A.G. Gancarski
There was little chance the Florida Democratic Party would let this week end without slamming U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, Republican candidate for Governor, for voting to approve the Continuing Resolution to end the government shutdown.
“After years of cheering for government shutdowns that hurt Florida’s economy, Congressman Ron DeSantis (R-Fox News) seemingly reversed course early this morning by voting for a bipartisan budget deal,” reads an email from the FDP. “The vote was a massive flip-flop for DeSantis — and a cynical effort to erase his obstructionist record and his support for the 2013 government shutdown which hurt Florida’s tourism economy and destroyed jobs.”
Calling DeSantis an “instigator” of the 2013 shutdown, the email refers to him as “one of Congress’ most militant deficit hawks.”
“But apparently things change when you’re running for statewide office. This morning, DeSantis tried to erase years of obstructionism by supporting the latest bipartisan budget deal. His vote has already earned him eye-rolls from across the political spectrum.
Former Republican Congressman David Jolly called DeSantis’ vote “quite a reversal” and Republican state Representative James Grant mocked DeSantis’ rhetorical acrobatics,” the FDP notes.
The message also offers many examples of DeSantis’ past willingness to hazard a shutdown during the Barack Obama presidency, including various quotes from recent years when he identified debt as America’s most pressing issue.
DeSantis, in a four-paragraph statement explaining his affirmative vote on the bipartisan resolution, observed that “meeting the urgent needs of our military and disaster-affected communities outweighs the agreement’s fiscal shortcomings in this instance.”
