DeSantis the day after Ian hit "The death toll won't be as bad as the hurricane of 1928... (2500+ dead)..." .... A "win" if it's 2499 dead? link
Republican politicians default response to a crisis:
1. Do nothing.
2. If it's bad say it isn't so bad.
3. Finally, blame Democrats.
DeSantis and his handling of the state response to Hurricane Ian
Instead of DeSantis planning his next made for TV political bomb throwing stunt, like his funding of human trafficking asylum seekers from Texas to Massachusetts, or his firing of elected Florida State Attorneys over abortion politics, DeSantis was missing in action for Hurricane Ian.
DeSantis should have ensured all coastal counties ordered an appropriate level of evacuation, following written plans they all had, when the Hurricane Center over the weekend predicted that dangerous storm surge was coming in days, along the entire coast. Most did order early evacuations, but not Lee county. Most of the deaths have been recorded in Lee county. Lee county delayed an order until Tuesday, the day before the hurricane hit.
According to Lee county plans, the storm surge forecast was well above the level that should have resulted in immediate evacuation orders days before the hurricane hit, to get people out of the low lying danger zones.
The delay, an apparent violation of the meticulous evacuation strategy the county (Lee county) had crafted for just such an emergency, may have contributed to catastrophic consequences that are still coming into focus as the death toll continues to climb. link
Officials in Lee county dilly dallied until Tuesday to issue an evacuation order. The storm hit the coast the next afternoon, Wednesday, September 28, as a Category 4 hurricane. Many coastal residents worked Tuesday, many never even knew there was such an order for Lee county.
Adhering to the default Republican method for running government, Governor DeSantis did nothing to prevent the failure to implement plans, and prevent deaths that resulted.
DeSantis did not dispatch any staff to assure Lee County was following written plans. He did not fear for, or care about, people in the path of this powerful hurricane.
For Republicans, it is a default response to do nothing to meet, address or mitigate crises.
Doing something is ‘big government’.
Doing something risks criticism from the Republican base. Doing nothing is normally safer, OK with the GOP base. It is never time to talk about how Republicans fail in the task of responsible governing.
Scores died because DeSantis failed in his responsibilities to the people of Florida. His job is to see that residents are fully informed of threats to their lives and property, and what they can do about it. DeSantis failed at protecting the citizens of Florida. Bodies are still being found. There is no known number for those who are still missing.