Letters to the Editor: California Republicans, don’t give your money to Ron DeSantis
To the editor: I am surprised that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is willing to leave Florida, where governing arbitrarily and capriciously with great authority makes him appear “smart, tough and competent” to wealthy Republicans in California. (“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes California pilgrimage to woo influential Republicans,” March 3)
I have a question for these rich California Republicans who might help fund a presidential bid by DeSantis: Why give money to a politician from Florida? There are so many deserving causes that need your help in California.
We have been devastated by a drought that has led to wildfire disasters up and down the state. We recently had historic rain and snow events, which have caused destructive flooding and dangerous conditions in mountain communities. We are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted education, the economy and even our belief in democracy.
We have a homelessness crisis in seemingly every city. We have too many children with “food anxiety,” for whom the only assured meal is provided by public schools. Plenty of Californians need financial help.
Instead, deep-pocketed California Republicans want to give money to the authoritarian bully in charge of Florida, which is considering a law to require bloggers who write about the governor to register with the state. Another Florida Republican is proposing a bill that would effectively ban the Democratic Party.
This is outrageously galling.
Nelson Sagisi, Santa Maria
..
To the editor: The infamous “big lie,” the belief that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, is in jeopardy of being eclipsed by another gross falsehood — that DeSantis has what it takes to be the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 2024.
The media, in its near universal reporting on the demise of former President Trump, seems to be suffering from premature jubilation.
If DeSantis, a conservative firebrand known for his hypersensitivity to criticism and insults, is unable to steel himself for Trump’s inevitable full-throated assaults on his character, there is little doubt that Trump will dispose of him in rather short order, as politics is no place for the thin-skinned.
Jim Paladino, Tampa, Fla.
