We need leaders, instead of pandering politicians

Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are all Republicans who are raising money from the right wing of the party to stay in power, or get back into power. Trump has been using his ex-presidency to raise significant money to pay for his legal bills, disguised as supporting candidates.

Scott was fined $1.7 billion in Medicare fraud while the CEO of Columbia/HCA in 1994. It was the largest health settlement in our nation’s history. As chairman of the Republican Senatorial Committee, he runs around the country raising funds for Trump’s allies.

In 2010, DeSantis advocated for the tea party’s policies. He is a science denier, and has mismanaged the coronavirus response, substantially increasing the virus’ death toll in our state.

Even though his parents are immigrants, Rubio has been aligned with the far right wing of the Republican Party, blocking immigration reform and sensible gun restrictions.

Instead of raising funds, DeSantis, Rubio and Scott should do their jobs and work with the Biden administration to solve real problems, like passing infrastructure legislation, creating good-paying jobs, supporting gun reforms and make voting easier, instead of restricting voting rights.

They should work to find solutions to immigration and police reform, and support peaceful protests, instead of restricting First Amendment rights. They should work to find solutions to reduce systemic racism, get more people vaccinated and overcome vaccination hesitancy, which affects almost half of Republican voters.