Last night, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Trump Mini-Me who may run against Biden and/or Harris in 2024 if Trump stays out and the political gossip rags get their way, appeared on Laura Ingraham’s show. There, he regurgitated the latest wingnut talking point, that the jurors in the Chauvin murder trial were intimidated into convicting the killer cop:
Ron DeSantis on Chauvin's jury conviction: "If that's something that can potentially happen, where you have justice meted out because the jury is scared of what a mob may do — not saying that's what happened here … [but] that's completely antithetical to the rule of law." pic.twitter.com/fBDDCxmiQd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 21, 2021
He’s not saying that’s what’s happening here, you understand — just raising the question!
Earlier this week, DeSantis signed an authoritarian “anti-riot” bill into law in front of an all-white, mask-less crowd. The dumb yet horrifying spectacle was emceed by the braying jackass in uniform pictured below, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who is a walking, grandstanding argument AGAINST making county sheriff an elected office.
During a press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County tells new Florida residents "Don't register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north."pic.twitter.com/HahFQVCVW2
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) April 19, 2021
In the clip, Judd warns outside agitators (he didn’t use that phrase, but his meaning is crystal clear) to keep their Yankee voting habits the hell out of Florida. It wouldn’t surprise me if boycotts of the state arise from this shitty bill, but maybe people have come to expect insanity from Florida, so the latest round of batshit won’t make a ripple?
The Tampa Bay Times has an article on what the bill contains, including a Confederate monument protection provision, though it’s not called that:
Under the law, any person, who without permission, tears down any type of memorial “dedicated to a historical person, an entity, an event or a series of events” would face a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The law also opens the door for businesses that incur losses in a riot or unlawful assembly to sue municipalities by removing caps on damages. That’s a side pocket way for the Republican statehouse and governor to punish cities run by Democrats, which is where large demonstrations tend to take place.
The governor also inserts his snout into city budgets by making them run cuts to police department funding past him:
The governor said the bill will also target calls to “defund the police,” which he said was an “insane theory.”
The law allows state attorneys in each judicial circuit or a member of a city commission to appeal local police budget reductions. The appeal would be subject to review by the governor’s office, which ultimately would rule whether it needs further review.
If it does, a separate commission, which includes the governor and the Florida Cabinet, would have the final say on whether the local government should approve, amend or modify its spending plan.
“This bill actually prevents against local government from defunding law enforcement,” DeSantis said. “We will be able to stop it at the state level.”
The president of Florida’s League of Women Voters calls that provision “incredibly authoritarian.” She’s right. So much for small government and local control. Like the orange demagogue who elevated him to the governor’s mansion, DeSantis wants to control everyone and everything.
A year ago, I would have hoped DeSantis’s coziness with the hard-right and increasingly authoritarian antics would alienate Florida voters. But after the Trump 2020 campaign outperformed its winning margin in 2016 in Florida, I no longer believe that’s likely.
If DeSantis wins reelection in 2022 and becomes the 2024 GOP nominee for president, the good news is that Democrats don’t need Florida to win. Can’t think of any other good news coming out of Florida politics these days. Open thread.
raven
moron
egorelick
I want to run him over with my car or shoot him (if I had a gun) because he makes me fear for my life.
SiubhanDuinne
Grady Judd. If that isn’t the perfect name for a Florida* sheriff, I don’t know what is.
Well, maybe if his full name is Grady Wayne Judd. A girl can dream.
*Edit: Or really, any Southern sheriff.
TaMara (HFG)
Poe Larity
I think it’s a good thing we can now put a face to Florida Man.
zhena gogolia
@TaMara (HFG):
Great!
SiubhanDuinne
@TaMara (HFG):
Yay!
Brachiator
What an asshole. But a not insignificant number of “cops can do no wrong” white people are piping up about this case.
Jeffro
I think I saw something about DeSantis also signing a huge online sales tax increase for FL residents, offset by equally huge tax cuts for FL big business?
Yup, here it is.
Have at it, Florida voters!
Martin
Cruz, Hawley, Gozar and MTG aren’t from there. That’s something.
LesGS
The wording of the “anti-riot” bill I read seems to me to be something that could be used against the protesters harassing patients going into Planned Parenthood clinics.
Brachiator
@TaMara (HFG):
This was an interesting tidbit to the story:
Also, she is another Obama administration appointee.
McConnell can bite me.
Martin
@TaMara (HFG): Thank God. I can’t think of anyone more qualified for that position, and yet, here we are.
leeleeFL
In another State, another Black man has been shot and during the serving if a search warrant. Family says he was not armed.
Leaving for work in a few, I will know nothing else till later tonight. If you guys hear anything substantive, let me know.
I am despairing of ever ending this BULLSHIT!
leeleeFL
@Brachiator: This Nominee seems eminently qualified. McConnel can go pound sand…
Jeffro
@Brachiator: any wingnuts who cross my path/email inbox/FB feed with this crazy shit are going to hear:
Cameron
Christ. I’ve lived down here since 2016, and I’m seriously thinking of moving back to Philly. Not that I’d be any loss to Florida – don’t have two nickels to rub together and have all the charisma of a dead frog. He really is awful. If he actually gets elected President, we’re super-screwed.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
He doesn’t say of which country
Raoul Paste
DeSantis is going to get a lot of free TV time as Fox pushes his presidential run . The fact that he is Mr ‘Run-over-protesters-with-your-car’ tells you all you need to know about him and Fox
Cameron
@LesGS: It certainly could be. It wouldn’t be, but it could be….
Martin
@LesGS: That’s funny. No, it will never be used that way, because white people are allowed to riot.
Ksmiami
Loved living in Miami but now I Will never go back to Florida but seriously climate change will be felt there very soon so…I just feel bad for Ms. Cracker and the animals
geg6
@Martin:
Yeah, but Gaetz, DeSantis, Rubio and Scott are there, which pretty much cancels any points for not having the assholes you mentioned. Not to mention the whole Cheeto family now lives there permanently.
You couldn’t pay me enough to live or visit there. Say all you want about Pennsyltucky. At least we haven’t sunk so low as to be Florida.
Jeffro
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: trying to picture a Christie/DeSantis/Pompeo/Cruz/Cotton/Hawley douche-off and while I’d like to laugh about the prospect of them trying to out-asshole each other, unfortunately the eventual GQP nominee has a decent chance at getting elected president.
Still, though, it’d be like a proctologist’s training manual, live on stage! The political cartoons will be hysterical. =)
hrprogressive
Every day I get more and more wistful that Bugs Bunny didn’t actually saw off Florida when he had the chance.
Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)
Not only is the Florida legislature getting to be as trumpian as the rest of the red states, and not only will they entrench themselves further in the next round of gerrymandering, but they have also made it harder for citizen initiatives to succeed. Those are petition-generated constitutional amendments that have for been the only hope for Democrats to change Florida law given the republicans’ legislative chokehold.
I guess the only hope is, what, some future generational shift that will propel democrats past the perpetual influx of angry old white conservatives?
NotMax
Florida. Known for things in the 80s: the temperatures, the ages, the IQs.
gvg
@Jeffro: That’s just saying online out of state retailers have to collect sales tax on Florida residents. Florida is kind of late doing that compared to other states and I think it is only fair. It’s not going to make any difference.
What I think is going to happen because of these laws is a bunch of expensive lawsuits. I hope we can tie the bills to him.
kindness
Well Betty, thank you for being one of Florida’s Better Angels. I’m sorry but I couldn’t live in Florida because of the attitudes far too many folk have there. Keep the faith though. This too will pass….eventually.
Cameron
@gvg: Should be easy to tie them to him – he’s very Trumpian in his desire to take credit for things.
Baud
Whatever works.
laura
The phrase “scared of what the mob may do” really jumped out at me. DeSantis is inferring that “the mob” is black people and that their assembly and conduct is automatically scary – so punitive laws are justified as reasonable and necessary – and Ilsa the She Wolf provides a platform to mainstream it. Fuck these people.
NotMax
@NotMax
With due apology to Betty and B-J Sunshiners, make that “the average IQ.”
;)
guachi
I was told yesterday that the verdict wasn’t justice. By a front-pager, even. I disagreed. Can some of you BJers go tell George Floyd’s brother he’s wrong when he says the verdict of guilty was justice?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/21/philonise-floyd-chauvin-verdict-justice/
First lines of his obviously erroneous op-ed: “This is what justice feels like: gut-wrenching relief, exhaustion. It’s not sweet or satisfying. It’s necessary, important, maybe even historic.”
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Intimidated by evidence? Oh DeSantis, you deslapdick.
Gravenstone
The first time someone tries this “legally run over a protestor” shit, they’re liable to become a Reginald Denny for the 21st Century. Only for absolutely valid reasons.
And yes, the “jury felt threatened” bullshit is very much the current wingnut talking point. Saw one comment on a friend’s Facebook post that claimed the jury was actively getting death threats. Gee, I wonder how they verified that little slice of bullshit?
Steve in the ATL
@Cameron:
Thanks–I have updated your dossier!
Cameron
@laura: Sounds an awful lot like Scalise’s comment that DC shouldn’t be a state because of all the ‘criminals’ who live there.
Gravenstone
You misspelled fuck off and die.
Brachiator
@Jeffro:
On a related note, one 88 year old former head of the Golden Globes organization was forced to resign because he sent around an email saying that the Black Lives Matter movement was a “racist hate group.”
This organization, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has not had a single black member in over 20 years. But that apparently was just a coincidence, not bigotry.
Dorothy A. Winsor
different-church-lady
“I mean, let’s say I was fucking your fourteen year old daughter. I’m not saying that’s what’s happening here, I’m just wondering about it. You’d probably be pretty upset, right?”
Steve in the ATL
@Gravenstone: if anyone on the jury did receive a death threat, I’ll wager that it came from a conservative, white gun owner.
laura
@Cameron: exactly that – dehumanizing language getting mainstreamed on the daily, and when anyone calls out this errant bullshit they downshift into their manufactured victim hood and are almost always allowed a free pass by our media betters- who will only swing into action to both sides it. Fuck all of these fuckers.
Frank Wilhoit
@guachi: “Justice” does not have a unique definition. It is one of those know-it-if-you-see-it kinds of things. It is not a point but a spectrum, a spectrum that transforms into invisibility at its extremes just like the spectrum of visible light.
Accountability is also a spectrum; …
…but unaccountability is a point, exactly as unique as it is unacceptable; and unaccountability is our problem.
Frame everything so.
Baud
Via reddit, this will brighten your day.
https://imgur.com/BxSRmn9.jpg
Brachiator
@guachi:
The point was that a lot of black people did not view this verdict as a resounding example of justice, while a lot of white people’s response was to view this as a monumental act of justice. This was looking at initial social media responses, etc.
No one is disputing or devaluing how specific individuals might feel about the verdict.
Cameron
Uh-oh. Looks like Justice vs. Accountability is going into extra innings.
different-church-lady
@guachi: I’ve been wondering about this whole Justice v. Accountability bruhaha, which so far I’ve seen unfolding solely on Balloon Juice.
Then I remember one of TBogg’s observations: the worst possible intra-liberal infraction one can make is using wrong words.
I’d offer my perspective on the thing, but lately every time I’ve done that here in regards to racial linguistics I get pounded into sand because I won’t write the correct thing on my protest sign.
Even the woman who made the George Floyd video said justice. I get that there’s subtle distinctions that are very important nonetheless. But apparently a lot of people haven’t checked the fax machine for this particular memo. (And apparently Pelosi is mixed up in this too?)
Baud
@Cameron:
It’s so dumb. Every intelligent person knows it’s karma.
Jeffro
@Dorothy A. Winsor: wow
For the sake of our country, they’d better get going with that 1/6 commission, public trials of these goons, and more.
Jeffro
@guachi: have to agree here.
Also have to say, I think we should move on.
guachi
@Brachiator: What I saw was a lot of white people dusting off their bona fides by saying that because some Black people said it wasn’t justice then they (and we) had to also see that it wasn’t justice.
And that it was only White people who said it was justice. The implication being that if you thought the verdict was justice then you were a racist.
As far as I can see, the justice system performed the only kind of justice it can – to legally hold people accountable in the case that’s being tried. It can’t resurrect people from the dead. It can’t time travel and undo crimes.
I don’t mind people quibbling about words – I’m a linguist by trade. But the implication that I, as a White person, was racist for using the term “justice” is silly.
mrmoshpotato
@Cameron: When’s the Yankees game start? And fuck the fucking Yankees.
MJS
@Baud: Looks like he’s off the juice.
geg6
@Brachiator:
I am not very inclined to take the word of a white person as to whether or not yesterday’s verdicts were “justice.” I have heard the Floyd family and at least one of the Black witnesses say it was a form of justice, so I really think people like us should stay out of policing how other well meaning people use the word, especially when the people are Black and/or the family of the victim. It is not for us to decide and it is not for us to tell others how to talk about it. Check your privilege.
Amir Khalid
@guachi:
One bad actor, Derek Chauvin, was held to account. So it was an instance of justice. But it was not the norm: Chauvin wouldn’t have been tried, let alone convicted, without Darnella Frazier’s damning video that gave the lie to his bland incident report, and fuelled the extraordinary effort that went into prosecuting him. Justice would be when such bad actors fear exposure in the ordinary course of affairs.
JPL
@different-church-lady: Why not both. The jury decided that Chauvin was guilty, so he was finally accountable for his actions.
What Amir said.
Bluegirlfromwyo
@Brachiator: Wasn’t that exactly what the 1/6 mob was hoping for? I swear, all the right has is projection.
Bill Arnold
@Baud:
A Reckoning (clip from “Wyatt Earp”)
I very much like Frank Wilhoit’s point about clean framing:
Kent
This anti-defund the police statute seems pretty half-baked. Any halfway decent bureaucrat can work a lot of magic with budgets. Slice it up into sub-categories that never get spent, for example. There are probably a bazillion ways that police budgets could be spent in progressive ways while actually keeping the money in the police budget.
Feels a lot more performative than anything else
Brachiator
@guachi:
You are reading far more into this than was meant by the observation.
I read the thread where this came up. There was no judgements made. None at all. Certainly none by the author of the thread.
rp
I think it’s fair to argue that this isn’t justice in some sort of cosmic sense, or an event that we should be happy about, but rather a very small but positive step (one could say that it’s not the end, or even the beginning of the end, but, perhaps, the end of the beginning). And it’s an enormous relief that Chauvin has been held accountable. But quibbling over “justice” vs. “accountability” or criticizing people for using the term justice is really silly.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
So if someone were to create a monument to the philosophy and genius of Adolph Hitler, it would be a felony to disrupt or disturb it.
An enterprising person would do just that to illustrate the absurdity of this law.
Put another way, DeSantis and the Florida lege essentially criminalized the methods of the Civil Rights Movement and turned those misdemeanors to felonies.
Yup, time to boycott Florida.
The Thin Black Duke
@geg6: Well said. Thank you.
Pete Mack
@NotMax: And the hairstyles.
debbie
These assholes must be made to prove what they are saying. Period.
Dirk Reinecke
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: I’m going to be a bit mean. I don’t think Chris is running for anything…
Cameron
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Unfortunately, I already live there.
different-church-lady
@JPL: What I was going to offer yesterday was that (maybe) justice is a process, and accountability is one of the goals of that process. In this case, the process operated correctly.
But then I decided I didn’t have enough energy to put my head back on the chopping block of group think at that particular moment. Especially over something so significant.
laura
On a day where one cop with a lengthy history of excessive force and little to no disciplinary response is convicted of murder of a black man after a trial by a jury of his peers – and that conviction was a hoped for but surprising outcome; and thus cause for a joyful celebration however brief; a black child was killed by a police officer who had barely arrived on scene and made no effort to assess the situation. The meaning of accountability and justice is not “the issue” – the issue is systemic racism and it’s tentacles of unaccountability in law enforcement in every community in America. Maybe I’m wrong, and I’m sure someone will point out the error.
Jeffro
Looks like VA’s own “trumpov in heels” GQP candidate for governor Amanda Chase has weighed in, and the Derek Chauvin verdict “makes her sick“.
Just like Tucker, DeSantis, and the rest.
I’m almost glad. They’re going to keep making themselves so utterly and obviously disgusting that they won’t win an election in this state again until I’m playing with my great-grandchildren.
J.
Betty left out that the bill also gives immunity to people who mow down protesters with cars and guys like Kyle Rittenhouse. I just pray that the Dems here (the spouse and I recently became Florida residents, heaven help us) come up with a good candidate to run against DeathSantis. Though considering the number of registered Republicans in the state and R-leaning Independents, I don’t think Jesus could win here if there was a D next to his name.
different-church-lady
@laura:
By my math your equation is balanced.
rp
@laura: Well said.
Mike in NC
FOX News should be burned to the ground and the ashes pissed on.
Barry
” Ron DeSantis on Chauvin’s jury conviction: “If that’s something that can potentially happen, where you have justice meted out because the jury is scared of what a mob may do — not saying that’s what happened here … [but] that’s completely antithetical to the rule of law.”
It’s always projection with these guys.
Cameron
….and another police shooting today in North Carolina. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have nothing left to say.
Another Scott
The SPLC and ACLU FL are letting people know how bad the new law is, but I don’t see anything about taking him to court yet. It looks like the effective date is July 1, 2021. Maybe someone has to be charged under it first, or it somehow else must be ripe. I do hope they are getting ready…
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
cckids
I noted this in an earlier, dead thread, but as T. Prachett had Death and his apprentice say “There is no Justice. There’s just us”.
We all have work to do, for justice and for accountability.
Steve in the ATL
@mrmoshpotato: no idea, but the Braves game is at 6:30!
mrmoshpotato
Hal Sparks – Florida Man
mrmoshpotato
@Steve in the ATL: Hehe. Go Braves!
piratedan
@Amir Khalid: I fully expect the Thin Blue Line response to this chain of events to follow that of the GOP when confronted with unacceptable behavior; namely anyone they see filming them in the act of “policing” gets arrested for disobeying a police officer, obstruction of justice and disturbing the peace.
J R in WV
@Brachiator:
No, no, imagine the diseases you might be exposed to if Turtle McConnell bit you and drew blood. Worse than a tick bite!!!
Florida RWNJs appear to be even worse than TX RWNJs… what a loon that governor is~!!~
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Off topic: Our beautiful Spring bloom may be ending here tonight… right now weather in SW W Va is varying between occasional snow and sleet, and it’s going to be colder tonite. NOAA has a freeze warning, and that will be a sure thing in higher elevations east of here.
I do have some photos from earlier this spring, and those things have really improved lately, but this may end that phase of spring for this season.
mrmoshpotato
@Cameron:
How about saying some details?
Cameron
@mrmoshpotato: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article250843094.html
sab
@J.: Florida has a long history of mowing down protesters with cars and trucks. I knew a very white girl who was mowed down in 1970 or 1971 picketing with farm workers.
Baud
James E Powell
@SiubhanDuinne:
It also works as Judd Grady.
J R in WV
@Baud:
That photo of Mr Chauvin, he is not looking like a happy guy at all.
Finally realized how far over the line he went, and how miserable the rest of his life is gong to be… the violin is slightly smaller than a quark!! Near Planck’s Limit?
Another Scott
Yup.
A couple of anecdotes:
1) I was in a play in high school and someone from the Dayton Daily News came to interview the cast for some “in your neighborhood” story in the paper. It was fun talking with her, but she got quotes mixed up and took liberty with what she presented as quotes. Lesson – the press doesn’t always get it right.
2) A car ran off the road on a curve (going too fast) and hit a tree in the yard of the house we were renting. The driver was Ok and the damage wasn’t too bad, but I was worried that the tree would have to be cut down, so I asked for a copy of the police report for the insurance company. I got it a copy and saw that the wrong street and wrong corner was listed and several other details were incorrect. Lesson – the police don’t always get it right.
These were minor things. But it’s hard to believe that when lives are at stake that the accuracy is suddenly higher.
We should always be skeptical, and not take anything we read as gospel. Even the Gospels. ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
taumaturgo
@LesGS: Negative because they would be mostly white Cristo fascists carrying bibles and crosses.
debbie
@Baud:
Maybe the answer is to hold more secret votes?
debbie
Won’t DeSantis have to disappear Broward and Dade Counties to even have a chance in an election?
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
I wouldn’t want that diseased whatever it is biting me!
lgerard
Today in Florida news
A Miami defendant accidentally broadcast someone getting a butt injection during her Zoom court hearing
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@J R in WV:
Planck’s Limit frightens me. I’ve read sci-fi that surmises that the universe expands and contracts – there are discussions as to what happens when distances shrink that much….
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Mike in NC:
Make that “the Murdoch family out to three generations”.
Throw in the Mercers for good measure
chopper
“i’m not saying that that’s what happened, but isn’t it crazy that it totes happened?!”
bluefish
De Santis owning the fibs. But not really.
ColoradoGuy
I think of the Chauvin verdict as the beginning of justice, not the end. Nothing will bring back the lives of those murdered by officers wearing a badge, a Taser, and a gun. But maybe these officers will lose the protection of prosecutors and the courts, and face the consequences of criminal behavior.
KrackenJack
@geg6: You would have to sink a lot!
Mean elevation: PA 1100 ft, FL 100 ft. (Color me surprised.) Also noteworthy DE 60 ft, LA 100 ft.
JaneE
DeSantis’ and Carlson’s take on the Chauvin verdict is utter garbage.
The first thing this old white lady thought when I saw that video a year ago was that Floyd was deliberately murdered. Absolutely nothing the defense said at trial changes my opinion one bit. The only question I have is when exactly did Chauvin decide to kill Mr. Floyd, during the stop or sometime before?
The jury gave the only verdicts possible, IMO. I wonder if any of them are as surprised as I am that there haven’t been Chauvin supporting protests because of that. Apparently you need to be really deep in the GOP cesspool to speak out.
JaneE
@Brachiator: I don’t know if it is related or not, but we have a guy in our neighborhood who was an ardent Trumper. Trump2020 flag flying below the US flag on the flagpole in his yard. The Trump flag was replaced by a thin blue line flag after Jan 6th. Yesterday the thin blue line flag was replaced by one that says “Pray for our country”. I would hope that those changes represent some sort of progression – realizing that his idols have clay feet. I don’t want to ask.
artem1s
seems like something you could use against drunken frat boys rioting after the state u loses a sportsball game to the cross town rival.
cope
@J.: The numbers of registered Ds and Rs in Florida are essentially even with the Ds marginally ahead as they have been for years. That’s why as a 30 year resident, I always have high hopes for each election. Sadly, those hopes generally founder on the rocks. I blame D state leadership.
Super Dave
So much for the notion that those closest to the governed should do the governing. I guess that only applies when the locals are as batshit crazy as the state and feds.
Benno
That’s not a reference that’s made often enough.
Freemark
@geg6: But Scott Perry is my Congressman. So my feeling of being ‘better than Florida’ is severely tempered. And we are just a Republican governor away from being batshit crazy Florida.