Why no outrage from DeSantis over Michigan?
This isn’t about partisanship, it’s about morality. And isn’t theGOPall about values and morality?
When news broke last week that a group of anti-government militants had planned to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Florida GOP leaders were silent.
They remained silent againTuesday when additional details revealed the group had also targeted Virginia Gov. RalphNortham. Their silence is deafening, given how quickly they condemn anywayward protest involving Black LivesMatter. Republican leaders nationwide, not just in Florida, view such protests as Antifa-driven riots bent on pushing socialist agendas and defunding the police.
Sowhy the silence about plans to kidnap two governors? Could it be because Whitmer andNortham are Democrats?
Florida’s topRepublican, Gov. Ron DeSantis, spoke up when a few lawless outliers disrupted peaceful protests in the state. He offered up a giant piece of juicy redmeat for his even-more red base: a bill thatwould crack down on protesters by outlawing actions that are already illegal.
DeSantis expressed outrage about a downtownSt. Petersburg protest in which a demonstrator sat downat a couple’s outdoor table as they dined at a restaurant.
“Whatwe sawhere in St. Petersburg the other night with mobs harassing innocent peoplewhowere just enjoying ameal at a restaurant is simply unacceptable,” DeSantis said at the time. “You should be able to do that in peace without having some lunatic come up and yell in your face.”
Mobs. Lunatics. That’s howhe chose to describe an act of, albeit annoying and a bit pedestrian, civil disobedience— one, it’sworth noting, thatwas prompted by the diners having flipped the protesters the bird.
You knowwhat that protester didn’t do? Plot to kidnap anyone, let alone the governors of two states.
So if a protester sits at a table, it deserves the full force of DeSantis’ bully pulpit. Butwhen a militia group decides to hatch a kidnapping plot, it deserves crickets.
DeSantis is part of an exclusive club of 50 governors. Regardless of party loyalty or ideological differences, they should stick up for each other. If he doesn’t do it for two of his own now, who will stick up for him if or when he’s a target of some nefarious plot?
This isn’t about partisanship, it’s about morality. And isn’t theGOPall about values and morality?
Even if thesewould-be kidnappers werewaving the biggest pro-DeSantis sign and declaring him the best governor ever, what theywere plotting was wrong. Period.
But DeSantis isn’t alone. Look at Polk County Sheriff Grady Juddwhostood side-by-side with the governor when he announced his full-throated plan to crack downon protests, making felons of pro testers who crossed the line.
Judd, a former president of the Florida Sheriffs Association, arrived at the press conference armed with visual aids for “slowlearners” on the difference between peaceful protests and riots, looting and violence.
“If you loot, the next thing that you can try to steal is something off of your food tray at the county jail, because you’re going to jail,” he said, eliciting chuckles fromthe officers behind him. “That’s a guarantee, andwe’re going to enjoy taking you down there.”
Compare that towhat he’s said about thewould-be kidnappers of two governors. Oh, wait, you can’t because he hasn’t said anything.
No one is saying looting or burning buildings is the rightway to protest and— newsflash— both acts are already crimes. But there is a big difference between stealing shoes froman empty building during a protest and plotting to kidnap a high-ranking government official.
So where is the outrage? If you have the time to jail a 20-year-old obnoxious protester, surely you can find the time to condemn the planned kidnapping of not one, but two governors.
Could it be that the outrage only pours when it’s directed at political adversaries?
If that’s not the case— and for humanity’s sake, it better damnedwell not be— the time to speak up is now.