Jackie Calmes: Ron DeSantis proves that cruetly is a Republican trait
The governor, surrounded by uniformed law-enforcement officers and applauded loudly, is all gung-ho machismo as he touts those first scalps taken by his new Office of Election Crimes and Security, which he created to crack down on alleged but virtually nonexistent voter fraud in Florida.
Meanwhile, the officers left with the dirty job of actually making the arrests are almost apologetic as they approach stunned but compliant citizens, cuff them and haul them to jail. A man identified as Tony Patterson, 40, insists on his innocence throughout: “I thought felons were able to vote. That’s why I signed a petition form, that’s what I remember.
The confusion among DeSantis’ targets that day is understandable. Blame the governor and Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature.to amend the state constitution to restore voting rights to felons who had completed their sentences. That’s what most people remember: “When I got out, the guy told me I was free and clear to go vote because I had done my time,” Oliver tells the police on the video.
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