Dem
51
GOP
49
As long as we are on the subject of modern Republican politics, some new information has come to light in regards to the flights of migrants arranged by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). As readers will recall, the Governor picked up a bunch of migrants from Venezuela (which, according to the staff geographer, is not a part of Florida) who had congregated in Texas (also not a part of Florida, says the geographer) and transported them to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts (still not Florida, per the geographer). The point of this stunt was to show how serious DeSantis is about combating Florida's immigration problem, a problem so severe he couldn't even round up enough local, undocumented immigrants to fill a medium-sized plane.
The new information is that DeSantis' point person for the scheme was Trump-era U.S. Attorney Larry Keefe. And as Keefe made the arrangements, he used encryption software for all of his communications. Also, as his primary point of contact, he used the e-mail account heat19.heat19@gmail.com, and chose the screen name "Clarice Starling." Clarice Starling, for those who haven't seen the movie, is the protagonist of Silence of the Lambs (and, later, the movie Hannibal and the TV show Clarice). And Heat19 was a code name given to Keefe by Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster (ret.), who was also party to the scheme. In other words, Keefe apparently sees himself as some combination of James Bond, Lara Croft and Batman. And he regards either the Democrats or the undocumented immigrants or both as some combination of psychopathic murderers, the staff of Spectre and the Viet Cong.
In any case, gmail is a private e-mail service. And as we learned from the 47 different investigations of Hillary Clinton, it is very, very wrong for public officials to use private e-mail addresses. More significantly, a person engaging in legitimate public business does not customarily use a non-identifiable e-mail address, a phony screen name, and enough encryption software to make even the GRU sweat. One is left with the firm impression that Keefe and, by extension, DeSantis knew they were up to no good.
When and if DeSantis runs for president, this situation is likely to be an anchor around his neck. Reporters, debate moderators, etc. are going to ask "Why was it your job to relocate migrants who are in Texas? And if this was a legitimate exercise of your powers, why were so many steps taken to cover your tracks?" These will not be easy questions to answer. We would also suggest the Governor is not helping himself with his reluctance to release information about the scheme. Yesterday's revelations came after the Florida government lost a Freedom of Information Act case in court. However, there are other key documents, such as the dubious way-above-market-prices contract awarded to the airplane operator, that the DeSantis administration has thus far refused to release. That serves to drag the story out, and to give it more and more oxygen. If those documents are going to be made public anyhow (which is a near certainty), better to do it all at once, and as far before the 2024 election as is possible. It's not surprising, though—Nixonian types, of which DeSantis certainly is one, just don't think that way. They are too paranoid about even the slightest bit of damage to their public image.
And speaking of Nixon, DeSantis is only a governor, and we're already seeing clear abuses of power worthy of Tricky Dick. It there really any question that if he's given the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Governor will absolutely go to town when it comes to using his power to benefit himself, punish enemies, own the libs, etc.? Undoubtedly, there is a segment of the electorate that would be delighted by that. But it's not clear to us that the country could survive two presidents like that in the span of less than a decade. (Z)