Ron DeSantis

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a woman, LGBTQ+, or any other marginalized community in America, Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis wants to control your life. And when his authority is threatened, the vindictive Florida governor uses the power of the state to inflict his regressive will.

DeSantis’ latest shady tactics involve intimidating voters who support Amendment 4, which would allow abortion until fetal viability (typically around 24 weeks). Florida Republicans fought to keep the referendum off the ballot, but the conservative State Supreme Court rejected their efforts.

Faced with the distinct possibility of the amendment passing, DeSantis is now calling fraud. He’s sticking the Sunshine State’s newly created election police on the case, ordering them to investigate the petition process.

Over the last week, multiple Floridians who signed the petition backing Amendment 4 have reported that agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement visited their homes. One voter, Isaac Menasche, said a detective questioned him about his signature and presented him with 10 pages of his personal information.

“The experience left me shaken,” he posted on Facebook. “Troubling that so much resources were devoted to this.”

DeSantis signed the state’s restrictive and unpopular six-week abortion plan into law last year, in the midst of his failed presidential campaign. Florida is one of eight states where reproductive rights are on the ballot this November.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe in June 2022, abortion rights have won in every election… even in conservative states such as Ohio and Kansas. Polls show the same results are expected in Florida: 76% of voters support enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution.

When asked to defend his draconian investigation, DeSantis cited unnamed complaints about the petition-gathering group.

Since being formed in 2022, the elections crime unit has fielded thousands of complaints, but only reported a few dozen arrests. The conspiracy-chasing agency has a budget of over $1 million.

What a horrible use of tax dollars!

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Speaking of wasteful processes, DeSantis also announced Florida will conduct its own inquiry into the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach. While it’s common for state agencies to assist the FBI in such matters, it’s highly unusual for a state to undergo its own investigation.

Always one to grandstand, DeSantis says he’s dispatching his own investigators, because he doesn’t trust federal officials.

“In my judgment, it’s not in the best interest of our state or our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation,” he told reporters.

Given that Trump humiliated DeSantis in the GOP primaries–he inferred DeSantis was a pedophile, among other smears–it may seem odd that “Meatball Ron” is still trying to curry favor with MAGA.

But this is Ron DeSantis we’re talking about! The man has no shame.

Look no further than his anti-LGBTQ+ agenda, which continues to fall apart. Judges have struck down his edicts to deny gender-affirming care to children and state employees, as well as narrow his infamous “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.

DeSantis has also admitted failure on his own school book bans.

Despite a long string of Ls, the antigay governor persists. His efforts to chill the vote on Amendment 4 may be his most dystopian power grab yet.

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