A.G. Gancarski
Though the question was not at the top of Floridians’ minds, Gov. Ron DeSantis weighed in on stay-at-home orders in states like Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the Democratic Governor’s stay-at-home order, and DeSantis sided with the high court’s decision.
“Some of this stuff I think has devolved into social control,” DeSantis said on Fox and Friends Thursday. “I don’t think any governor has the authority to restrict anyone unless there’s a direct relationship to combatting this virus.”
“If you look around the country,” DeSantis added, “clearly there have been examples of really draconian, arbitrary restrictions that have nothing to do with public health.”
“You can’t plant a seed in the front yard in your garden. You can’t walk around the neighborhood with your daughter or something like that,” the Governor quipped.
“It’s less effective to do that. In Florida, we did not do that,” DeSantis said. “We trusted the people to act appropriately. And we’ve had a better result than some of the states that you’ve seen.”
“So I think that yes, there absolutely have been oversteps. I think legislatures should really look at this as we move forward.”
“You need to be able to act. You need certain things done,” DeSantis said. “But you’re not a dictator. You don’t have unlimited authority. People do have rights.”
While DeSantis has received pushback on issues regarding the reopening of the Florida economy, criticized by salon owners, gym enthusiasts, and vacation rental landlords for not moving far or fast enough at various points, he has been conscious of the temptation of overarching executive mandates, and his rhetoric has reflected that.
For weeks, the Governor has maintained that despite not issuing “draconian orders,” Florida has outperformed other states, with a “tailored and measured” approach done in a “safe way.”
While protests have been staged, turnout has been weak compared to the pyrotechnic presentations in other states.
4 comments
Amy Roberts
May 14, 2020 at 10:59 am
The Governor is in no position to critique his peers actions. He needs to get his house on order first and make sure his actions have improved lives without costing lives of Floridians.
Steve McCullar
May 14, 2020 at 11:50 am
So when is the Governor going to allow legitimate vacation rentals businesses to start? His current ban is as draconian as anything cooked up in one of the blue states.
Frankie M.
May 14, 2020 at 2:26 pm
Draconian like the time Ronnie refused to close the beaches in SoFla to spring breakers or when he stationed state troopers at the state line to keep out New Yorkers? It seems to be all or nothing with this guy…it’s like the wheels are spinning up there but the hamster’s dead? Weird. Enjoy your glass house Ronnie!
Thomas Doutt
May 15, 2020 at 7:41 am
The Governor is doing a good job. He gave the Spring Break crowd a chance and they Blew it. The Northerners wanted to flood our State and He stopped it. I believe being able to gradually move around Herd Immunity has helped us all. We are slowly opening up all businesses. 22 million here and we are better off than say Pa. with half that population. Well done Ron.
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