Governor DeSantis’ State-of-the State: Top Dems Impressed, But for the Wrong Reasons
Posted January 10, 2024 1:00 pm | 2 min read
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Columbia County Observer graphic
By
Jackie Llanos | Florida Phoenix
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Legislature Democratic leaders Representative Fentrice Driskell and Senator Lauren Book knocked down Governor Ron DeSantis during their rebuttals of the State of the State address Tuesday.
The Dems said the governor’s bid for the presidency is a priority over solving issues Floridians face, such as the lack of affordable housing, high property insurance costs, and healthcare inaccessibility.
While DeSantis urged lawmakers to “stay the course” and emphasized his previous initiatives fueled by culture wars, he didn't point to many specifics as to what changes will come out of this year's session. He compared Florida to Democratic-run cities and states such as Illinois, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
“We just heard the governor speak about Florida’s triumphs, yet underneath carefully curated talking points a much darker reality is clear: The very essence of what has made our state great for decades is under continued threat due to an increasingly out-of-touch and extreme agenda championed by the Republican Party of Florida and a governor who is more preoccupied with running for president than solving problems in our state," Senator Book said during her response.
The Democrats also underscored the anti-abortion efforts of their Republican colleagues. Although a 15-week abortion ban is in effect, 2024 will be a landmark year for abortion access in Florida because of the pending legal challenge to the ban and the abortion-rights initiative that could be on the ballot in November.
“Across the country, people are standing up and saying, ‘hands off my health care,’ and Floridians do not want Tallahassee politicians getting between a woman and her doctor,” Rep. Driskell said. "We're on the cusp of a six-week ban, which would outlaw abortion before many women even know they're pregnant. That's extremist and wrong and not what the people want."
Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orange County called attention to the total abortion ban proposal Miami-Dade County Rep. David Borrero filed on Monday.
"We haven't even seen the effect of the six feet of horsemen in Florida yet, and Republican lawmakers are ready to move forward with an even more extreme agenda," Rep. Eskamani said in a press conference after the State of the State address.
Medicaid expansion continues to be a talking point for Democrats, who rolled out a proposal to increase healthcare coverage for low-income people as part of their agenda for the session on Monday.
“Florida is one of only 10 states in the country that still refuses to accept Medicaid expansion and the money that comes with it. If Democrats were in charge, we would expand Medicaid. Forty other states have already joined, and Florida is left sitting at the kiddie table,” Rep. Driskell said.
Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said Tuesday that Medicaid expansion would not happen in Florida.
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Jackie Llanos is a recent graduate of the University of Richmond. She has interned at Nashville Public Radio, Virginia Public Media and Virginia Mercury. .
This piece was reprinted by the Columbia County Observer with permission or license and is available at the Florida Phoenix. Graphics added by the Observer.