Maybe they were onto something

The possibility that a governor with too much power, and too few working checks and balances within the state legislature, could wreak real havoc - a pandemic fear is a Florida reality.

Dear friends:

Remember, back in 2020 at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, as governors declared public health emergencies and engaged temporary business shutdowns to try to contain the spread of the disease - remember the vicious, vitriolic backlash of so-called conservatives calling those steps an abuse of power?

Maybe they were onto something.

Not the vitriol and viciousness, not the attacks on legitimate public health actions (and workers). But the possibility that a governor with too much power, and too few working checks and balances within the state legislature, could wreak real havoc.

Enter Florida, where its governor has been allowed to prohibit discussion of LGBTQ families in elementary grades, strip faculty of academic freedom in colleges and universities, use state money to transport immigrants from other states to “liberal” neighborhoods, and attempt to take over one of the largest corporations in his state after its previous CEO criticized the governor’s policies.

Soon (as I write this, earlier this week), we expect the current Florida governor to declare his intention to seek the highest office in the land. In the current political landscape, overt anti-Semitism, anti-LGBTQ, anti-free speech, and anti-business rhetoric are apparently not disqualifying. Neither are overt machinations to take control of state universities and private enterprises.

Oh, and remember back in 2015, when the previous Republican president declared his intention to run, and so many voices were raised against “normalizing” the rule, norm, and law-breaking of his campaign?

Well, they were onto something, too.

Most of the time, I resist giving oxygen to the likes of the current Florida governor and presidential hopeful.

But we must continue to work against normalizing these anti-democracy, anti-human rights, anti-accountability leaders, lest we find one of them back in the White House in 2025.

Thank you for staying in this work and on the path of justice, inclusion, and peace.