Back in late 2021, Florida Governor Rick DeSantis proposed a new civilian military force for Florida, which of course, he would control. And he got it. Now, he wants to expand it.
The key here is that DeSantis wants to control this particular branch of the military, rather than the Pentagon. It appears as if this civilian military force is both an acknowledgement and encouragement of the increasingly polarized climate between Red States and Blue States. Presently, with the Biden administration in power in Washington, it is apparently assumed by many right-wingers that Biden represents some form of political tyranny, and a real attempt at being a hardline, Communist-style dictator, which they must go to increasingly extraordinary lengths to resist.
Ostensibly, DeSantis wants a more efficient sort of National Guard to be able to respond to serious emergencies within his state. On the surface, this may appear to be consistent with the stated, longtime Republican cause of deregulation, of cutting through the bureaucratic red tape and taking action, getting things done, and with far more efficiency than relying on the national government. In other words, it seems to make sense to self-identified conservatives and Republican supporters of DeSantis.
Some, however see more ominous signs in this. According to this same article by Steve Contorno (link below, and remember that this article came out late in 2021):
US Rep. Charlie Crist, who is running as a Democrat to challenge the governor in 2022, tweeted, “No Governor should have his own handpicked secret police.”
Nor was he the only critic (ibid):
State Sen. Annette Taddeo, another gubernatorial candidate, wrote on Twitter that DeSantis was a “wannabe dictator trying to make his move for his own vigilante militia like we’ve seen in Cuba.”
Any comparisons with the brown shirts? Perhaps they can enforce the book bans and selections which DeSantis has become so famous - or rather, infamous - for in Florida? Given the current campaign, led by none other than DeSantis himself, to try and pull books from library shelves that are deemed offensive or dangerous to youth, and the controversy over art deemed pornographic - by now, almost everyone has heard of the Florida mother who took exception to the nudity of Michelangelo's David - might we not also expect this form of "cancel culture" to become one of the "emergency" responsibilities and/or actions which this new civilian military force under the control of DeSantis?
Many Republicans also tend to be self-proclaimed budget hawks, at least when it comes to Democrats being in office. But rather typically, they are not challenging the rather hefty price tag for this military force which DeSantis is now on the verge of being gifted. It will cost Florida taxpayers over $100 million. Somehow, there were not too many complaints lodged at this rather astonishing amount of money being spent at the apparent whim of DeSantis, who has now indeed been gifted his own military.
As I understand it, DeSantis is the kind of politician who specifically does things to try and "trigger" the political opposition on the left. Like Trump (and other Republicans), his political capital seems to really take off each time that he does this. Be that as it may, this is a dangerous trend, especially for someone like DeSantis, who has so prominently displayed his antidemocratic tendencies during his tenure as Florida's governor, that you have to wonder if he is running for the White House, or for a would be dictator. This, too, is a growing trend (especially among Republicans), and it is a worrying one. Not sure that private armies serving at the pleasure of sitting governors is a positive trend at all.
Governor Ron DeSantis Unveils the Florida State Guard On June 15, 2022, in News Releases, by Staff
https://www.flgov.com/2022/06/15/governor-ron-desantis-unveils-the-florida-state-guard/
Florida spends $100 million to give DeSantis his own Civilian Army National Guard by Frank Cerabino of the Palm Beach Post, Apr 5, 2023:
Florida lawmakers propose spending $100 million for DeSantis' own civilian militia
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.palmbeachpost.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fcolumns%2F2023%2F04%2F05%2Fflorida-spends-100-million-to-give-desantis-his-own-civilian-army-florida-national-guard%2F70075543007%2F
Ron DeSantis' $100m for Florida "Private Army" Raises Questions by James Bickerton, 3/10/23:
https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-100m-private-florida-army-raises-questions-1786877
DeSantis proposes a new civilian military force in Florida that he would control by Steve Contorno, CNN, Fri December 3, 2021
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/02/politics/florida-state-guard-desantis/index.html
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