OK, so this is illustrative of how unprincipled they are I hate to use the hypocrisy charge because it feels insufficient. This is not just a normal human containing multitudes, but an actual announcement of policy understood by all using misleading anodyne language. "The state of Florida is a law and order state," the governor said. "Refusing to faithfully enforce the laws of Florida puts our communities in danger and victimizes innocent Floridians." The purported justification, namely to faithfully enforce the laws. Sounds defensible. But in reality it is only the hesitation to overly enforce certain laws against certain people. Notable is who DeSantis chose to attend: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey were both in attendance and supported the governor's suspension of Worrell. It is worth noting that neither Judd or Ivey works in Worrell's district, which covers Orange and Osceola counties. We talked about Grady before. We can put that aside for now. I would just state that if we were really talking about public safety, most dangerous place to be State of Florida is between Grady Judd and a camera. But let's talk about Wayne Ivey. The Sentinel has picked up on Ivey's "stances" previously - ‘Constitutional’ sheriff movement escapes DeSantis' scrutiny Looks like that is paywalled. But Ivey has said at various times that he would not enforce mask mandates even if the law, any law that he deems violative of the Second Amendment, even if the courts have ruled otherwise, or any request to protect school boards against threats of violence ‘We are not the mask police:’ Brevard sheriff says deputies will not enforce school mandates Florida sheriff tries to influence public policy beyond policing In essence, there is a movement called Constitutional Sheriffs, which Ivey signed on to - Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey embraces right-wing law enforcement ideology ‘Constitutional Sheriff’ Wayne Ivey says he’s a patriot. Others see something more menacing. Here is wiki - Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association - Wikipedia The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is a political organization of local police officials in the United States who contend that federal and state government authorities are subordinate to the local authority of county sheriffs and police. Self-described constitutional sheriffs assert that they are the supreme legal authority with the power and duty to defy or disregard laws they regard as unconstitutional.[2][3] As a result, they may sometimes be referred to as sovereign sheriffs.[4] The movement is related to previous nullification and interposition notions,[1] and promotes such efforts.[5] It has been described as far-right by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[6] The CSPOA has claimed a membership of 400.[3] So Desantis invited a Sheriff to stand behind him who has said that he and he alone decide what state and federal laws apply in Brevard County, and that he will refuse to enforce otherwise valid laws as he sees fit. No one one worries about that on the DeSantis side because they know that in that mindset, the law protects some and binds others, and vice-versa, as the saying goes. But no one should try to defend DeSantis on the basis of some supposed dedication to the rule of law. He is communicating exactly the opposite - the law only protects his people and only binds his enemies. To pretend otherwise is self-deceit
more on how our guvnr weaponized his cronies to go after Worrell. obvious that desi is using Keefe as his own private hatchet man to target any opposition. from flying migrants around to targeting DA's, the dirt is flowing through Keefe. The Real Story Behind Ron DeSantis’ Newest Fired Prosecutor (yahoo.com) What American viewers weren’t told is that, behind the scenes, the governor’s office had quietly conspired with local sheriffs to tarnish the reputations of these democratically elected prosecutors—turning local cops against the state attorneys they’re supposed to partner with and trust. In the latest instance, the governor did one sheriff a huge favor by firing Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell just as she was about to crack down on a wide-ranging cover-up by deputies who, she says, were faking documents to hide lethal and abusive behavior. “They thought that I was overly critical of law enforcement and didn't do anything against ‘real criminals,’” Worrell told The Daily Beast in an interview last week. “Apparently there’s a difference between citizens who commit crimes and cops who commit crimes.” .......................... Larry Keefe, whose chummy relationship with congressman Matt Gaetz helped him land the U.S. Attorney spot in Florida’s panhandle under President Donald Trump, left the Department of Justice and became DeSantis’ legal commando whose job it was to punish undocumented migrants seeking shelter in the United States. But his less explored role has been to coordinate the purely political and unceremonious removal of local prosecutors—aggressive operations that seek to embarrass Democrats all in the name of public safety. Keefe appears to have kept a similar mode of operation when conducting both jobs. When coordinating the controversial contracts that rounded up desperate migrants and sent them to Martha’s Vineyard on potentially illegal flights, he seemed to try dodging public records laws by using a non-government email address named after “Clarice Starling,” the protagonist from The Silence of the Lambs. In that same fashion, court transcripts show, he used a private email address to coordinate Warren’s downfall with Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister and asked to shift correspondence to the encrypted app Signal, where messages can auto-delete.
Willfully and intentionally using encrypted apps to avoid public records laws? BuT HiLlArY’s EmAiLs! More evidence the GOP is no longer a political party, it’s organized crime.
the conspiracy involving sheriffs to try and get incriminating material is really disturbing. LEO was breaking the law and then Keefe was trying to paint Worrell as being the bad person because she refused to bring cases that were going to get thrown out of court due to really bad police work. from the article It became most apparent on a Zoom call her executive staff had with Orlando County Sheriff John W. Mina and his top brass in July 2022, which was first uncovered by the Orlando Sentinel. “I was at home and had COVID. I got on the meeting, and the call was being recorded. No one told me in advance that it was going to be recorded. In that call, the sheriff's disposition was very aggressive and accusatory,” Worrell told The Daily Beast, describing what happened next as “an ambush.” According to Worrell and another person with knowledge of the call, Mina began to pepper her with specific questions about cases that her office had failed to prosecute. The problem was, the cases actually reflected police misconduct and ineptitude, rather than forgiving or forgetful prosecutors. For example, both said the Orlando County sheriff complained about the state attorney’s failure to jail a particular known gang member fresh out of prison who was caught with a gun in his car. However, Worrell’s staff on the call countered that description of the case, noting that the felon had actually been illegally accosted by detectives who spotted him at a gun show, where they demanded to know what he was doing out free, followed him into the parking lot, and proceeded to break every rule in the book. “They took him into custody—without a warrant. Went into his pants pocket—without a warrant. Clicked key fob—without warrant. Went in—without warrant,” Worrell recalled. Detectives found a gun, but junior prosecutors quickly determined the case didn’t stand a chance in court.
Big picture is, where does he get the authority to remove someone that was voted for and elected by the people served by that position? Can he remove anyone in the state that the people elected?
He shouldn't have to be stopped. He shouldn't have the authority to remove someone that has been duly elected. If this person can't fulfill their duties (like got hit by a bus or something) then they will have another election and pick someone new.
Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution is what gives him the authority to remove some elected officials: SECTION 7. Suspensions; filling office during suspensions.— (a) By executive order stating the grounds and filed with the custodian of state records, the governor may suspend from office any state officer not subject to impeachment, any officer of the militia not in the active service of the United States, or any county officer, for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony, and may fill the office by appointment for the period of suspension. The suspended officer may at any time before removal be reinstated by the governor. (b) The senate may, in proceedings prescribed by law, remove from office or reinstate the suspended official and for such purpose the senate may be convened in special session by its president or by a majority of its membership. (c) By order of the governor any elected municipal officer indicted for crime may be suspended from office until acquitted and the office filled by appointment for the period of suspension, not to extend beyond the term, unless these powers are vested elsewhere by law or the municipal charter. --------------------------------------------------------- These are supposed to be for-cause removals. But DeSantis is simply abusing his power by removing people over political disagreements because he knows the pussies in the Florida Senate won't uphold the constitution. It's sad, and it should bother anybody who opposes government overreach. Even if you don't like SAs Worrell and Warren, you won't like it more when the shoe is on the other foot. Do you want a Democratic governor removing every Republican prosecutor and sheriff and replacing them with progressives? While I would certainly prefer progressives in those spots, I believe in democracy and local control. The people of Orlando and Tampa should get to elect their SAs and Sheriffs of choice. The same is true for the people of Pensacola and Ft. Myers. The governor should not have the power to overturn elections on a whim or a political power trip. I guess the DeSantis fans think that there will never be another Democratic governor, so let's give the governor all of these dangerous powers to use to hurt the other side. There will never be a day when the other side takes control and uses those powers to hurt us. Shortsighted thinking.
Then the state attorney does not get re-elected. The governor should never have the unilateral power to replace a state attorney who has not been removed by the electorate. That is what voters are for not the governor.
I agree. And if we are to give the Governor this power I think that his office should be required to send a letter of concern to the elected official to place the official on notice before one can be removed.
Dear leader DeSantis vows to expand executive powers under Article II of the US Constitution to impose his will on the American people, going far beyond what previous US Presidents have done. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/v...use_article_ii_power_to_bring_it_to_heel.html
This power was supposed to be about removing elected officials who couldn't be removed through other means who were either not doing their jobs (literally not showing up to work) or were unable to do the job. DeSantis has perverted the process into a way of settling political disputes. The fact that his base celebrates it tells you how little they care about democracy, local control, and freedom.
Someday these dopes will realized they get to be president for 4 or 8 years, then the next guy, probably from the opposing party, will get to use whatever changes in executive powers they ram through. Thanks to Trump, for example, executive branch members can now laugh off congressional subpoenas ... so much for "oversight".
But, the clear intent of Trump, DeSantis and other GQP authoritarians is to make sure nobody from the other party will ever succeed them.
