As Ron DeSantis struggles to keep his Presidential hopes alive, a long-lost nemesis has come back to bite him in the behind. Here is how a court battle over Covid data could derail what remains of the Florida Governor’ hopes to take down Donald Trump.
A Real American Hero
During the Covid-19 epidemic, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was hailed by conservatives for his cavalier attitude and “courage” in his efforts to keep his state open for business as usual.
Who Needs Science?
While other parts of the world hunkered down for long lockdowns and followed mainstream science advice for their direction on what to do next, DeSantis largely forged his own way.
Looking Out for #1
Or at least he tried to, only locking down his state after weeks of mounting pressure from the federal government. And all throughout the pandemic, DeSantis looked for any chance to get the state hopping again.
Closing Up Shop
All of that came to a head in June of 2021 when the Florida Department of Health ceased daily updates to their published Covid statistics.
Nothing to See Here
For many Floridians, the move was an all-clear signal from DeSantis to go back to their business. Nothing further to see in the Sunshine State as far as Covid was concerned.
Courting Disaster
Most health experts said at the time that Florida was way premature in ending their updates and that a lack of information could prove disastrous as other variants took hold.
Delta Defeats DeSantis?
And that’s pretty much what happened when the Delta variant emerged as the steepest threat to humans since the early days of the pandemic.
Florida Flying Blind
All through the fall and winter of 2021, Delta raged through the United States. But Floridians had no easy means to figure out how vulnerable their communities were since the health department wasn’t publishing those numbers.
A Deadly Winter
As a result, new cases of Covid infections spiked to a Florida peak of 385 per day by mid-September. And, by the time Delta ran its course, some 23,000 Floridians had died from the Delta variant.
He Wasn’t Standing for It
That’s according to Carlos Guillermo Smith, a former Democratic congressman at the state level who filed a suit against the health department. They wrongfully withheld Covid data that could have saved at least some of those lives, according to Smith.
Tag-Teaming the State
The Florida Center for Government Accountability later tagged on as another plaintiff in that case, which dragged on for two years.
OK, OK…You Win
But it all came to an end in mid-October, when the health department agreed to pay about $152,000 to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees. It was the other concession that really struck at the heart of DeSantis’ administration.
Like It Never Happened
In particular, the health department agreed to begin publishing daily Covid numbers again.
Debunking DeSantis
Coming more than two years after DeSantis said those stats no longer mattered, the settlement makes one of his platform planks seem shakier than others.
Blood in the Water
And the political sharks are circling, with Smith leading their battle cry.
See What Sticks
A frequent detractor of the governor, Smith says that DeSantis has been casting a wide net trying to grab onto issues that voters care about and that might help him make up some ground on Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
Covid Was His Last Hope
According to Smith, DeSanits turned to the Covid battle when his attacks on the “woke” movement and gender issues failed to move the needle.
No One Is Buying
Now that the health department has backed down from the position DeSantis has long trumpeted, Smith says of the governor: “whatever he’s selling people aren’t buying.”
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The post “Delta Defeated DeSantis” – Florida’s Pandemic Cover-up Unravels as Health Department Resumes Data Disclosure first appeared on Mama Say What?!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Andrew Cline. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
