FLASHBACK: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Pushed Lockdowns, Vaccines, Shut Down Churches Throughout COVID Pandemic

Big League Politics ^ | Nov 15, 2022 | Shane Trejo

[SoConPubbie]

A common trope from supporters of the likely presidential run of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is that he stopped COVID lockdowns in his state during the height of the pandemic while President Donald Trump was pushing them from the White House.

But the record shows that this is not what occurred. DeSantis used his authority as governor to enforce lockdowns, shuttering businesses, and use the power of the state to punish noncompliance with his edicts.

Video from June 2020 shows DeSantis threatening bars with revoking their liquor licenses unless they abided by his arbitrary restrictions enacted supposedly in the name of science:

For the folks who continue to insist that Florida was not locked down and, if it was, it was only for a couple weeks, here is @GovRonDeSantis in June of 2020 threatening Florida bars with losing their liquor licenses if they didn't follow pandemic restrictions. pic.twitter.com/CwyTuoIAkU

— SFDB (@sfdb) November 11, 2022

Additionally, pastors were arrested and thrown in jail because they held services during DeSantis’ lockdown. The DeSantis administration grotesquely infringed upon religious liberty and made a mockery of the 1st Amendment during the pandemic:

DeSantis, like Trump, has shilled hard for the experimental COVID-19 vaccines as well, assuring the public that they were safe for usage and would stop transmission when that turned out to be a lie.

“If you’re vaccinated and you test positive but you don’t get sick, well the name of the game is to keep people out of the hospital,” DeSantis said in July 2021. “Seventy-five percent of Floridians over the age of 50 have gotten shots, so we think that’s really, really positive.”

“If you are vaccinated, fully vaccinated, the chance of you getting seriously ill or dying from COVID is effectively zero,” he said “If you look at the people that are being admitted to hospitals, over 95% of them are either not fully vaccinated or not vaccinated at all. And so these vaccines are saving lives. They are reducing mortality.”

Big League Politics has reported about the RINO globalist mega donors currying favor with DeSantis, cajoling him to run for president in 2024 to upend the America First movement and divert grassroots energies into supporting traditional Republican politics:

“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is quickly becoming the favorite of the globalist RINO mega donors who want to “move on” from Donald Trump.

Ken Griffin, a globalist RINO mega donor, talked to Politico about why he is backing DeSantis because he sees him as the vehicle to move on from Trump and his brand of populism that has made the GOP less hospitable for soulless corporations that have sold America down the river.

“He did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas,” Griffin said. “And for a litany of reasons, I think it’s time to move on to the next generation.”

Griffin has given $5 million to DeSantis’ gubernatorial re-election campaign in Florida. He is hoping that by buying favor with DeSantis, he can convince him to run in 2024 in an attempt to end the Trump revolution.

“Would I support him? The bigger question is, is he going to run? That bridge has to be crossed,” he said.

“He has a tremendous record as governor of Florida, and our country would be well-served by him as president,” Griffin added.

It is clear Donald Trump is intending to run for president again in 2024 from the comments he has made.

“Everybody, I promise you, in the very next — very, very, very short period of time, you’re going to be happy,” Trump said. “But first we have to win a historic victory for Republicans on Nov. 8.”

In addition to the RINO megadonors, the notorious former House Majority Leader Paul Ryan is also on board for DeSantis in 2024.”

Overall, DeSantis has an impressive record in Florida, but his record is being distorted in order to present him as a credible foil for President Trump’s presidential run in 2024. Trump is the candidate in 2024, and if DeSantis has the audacity to run against him, it will be the worst decision he could ever make for the America First movement as well as his own future ambitions.

[EEGator]

With you being so cordial and reasonable, that shouldn’t be a problem…

You don’t even know who I’m for. You’re just an asshole.

[BlackbirdSST]

Says the guy whose every post to me contains at least one personal insult ... Hypocrite much???

Politics is a blood sport. It has ALWAYS been this. It will ALWAYS be this. It has been this way since the first two political groups formed among men. If that is too much for your 'can't we all just get along' sensibilities maybe you should find yourself a quilting thread to occupy your time for the next two years. As always when I encounter people like you, you can have the last word. Make it something spectacular! Otherwise you grow tiresome. Hey, maybe you can call me boy a few more times.

[adc]

. . .and at every turn, they will.

[Pollard]

He pushed them in the beginning, because He pushed them in the beginning, because nobody understood what was happening. He was also the first one to stop one it became apparent that it wasn’t really a problem.. He was also the first one to stop one it became apparent that it wasn’t really a problem.

Out here in flyover country, the lockdown was 2-3 weeks, just enough time for stores to put up plexiglas, signs and tape on the floor. Wasn't enforced anyway. By June when DeSantis was threatening bars, we had tossed the masks, everything was open except for chain restaurants but that was corporate decision making. Kids went back to school a few months later, no masks, no distancing.

Our governor made recommendations but it was pretty much up to the people to follow them or not so we used observation.(because nobody understood what was happening) BS. We observed no mass die off so we went back to normal.

Unlike FL/DeSantis, it wasn't turned into a TV mini-series. I realize now why DeSantis was on TV "fighting the good fight" so much. He's being pushed on us.

[FreedomPoster]

Was DeSantis the first, or Kemp in Georgia? I really don’t know. I do know Kemp caught hell publicly from Trump very early on in Covid for reversing many early Covid policies based on CDC/NIH “wisdom”.

[Pollard]

So yes, it's true that for a while Florida was as stupid as every other state about the pandemic. That was from about May 2020 until probably October or November. That's about the time that DeSantis realized how stupid it all was and eased off the restrictions.

Missouri had been wide open for months by then and kids went back to school in Sept, no masks, no distancing. This was true of most flyover states. Kinda nice that the media ignores us while turning Cuomo and DeSantis into TV stars.

[EVO X]

I’ve listened to a couple of podcasts with a lawyer who won the first case defeating mask mandates in Florida. He got a call from DeSantis shortly there after and that is when DeSantis changed his tune on mandates. The lawyer speculated DeSantis was being overly cautious because he narrowly defeated Gillum..

[NorthMountain]

Have a nice day.

[Alberta's Child]

Post #69 should be required reading for any DeSantis sycophants on this website.

The cognitive dissonance we've seen among leftists on this subject over the last two and a half years was bad enough. To see it played out right here on FR is beyond disturbing.

When I left the state and came back I had to go through a checkpoint on the interstate with police officers asking where I'd been and if you answered wrong you were told to quarantine for two weeks.

When this kind of draconian measure was imposed in New York, New Jersey or Michigan, we called it out for what it was: NAZI SH!T. When a Republican political figure does the exact same thing, I see Freepers falling all over themselves making excuses for him.

I spent the first 6+ months of the COVID fiasco in 2020 running my business almost the exact same way I did before COVID (with the notable exception that my clients had all migrated to virtual meetings). I traveled across state lines regularly -- almost always between states whose governors had imposed the same types of travel restrictions described above for Florida. At no time did I ever see a checkpoint at a state line or encounter any kind of law enforcement presence in my travels.

When all those stupid travel restrictions were implemented I was certain that they were never intended to be enforced at all ... and that the governors who imposed them were simply hoping for 90%+ of the population to simply abide by them without any enforcement measures. I was stunned to learn that these measures actually WERE enforced in a state governed by some @sshole who is being peddled as a GOP front-runner in 2024.

[alstewartfan]

Right. Even Reagan would probably lose the BALLOT race in these states.

[EVO X]

When all those stupid travel restrictions were implemented I was certain that they were never intended to be enforced at all ... and that the governors who imposed them were simply hoping for 90%+ of the population to simply abide by them without any enforcement measures.

I am guessing the health "experts" told politicians to close everything down to make room for Covid patients in hospitals. Less driving likely means less accidents and ER visits, etc. The Covid mitigation strategies farce came to my attention when police arrested a single suffer in a remote area of California very early on.

[Alberta's Child]

That's a good point. Interestingly, closing down state parks and arresting someone for trespassing in one (if that's the story behind the incident you describe) may be a stupid idea, but it may not necessarily be an abuse of government power. Governments close public facilities -- and even highways -- all the time.

Blocking interstate travel and forcing people to quarantine is a whole different story.

[EVO X]

That's a good point. Interestingly, closing down state parks and arresting someone for trespassing in one (if that's the story behind the incident you describe) may be a stupid idea, but it may not necessarily be an abuse of government power.

During a federal shutdown some years ago a fishing buddy and I went to a federal boat ramp on a lake. It was closed, so we went to a private marina to launch the boat. If the surfer guy parked his car on government property, there is clearly a potential for trespassing if he ignored closing signs and barricades.

[Homer1]

Not just destroy, their secret wish is to murder their opposition.

[GOPJ]

I live in Florida - DeSantis was wonderful and saved us and kept us free before the pandemic, during it and after if. Best. Governor. Ever.

I’m still backing Trump for President in ‘24 - AND backing DeSantis for ‘28...

[bjcoop]

Trump pushed Fauci and attacked states like Georgia that were reopening

[TheGunny]

TDS? who? Youre surly not lumping me in. I voted for the guy twice and would vote for him again. i just dont think he can do it. I also think its poor form going after the best performing Governor in the country. So, I imagine youd expect Gov D to get behind Trump if he was the nominee? But Trump wouldnt commit to getting behind anyone else? F that! Last I checked he needs Florida to get across any finish line.