When Donald Trump decided to escape the Big Apple and
call the Sunshine State his official home, it wasn’t because he loved the
people of Florida. It was because he needed them. Or to put in perfect Trumpish
simplicity, he knew that without those precious 29 electoral college votes, his
re-election chances would disappear faster than a poodle snatched by a gator.
When he clinched the 2016 election by snatching Pennsylvania,
Michigan, and Wisconsin, while the Hillary campaign wasn’t looking, winning Florida
was just icing on his victory cake. But when those rust belt states began looking
more and more like Biden country, Florida got elevated from luxury to necessity.
So, you might logically think that the “wartime
president” of the United States and his obedient gator-state general would have
spared nothing to construct an impenetrable anti-virus shield around every
single Trump-leaning Florida voter, from Tallahassee to Key West. Or so you might
think.
Of course, fearful, vulnerable residents of every
state in this country would be grateful to receive an impenetrable anti-virus
shield, and Floridians are certainly no exception. In fact, when it comes to
actual need, they may be at or near the very top of that list.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Florida’s
population is among the most at-risk in the nation. One in five residents is 65
or older. Between age and pre-existing health conditions, nearly half the
state's population is at heightened risk of contracting the coronavirus.”
To make it even worse, over 2.5 million Florida
residents are without health insurance. It did not have to be that way, but the
previous governor, Republican, Rick Scott rejected Medicaid expansion. He had
to. It was part of Obamacare and scrubbing the name Obama from the history
books has been considered a sacred obligation of every “true” Republican.
As the economy continues to tank, job losses will
continue to mount, and the number of uninsured will soar. Here is what we know,
and what Trump and DeSantis should know -- If you are counting every
nickel to put food on your family’s table or to keep a roof over their heads,
you are unlikely to buy health insurance.
And, if you don’t have health insurance, and you get
sick from COVID-19, you are less likely to go to a hospital until it’s too late,
and when you are more apt to infect a hospital worker.
In February, Trump’s Florida poll numbers were
underwater. 47% approved of his job as president, while 51% disapproved. Not what
he was hoping for. But he did have a not-so-secret weapon.
That same February poll showed approval for DeSantis
at 65% and disapproval at only 21%. Come November, the popular governor could sell
the argument that Florida could ill afford having a Democrat in the White
House. The DeSantis-Trump connection was working just fine. Don’t mess it up!
But the good old days of February are now a distant
memory.
Through lies, denials, self-contradictions, breathtaking
reversals, and mystifying inaction, Trump, aided by his loyal captains at Fox,
and by that Medal of Freedom recipient, Rush Limbaugh, gave the monster virus a
6-week head start.
Donald Trump will own that death count, forever.
So, while Trump was busy being Trump, what was
DeSantis doing to protect Floridians? What exactly was his strategy to flatten
the infection curve?
Actually, he didn’t have one. But, would he at least
do the obvious? Would he cancel Spring Break and close the beaches,
restaurants, and bars? Nope! Instead of closing those social infection mega centers,
he answered the call for crisis leadership by passing the buck to mayors and
local governments. Some of them did the right thing and some did not.
Was he gambling that Floridians would be proud that
their courageous governor stood firm in protecting the God-given right of
residents and tourists to frolic on Florida’s beautiful beaches?
Meanwhile, the virus did what viruses do, except
this virus does it on steroids – travel from one body to another, turning
sickening or deadly in the bodies of the elderly, and those with pre-existing
conditions.
On April 1st, under pressure from the scientists and
the media, Trump finally made a phone call to DeSantis, who dutifully issued
his stay-at-home order. Well, better late than never, but as Florida’s death
toll mounts, Trump’s poll numbers will begin to fall, and for that, he will do
what comes most naturally. He will blame DeSantis.
For months to come, story upon story will circulate about
grieving family members who lost a loved one to a death that was avoidable – a
loved one who would still be alive, if only our federal government was on par
with South Korea and the governor of Florida was as competent and courageous as
the governor of California.
Ron DeSantis’s previously high poll numbers had
prompted serious talk of his possible candidacy for president in 2024. Then he
gambled with the lives he was hired protect. Make no mistake about it, there
will be a DeSantis death toll that will follow him to the end of his term and
to the end of his life.
Oh, one more thing. Hurricane season arrives on June
1st. Can Governor DeSantis possibly handle one or more devastating
hurricanes on top of the raging storm that he helped fuel?
That’s, of course, a rhetorical question. I know the
answer, and so do you. Though, for the sake of Florida, I sincerely hope we are
wrong.
Please remember that the most important storm of our
lifetime will arrive on Election Day, November 3rd. In this case,
there will be no calm before the storm, but there will certainly be calm after it.
Until then, on behalf of the Anti-Trumpism Coalition
of Democrats, Independents, and the American Wing of the Republican Party, stay
sheltered!
Bruce Coltin
Surviving Trump Two Minutes at a Time
Amen, says this 70 year new Floridian!
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