Gov. DeSantis announced his suspension of Hillsborough County District Andrew Warren earlier this month.
BY RAY TAMPA, The Ray Tampa Podcast
Day after day, we are faced with news of our racist, sexist, bullying, Donald Trump wannabe, authoritarian wannabe governor doing and saying something ridiculous, something outrageous, and something divisive.
The latest installment of “governor gone bad” occurred Thursday, Aug. 4, when Gov. DeSantis stood in front of the cameras flanked by a group of flunkies and announced his suspension of Hillsborough County District Attorney Andrew Warren. Pathetically, it appeared that a staged audience applauded, on cue, the announcement.
DeSantis stated his reasons for the suspension in the following manner:
“When you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty, you have neglected your duty, and you have demonstrated a lack of competence to be able to perform your duties.”
Furthermore, DeSantis said, “I don’t think the people of Hillsborough County want to have an agenda that is basically (woke) where you are deciding that your view of social justice means certain laws shouldn’t be enforced.”
I view both statements with bewildered skepticism, and I question the flagrant violation of the oath statement by asking when, where, and how. Also, I would like to ask DeSantis and his staff of stooges to identify one just one time that D.A. Warren neglected his duties by failing to prosecute a transgender case or an abortion case.
I will go even further and ask some of the idiots who spoke ill of D.A. Warren, such as the Hillsborough Sheriff and the former Tampa Police Chief, to identify a transgender or abortion case that was sent to the district attorney not filed. Truth be told, there are none.
The Sheriff for Hillsborough and a State Legislator cited two cases that caused them concern, but this happens in every district in every state. Prosecutors have great latitude in deciding which cases to file charges on, which is called prosecutorial discretion. Because a sheriff, a state legislator, or even an ignorant governor gets a hair up their ass is no reason to remove a duly elected official from office.
DeSantis’ assembled group of flunkies seemed to have the attitude of piling on; let’s get in on the action by supporting the governor’s stupidity. The worst in the group was Sheriff Chad Chronister, who offered comments that the Tampa Bay Times describes as an “abrupt break from what had been a cordial public relationship between the sheriff and state attorney.”
Though they are from different political parties, Warren endorsed Chronister in his campaign for sheriff. Chronister trumpeted that endorsement as an example of his bipartisanship in Hillsborough, according to an article printed in the Tampa Bay Times on Aug. 5. This is probably why Chronister appeared nervous while reading his speech criticizing DA Warren because he knew it was full of bulls#$t.
The Tampa Bay Times published an editorial entitled “Desantis: You’re not king of Florida.” The very first sentence reads as follows: “Gov. Ron DeSantis’ suspension Thursday of Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren was craven, legally suspect, suspiciously timed and odorously soaked in autocracy, partisanship and, in other words, completely in keeping with this governor’s behaviors.”
Effectively, DeSantis has canceled the votes of hundreds of thousands of citizens in Hillsborough County. These voters will not forget what happened to the man they wanted as their District Attorney. They didn’t vote for some right-wing hack selected by DeSantis.
DeSantis is a mad man who appears obsessed with the thought that he might become president. He constantly caters to his band of extremists with his dictator-type behaviors. He is enabled by Republican legislators who, as a group, represent a clear and present danger to our state.
They are “rubber stampers” on steroids. During the press conference, DeSantis confidently mentioned that the legislators had the right to override his vetoes, but he doubted they ever would. Literally, there is no check and balance in play right now. Therein lies the danger.
DeSantis will find that his brand of extremism puts him in the minority of our state’s population. He will soon be called Florida’s ex-governor. Oh, happy day!
