Governor, 'Me Thinks Thou Protest Too Much.'

Post # 375, Bob McKnight's Florida Commentary

There is a stinky smell in the Hope

Foundation, perhaps from the oozing lies.

It is hard to watch Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's decline today. He was re-elected governor by one of the largest margins ever. He was a very close second to being elected President of the United States. His fundraising for national office was historic.

But today, he is attacked daily by his own party leaders in the legislature. His mentor and re-elected President Donald Trump has shown little interest in DeSantis' political future. Trump has even engineered an opponent for his wife, Casey, who is potentially running for governor of Florida in 2026.

In politics, with the smell of decay comes blood. And with blood comes investigations. It is reported that Florida's Medicaid provider overcharged Florida nearly $70 million.. In addressing the refund, Governor DeSantis ignored the appropriating body, the legislature, and diverted $10 million to a foundation he created for his wife, Casey. It is called the Hope Foundation, which was intended to fund self-help from private agencies for the needy. But it was not established and run within the law and legal requirements. Rumors abounded that the Foundation would be an excellent vehicle for DeSantis to launch his wife's future campaign for governor. To make matters worse, the Governor's Chief of Staff and now Attorney General for the State further diverted some of the medicaid refund to a Florida Chamber of Commerce political campaign favored by DeSantis. Remember, these are substantial medicaid funds intended for the poor and disabled. The clincher is that when all of this became disclosed by the appropriating body, the legislature, DeSantis denied any wrongdoing and blamed the legislators uncovering the crime as helping the Democrats. Things got really ugly from there.

Where we stand today is the state attorney has waived any further investigation into the Hope Foundation, but the Republican Speaker of the House says the matter is still open.

The whole awful mess prompts a Shakespearian quote, 'Me Thinks Thou Protest Too Much,' Governor.