smoke and mirrors.
Buyer beware.
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