Now that one of the most outrageous state legislative sessions in U.S. history has mercifully concluded, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is finally set to announce his candidacy for president formally and he has quite a record to run on. In a very short time he's built a multi-dimensional legacy of repression, abuse of power and intolerance rarely seen in modern politics.
Some highlights from the last few weeks include a law to ban abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, a law granting permitless concealed carry, a ban on diversity programs in state colleges, a law to prevent teachers from using pronouns they don't believe are appropriate, easier access to the death penalty and an expansion of the "don't say gay" law to block the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity through the 12th grade. That's just for starters. He's pulled one culture war stunt after another, from transporting migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard to picking a fight with Disney, the state's largest employer, over LGBTQ rights to creating an "election police force" and having them arrest Black ex-felons who were allowed to vote in error and on and on and on. Just this week, DeSantis signed into law a bill allowing the state to take transgender children away from their parents. It seems only certain parents have rights in Florida.
