On Friday, GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced new academic standards for the state, shoving out the Common Core standards that had been implemented in the state in 2010, just one year after he started pushing for jettisoning those  standards.
DeSantis stated, “Today we’re announcing that mission has been accomplished. It goes beyond Common Core to embrace common sense.” He added, “We need to measure results… but you need to do that in a way that makes sense.”
As <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/01/24/desantis-announces-new-florida-school-standards-without-common-core/">TampaBay.com</a> reported, “The new standards will be called the BEST Standards, which stands for the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking. Although the standards themselves were not made publicly available on Friday — DeSantis promised they would be online in a week — the Florida Department of Education released <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mrUaANYSiYNCgLVLVXY6ygwXW2LcjUzh/view?usp=sharing">summary</a> documents that outline some of the major changes ahead.”
Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said on Friday, “When you’re trying to remember what’s four times four, and you have to think about it and it’s not automatic, you’re never going to be able to conquer algebra and all those other courses.” Another significant change: students in high school will be taught how to balance their checkbooks and apply for loans in an attempt to teach them financial literacy. That course had heretofore been offered as an elective, not a required course.
Additionally, instead of reading “chunks” of books, meaning excerpts from great books, the new program urges the reading of complete books. Either the SAT and ACT would be required for high school students, as well as the Florida Civic Literacy Test for seniors, which TampaBay.com describes as a “100-question exam to encompass the U.S. citizenship exam plus questions about landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases.”
Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said numerous complaints had been made over the Common Core approach to math from teachers and educators. He stated, “Teachers never really embraced it, parents never really understood it.”
As <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2017/10/25/bill-gates-tacitly-admits-common-core-experiment-failure/">The Federalist</a> noted in 2017, Common Core was pushed by the Gates Foundation; the foundation run by Bill Gates and his wife Melinda spent over $400 million to help implement it across the country starting in 2009.
As Valerie Strauss wrote in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/08/08/arne-duncan-never-learns/">The Washington Post</a> in 2018 of Barack Obama’s Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Obama administration’s support for Common Core:
<blockquote>What he did focus on was pushing teacher evaluation systems that relied in large part on standardized test scores — a method of assessment that experts warned was unreliable. He also emphasized expanding charter schools and adopting and implementing Common Core State Standards, spending $360 million to create Core-aligned standardized tests that he said would be “an absolute game-changer” for public education. They weren’t.</blockquote>
<a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/janerobbins/2018/11/20/new-evidence-reveals-full-extent-of-common-cores-historic-failure-n2536233">Townhall</a> reported in November 2018 that one of the authors of a Pioneer Institute <a href="https://pioneerinstitute.org/common_core/study-finds-declining-student-achievement-and-increased-harm-to-school-choice-since-common-core/">study</a> titled “Common Core, School Choice and Rethinking Standards-Based Reform,” Ted Rebarber of AccountabilityWorks, spoke of the damage Common Core had done, saying, “In my view, [Common Core] is really the worst large-scale educational failure in 40 years.” Townhall continued, “He demonstrated that U.S. students’ math scores on the National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP) had long been creeping up ever since reliable test results became available in the 1970s. But after release of Common Core in 2010 and full implementation in the fall of 2014, NAEP scores plateaued and then began to decline.”
Sandra Stotsky, professor in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, who served on the official Common Core validation committee, <a href="http://www.uaedreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2000/01/Stotsky_Testimony_for_Colorado.pdf">stated</a>, “Common Core’s ELA standards do not strengthen the high school curriculum. Nor can they reduce post-secondary remedial coursework in a legitimate way. As empty skill sets, Common Core’s ELA ‘college readiness’ standards weaken the base of literary and cultural knowledge needed for authentic college coursework, decrease the capacity for analytical thinking &#8230; and completely muddle the development of writing skills.”

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Florida Governor Ron

FL Gov. DeSantis Announces New Academic Standards, Kicks Out Common Core

Education

Florida

Ron DeSantis

The news that the deceased suspect of this morning&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-active-shooter-at-pensacola-naval-air-base-at-least-5-rushed-to-hospital-shooter-confirmed-dead">horrific shooting spree</a> at Naval Air Station Pensacola was a Saudi aviation student here to <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/authorities-identify-pensacola-naval-base-shooter-as-saudi-national">train with the Saudi military</a> ought to serve as a wakeup call for American elected officials.
The suspect appears to have been a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-attacker-at-florida-military-base-was-member-of-saudi-military-was-an-act-of-terrorism-congressman-says">student officer</a> with the Saudi Air Force and, while it is unclear right now which U.S. visa he obtained to arrive here, an <a href="https://twitter.com/RMConservative/status/1203012127952449541">A-2 visa</a> — <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/other-visa-categories/visas-diplomats.html">described</a> by the U.S. State Department as appropriate for those &#8220;traveling to the United States on behalf of [his/her] national government to engage solely in official activities for that government&#8221; — is perhaps likely . As The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-active-shooter-at-pensacola-naval-air-base-at-least-5-rushed-to-hospital-shooter-confirmed-dead">reported</a>, there are at least ten victims injured, including three dead.
There is a lot to unpack and unravel here — especially for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-us-must-side-saudi-arabia-against-iranian-josh-hammer">those of us</a> who have generally encouraged closer U.S.-Saudi military ties in order to help deter the far greater Middle East terrorism threat, Iran. This developing story has many moving parts, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ought to be prepared for a Jamal Khashoggi-level public relations blowback when even a stalwart pro-Israel/anti-Iran conservative such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has an <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews/status/1203029174753153025">immediate reaction</a> that the Saudi government &#8220;needs to [financially] make things better for these victims.&#8221; Indeed, it is hard to disagree with the governor.
But the focus here must be on immigration policy. As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ryan Saavedra already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-attacker-at-florida-military-base-was-member-of-saudi-military-was-an-act-of-terrorism-congressman-says">reported</a>, hardline conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has opined that today&#8217;s naval base tragedy &#8220;represents a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite &#8230; people into our community.&#8221; Gaetz vowed to help &#8220;ensure that we have extreme vetting for the people that come into our country on our bases and in our communities.&#8221;
This is obviously correct. And it is important that this, and not a short-sighted hard diplomatic pivot away from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at a time when the uniquely evil Iranian regime is yet again on the proverbial ropes and facing an increasingly restive population, become the preeminent takeaway from today&#8217;s horrific incident.
Why, as I <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-never-forget-911-we-need-rethink-how-we-josh-hammer">lamented</a> on the most recent anniversary of the 9/11 jihadist attacks, has the U.S. continued to implement an exceedingly generous and lax immigration policy for prospective immigrants from the broader Islamic world? While there will always be dispensations for legal immigration from the Islamic world, why are we not starting from a default baseline level of effectively zero? Our much-ballyhooed &#8220;vetting&#8221; procedures are oftentimes, as was tragically the case today, revealed to be exceedingly inadequate. But hey, in fairness, <a href="https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/1203010783958982657">how would we ever have known</a> to keep a close eye on Saudi aviation students? It&#8217;s not like we&#8217;ve had <a href="https://twitter.com/Sultanknish/status/1203014470525542400">previous noteworthy incidents</a>, right?
Policymakers ought to heed the unassailable wisdom of the <a href="https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1213676/m1/6/?q=cornerstone">9/11 Commission Report</a>: &#8220;It is perhaps obvious to state that terrorists cannot plan and carry out attacks in the United States if they are unable to enter the country.&#8221; Heck, does anyone even remember that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, according to former CIA contractor James Mitchell, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/307362-9-11-mastermind-al-qaeda-to-use-immigration-to-end-us">allegedly believes</a> that &#8220;the &#8216;practical&#8217; way to defeat America [is] through immigration?&#8221;
Immigration policy is national security policy. And that extends to both illegal immigration and legal immigration. Our policymakers ought to not forget that.

US visa, vintage map and passport background

HAMMER: REMINDER: Immigration Policy IS National Security Policy

Immigration

Matt Gaetz

Muslim Immigration

National Security

Radical Islam

Radical Islamic Terror

Saudi Arabia

Shooting

Newly released poll results show that Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is wildly popular in the state as the majority of voters in all age, gender, race, and political demographics strongly approve him.
Reporter Ryan James Girdusky highlighted new poll results from New Saint Leo University, which found that DeSantis had a 68% approval rating compared to only a 20% disapproval rating.
Here is the breakdown of DeSantis&#8217; approval rating:
<ul>
<li>Republican: 87%</li>
<li>Democrat: 57%</li>
<li>Independent: 65%</li>
<li>Hispanics: 67%</li>
<li>White: 71%</li>
<li>Black: 63%</li>
<li>Male: 71%</li>
<li>Female: 66%</li>
<li>Age 18-35: 66%</li>
<li>Age 36-55: 65%</li>
<li>Age 56+: 83%</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Just spoke w/ St. Leo&#39;s poll, they gave me the breakdown for the approval rating: GOP: 87% Dem: 57% Indies: 65% Hispanics: 67% White: 71% Black: 63% (!!!) Male: 71% Female: 66% 18-35: 66% 36-55: 65% 56+: 83%
&mdash; Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanGirdusky/status/1201956843234439174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
National Review Senior Writer David Harsanyi noted this week that DeSantis is far from the outlier in terms of a Republican being wildly popular as a governor; in fact, DeSantis is not even ranked among the top-10 most popular governors in the United States — all of whom are Republicans.
&#8220;When it comes to governorships, Florida isn’t an outlier. The last time the Morning Consult poll tabulated a list of the most popular governors, the top 14 — and 18 of the top 20 — were Republicans. These Republicans govern in states that have highly diverse electorates, from Alabama to Vermont,&#8221; Harsanyi <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/if-the-republican-party-is-dying-why-are-their-governors-so-popular/">wrote</a>. &#8220;Which is weird, because this very week, progressives at the New York Times and the Atlantic were assuring us that the GOP was so reviled nationally — and its agenda so toxic to the average American — that the party has been compelled to hide from &#8216;democratic accountability.'&#8221;
DeSantis beat far-left Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/busted-gillum-lied-accepted-tickets-undercover-fbi-ryan-saavedra">tangled up</a> in an FBI corruption investigation, in November 2018 by approximately 33,000 votes.
Last week, President Donald Trump campaigned in Florida, which is his new home state, where he was greeted by DeSantis, who also briefly spoke at the rally.
&#8220;Let me just say, Mr. President, given your change of registration, welcome home to Florida,&#8221; DeSantis <a href="https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-speech-kag-rally-sunrise-florida-november-26-2019">said</a>. &#8220;And why not come to Florida, we have one of the lowest tax burdens of any state in the country. You see some of these states that are going bankrupt. We have over a $5 billion in reserves with our budget, and I see some of these cities and states with lawlessness.&#8221;
&#8220;When I came into office, I was proud to sign a bill banning sanctuary cities in the state of Florida,&#8221; DeSantis continued. &#8220;With your support, we are in the process of eliminating Common Core, and as soon as I came into office, I was able to replace on our state supreme court three Liberal justices with three conservative constitutional, and I&#8217;ve got to thank the President for his support of Florida.&#8221;
DeSantis then transitioned into highlighting to Florida residents the different things that the president has done for the sunshine state.
&#8220;So, we&#8217;re really lucky in that regard in Florida, but let me tell you about the President,&#8221; DeSantis said. &#8220;When we had a hurricane hit in Northwest Florida, a lot of people had forgotten about that. Those folks were really, really in dire straits. I went up to the Oval Office and even though a lot of people told them don&#8217;t do anything, just let it go. He was right there standing behind the people of Northwest Florida.&#8221;
&#8220;He has helped rejuvenate that area. He saved Tyndall Air Force base,&#8221; DeSantis continued. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to come back bigger than ever, very important for our military. When we were trying to get Floridians access to cheaper prescription drugs, we had an avenue to let people buy them in Canada because it&#8217;s about a third of the price a lot of times, and everyone said, no, you can&#8217;t do it. You can&#8217;t do it. I went out and met with the President. He said no, no, no, we&#8217;re doing it, and so, they&#8217;re in the process of putting that through right now.&#8221;
&#8220;President Trump has stood with our communities in South Florida, Cuban-Americans, Venezuelan-Americans, stand for freedom in this hemisphere and stand against a dictatorship in places like Caracas and Havana, and the President has stood, where one of the most military and veteran-friendly states in the country,&#8221; DeSantis concluded. &#8220;He has stood by our veterans and he has stood by our military. And so, our success in Florida, obviously, we&#8217;ve got a lot of great people in this state, but we have a President who not only understands Florida, he supports what we&#8217;re doing here. I got him, bug him now about maybe locating the Space Command in Florida, at some point, I know the Air Force doesn&#8217;t want it. But you know, he makes his own decisions, as we&#8217;ve seen so. So, Thank you, Mr. President, for being a good friend to Florida, and God bless you.&#8221;

New Poll Numbers Show Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis Is A Smash Hit

Donald Trump

Fulfilling a promise he made when he successfully campaigned for governor in 2018, on Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will sign into law a bill that will ban sanctuary cities in Florida. The bill, which was passed on May 2 by both the Florida House and Senate, was sent to DeSantis on Thursday.
<a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-desantis-sanctuary-cities-signing-20190613-dijvph4ewbhn5pqnnb2ew4ygta-story.html">The Orlando Sentinel</a> reported that DeSantis spokeswoman Helen Ferre sent the Sentinel an email stating: &#8220;Earlier this year, Governor DeSantis asked the Florida Legislature to present him with meaningful legislation to uphold the rule of law and ensure that no city or county jurisdiction can get in the way of Florida&#8217;s cooperation with our federal partners to enforce immigration law. Public safety is paramount and local law enforcement agencies can and should work with the federal government to ensure that accountability and justice are one in our state.&#8221;
The Sentinel noted that supporters of the bill have urged local governments and law-enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration detainers and share information with federal immigration authorities once illegal immigrants have been detained.
The bill, <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/168/BillText/er/PDF">SB 168</a>, flatly states, &#8220;A state entity, law enforcement agency, or local governmental entity may not adopt or have in effect a sanctuary policy.&#8221;
The bill explains exactly what that entails:
<blockquote>
&#8220;Sanctuary policy&#8221; means a law, policy, practice, procedure, or custom adopted or allowed by a state entity or local governmental entity which prohibits or impedes a law enforcement agency from complying with 8 U.S.C. s. 1373 or which prohibits or impedes a law enforcement agency from communicating or cooperating with a federal immigration agency so as to limit such law enforcement agency in, or prohibit the agency from:
(a) Complying with an immigration detainer;
(b) Complying with a request from a federal immigration agency to notify the agency before the release of an inmate or detainee in the custody of the law enforcement agency;
(c) Providing a federal immigration agency access to an inmate for interview;
(d) Participating in any program or agreement authorized under section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. s. 1357; or
(e) Providing a federal immigration agency with an inmate&#8217;s incarceration status or release date.
</blockquote>
In May, DeSantis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47372/desantis-warns-dont-drop-illegal-immigrants-hank-berrien">warned</a> the U.S. Border Patrol not to transfer illegal immigrants to Broward and Palm Beach counties. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and Broward Mayor Mark Bogen had stated that U.S. Border Patrol said that two planeloads of immigrants would be transferred to those counties each week, roughly 500 per month to each county. DeSantis said he was going to communicate with President Trump, according to the <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/fl-ne-ron-desantis-oppose-migrants-south-florida-20190517-st5bey2pofgdlmij7uommyyugq-story.html">Orlando Sentinel</a>, asserting, &#8220;Nothing&#8217;s concrete. There&#8217;s been no migrants brought, released, in Florida. This was not something that came down from the White House. This is something that came out of the agency. Sometimes this stuff happens. Ultimately this is something I&#8217;m going to have to talk to the president about. We cannot accommodate in Florida just dumping unlawful migrants into our state. I think it&#8217;ll tax our resources, schools and health care, law enforcement, state agencies.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-gov-ron-desantis-expected-to-sign-measure-banning-sanctuary-cities-on-friday">Fox News</a> noted, &#8220;Nine states &#8212; they are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas &#8212; have passed laws requiring law enforcement to cooperate with ICE.&#8221;

DeSantis Follows Through: Will Sign Bill Today Banning Sanctuary Cities

Illegal Immigration

Sanctuary Cities

On Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis fought back against the idea of transferring illegal immigrants from the southern U.S. border to Broward and Palm Beach counties. DeSantis was reacting to the announcement on Thursday from Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and Broward Mayor Mark Bogen that U.S. Border Patrol said that two planeloads of immigrants would be transferred to their counties each week, roughly 500 per month to each county.
DeSantis said he was going to communicate with President Trump, according to the <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/fl-ne-ron-desantis-oppose-migrants-south-florida-20190517-st5bey2pofgdlmij7uommyyugq-story.html">Orlando Sentinel</a>, asserting, &#8220;Nothing&#8217;s concrete. There&#8217;s been no migrants brought, released, in Florida. This was not something that came down from the White House. This is something that came out of the agency. Sometimes this stuff happens. Ultimately this is something I&#8217;m going to have to talk to the president about. We cannot accommodate in Florida just dumping unlawful migrants into our state. I think it&#8217;ll tax our resources, schools and health care, law enforcement, state agencies.&#8221;
On May 2, the Florida legislature <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-legislature-passes-gop-ban-on-sanctuary-city-policies-desantis-to-sign-into-law">passed a bill</a> banning sanctuary policies that protect illegal immigrants and required law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials. DeSantis, who supported the bill, said, &#8220;We are a stronger state when we protect our residents, foster safe communities and respect the work of law enforcement at every level.&#8221; The bill <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/florida-passes-ban-on-sanctuary-cities">requires</a> &#8220;state entities, local governmental entities, and law enforcement agencies to use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law&#8221; and prohibits &#8220;restrictions by the entities and agencies on taking certain actions with respect to information regarding a person&#8217;s immigration status.&#8221; It also authorizes &#8220;a law enforcement agency to transport an alien unlawfully present in the United States under certain circumstances.&#8221;
On Friday, DeSantis stated, &#8220;The disaster that we&#8217;re seeing at the border, that is a disaster created by the policies that were enacted by the Congress of the United States.&#8221; He added, &#8220;Bottom line is it doesn&#8217;t matter. South Florida, Central Florida, northeast Florida. [In] Florida, we have a lot of fish to fry in our own state with our own citizens. &#8230; And to just be on the hook for things that really are a result of the Congress&#8217; failure, the failed policy of the federal government, that is not acceptable.&#8221;
Speaking of the sheriff&#8217;s responsibility, DeSantis said, &#8220;You can&#8217;t be expected to start serving thousands of other folks&#8221; from another country.
In February, DeSantis announced he wanted the Florida Department of Corrections to consider Florida participating in a federal immigration program permitting trained officers to ask someone about their immigration status if they were arrested.
DeSantis <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-desantis-sanctuary-cities-20190226-story.html">stated</a>, &#8220;What they&#8217;re doing is something that is very sensible. They&#8217;re not transforming their sheriff&#8217;s departments into an immigration agency. But when you have somebody who is in their custody who has done something that they&#8217;re going to be held accounted for and they&#8217;re not here legally, it makes sense to be able to seamlessly work with the federal authority.&#8221;

DeSantis Warns: Don’t Drop Illegal Immigrants Off In Florida

As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Frank Camp previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/46718/florida-legislature-passes-bill-allowing-teachers-frank-camp">reported</a>, the Florida state legislature recently passed high-profile legislation prescribing a process by which more teachers will be able to lawfully carry firearms in school, if they so choose:
<blockquote>
The Florida legislation lays out a set of rules by which public school boards, teachers, charter schools, and law enforcement authorities must abide before any such program can take shape.
The following are some of the requirements stated in the legislation:
<ul>
<li>A school board must vote &#8220;by a majority to implement a guardian program,&#8221; giving them ultimate authority in the matter.</li>
<li>Once a school board has voted in the affirmative, the county sheriff must set up its own guardian program, or allow the school board to &#8220;contract with another sheriff&#8217;s office that has established a guardian program.&#8221; &#8230;</li>
<li>Guardians have no law enforcement authority aside from stopping or hindering a school shooting.</li>
<li>Guardians must have a valid concealed carry license, and complete 144 hours of training, including a psychological evaluation and diversity training.</li>
<li>Guardians &#8220;must submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent random drug tests,&#8221; and &#8220;successfully complete ongoing training, weapon inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual basis.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Now, as Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-gov-desantis-signs-bill-letting-more-teachers-carry-guns-in-school">reports</a>, <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/04/15/in-florida-ron-desantis-accelerates-conservative-agenda/">conservative rising star</a> Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law yesterday:
<blockquote>
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Wednesday that&#8217;ll let more Florida teachers carry guns in school, the latest response to last year&#8217;s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
DeSantis signed the bill in private and issued no statement. The Republican-led Florida House of Representatives voted to send the bill to the governor last week, while the GOP-controlled state Senate passed the measure the week before.
The new law expands an existing school &#8220;guardian&#8221; program and allows any teacher to volunteer to carry a weapon if his or her school district approves. Would-be volunteers must undergo at least 144 hours of police-style training, psychiatric evaluation and drug screening. Under a previous law, passed immediately after the February 2018 Parkland shooting, only teachers who had another role at school, such as sports coach, were eligible to carry weapons on campus.
</blockquote>
The bill faced stiff opposition from Democrats and teacher unions, as Fox News notes. But as NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wake-parkland-shooting-safety-commission-backs-recommendation-arm-teachers-florida-n954281">reported</a> in January, a safety commission established in the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting affirmatively recommended arming teachers as one policy prescription to deter future school shootings:
<blockquote>
The commission investigating a shooting massacre at a Florida high school unanimously approved its initial findings and recommendations Wednesday, including a controversial proposal that teachers who volunteer and undergo training be allowed to carry guns.
The 15-member Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission&#8217;s 446-page report details what members believe happened before, during and after the Feb. 14 shooting attack that left 14 students and three staff members dead and 17 wounded.
</blockquote>
Many teachers in Florida seem willing and eager to arm themselves. Last week, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns-florida/florida-teachers-can-arm-themselves-under-new-gun-bill-idUSKCN1S74GZ">reported</a> that, &#8220;in anticipation of passage, school employees in 40 of Florida&#8217;s 67 counties already enrolled in or planned to take the 144-hour course.&#8221;
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/46912/shooting-reported-colorado-stem-school-ryan-saavedra">reported</a>, the most recent tragic school shooting in America occurred this past Tuesday in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Florida Governor Signs Law Allowing More Teachers To Carry Weapons In School

Gun Laws

Gun-Free Zones

Guns

High School

Parkland Shooting

Second Amendment

On Wednesday, the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban sanctuary cities and require local law enforcement agents to cooperate with federal immigration authorities such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The bill passed 69-47 along party lines in the Republican-controlled House, reported <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-house-passes-gop-immigration-sanctuary-ban-bill-n998196">NBC News</a>. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Cord Byrd, a Republican representing the Jacksonville Beach area.&#8203;
Last week, in an interview on Fox Business Network, Byrd said that the bill would allow for transparency between federal and local law enforcement.
&#8220;Here&#8217;s the problem: Our state and local law enforcement officers don&#8217;t have access to the federal indices, so we don&#8217;t know if that person in Florida is using an alias,&#8221; Byrd said. &#8220;They may have committed a serious violent crime in another state, been deported, and now have come back into the United States. We see that scenario over and over and over. So before we release this potentially dangerous person back into our communities, we want to know whether or not the federal immigration authorities have reason to detain this person further.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/CordByrd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CordByrd</a> on new bill he&#8217;s co-sponsoring to BAN <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SanctuaryCities?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SanctuaryCities</a> in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Florida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Florida</a>, watch: <a href="https://t.co/jLcBr8dlwc">pic.twitter.com/jLcBr8dlwc</a>
&#8212; Trish Regan (@trish_regan) <a href="https://twitter.com/trish_regan/status/1118670786456375296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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According to the bill, local governments will be fined $5,000 each day they do not comply with the ban, reported <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/440505-florida-house-passes-bill-banning-sanctuary-cities">The Hill</a>.&#8203;
A similar bill in the Florida Senate is currently pending.
Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing for an amendment that would allow him to &#8220;initiate judicial proceedings in the name of the state&#8221; against local governments which do not cooperate with federal immigration officials, reported <a href="https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/04/25/sanctuary-city-bill-would-give-governor-desantis-power-to-enforce-immigration-laws/">CBS Miami</a>.&#8203;
&#8220;The governor is supportive of this measure which reiterated his constitutional authority to remove an executive or administrative state, county or municipal&#8221; officer for violating state law, <a href="http://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/04/25/sanctuary-city-bill-would-give-governor-desantis-power-to-enforce-immigration-laws/">said</a> Helen Ferre, a spokeswoman for DeSantis.&#8203;
Cue the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Following the passage of the bill, the ACLU issued a travel alert for Florida if the bill indeed becomes law.
&#8220;If Florida State Bill 168 and House Bill 527 pass, it would undermine local governments&#8217; ability to protect the civil rights of their residents by forcing local officials to cooperate with ICE,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.aclufl.org/en/florida-travel-alert">ACLU</a> wrote in a statement. &#8220;It would also put immigrants at risk of violence, potentially forcing victims and witnesses to stay silent for fear of deportation.&#8221;&#8203;
&#8220;Both Florida residents, citizens and non-citizens, and travelers could face risks of being racially profiled and being detained without probable cause,&#8221; the statement added. 
The bill sparked protests around Florida, including in the state&#8217;s capital, Tallahassee, <a href="http://www.mysuncoast.com/2019/04/24/florida-house-debates-bill-banning-sanctuary-city-policies/">reported</a> ABC WWSB.&#8203;
Miami police chief Jorge Colina says he opposes the bill because he claims it would stop people from reporting crimes for fear of being turned over to immigration authorities. 
&#8220;The truth is I&#8217;d prefer not to have this job if I have to ask fellow officers to go check where someone came from before helping them,&#8221; Colina said, reported the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article229573644.html">Miami Herald</a>.&#8203;
Florida reportedly does not currently have any &#8220;sanctuary cities&#8221; &#8212; unlike many other large states which have major cities that are formally declared to be sanctuary cities, including New York City, San Francisco, Seattle.

Florida House Passes A Bill Banning Sanctuary Cities. ACLU Issues Travel Warning.

One of the first things Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) did as governor was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42092/report-florida-governor-ron-desantis-suspend-paul-bois">to suspend</a> Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for the way he handled two mass shootings, including last year&#8217;s school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
DeSantis signed an executive order suspending the sheriff, noting that Israel failed the people of Broward County.
&#8220;Sheriff Israel has repeatedly failed and has demonstrated a pattern of poor leadership,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.trbas.com/media/media/acrobat/2019-01/47104981161220-11140947.pdf">executive order</a> said. &#8220;He failed to protect Floridians and visitors during the tragic Fort Lauderdale International Airport shooting in 2017. He failed in his duties to keep our families and children safe during the devastating shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.&#8221;
&#8220;These incidents demonstrate Sheriff Israel&#8217;s repeated incompetence and neglect of duty,&#8221; the order continued. &#8220;The families of the victims deserve accountability. It is my job as Governor to ensure that the safety of our local communities, especially the safety of our children, is paramount. Government officials must be held accountable for their actions, and/or inactions. For these reasons, I am suspending Sheriff Israel from office effective immediately.&#8221;
After he was suspended, Israel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42103/sour-grapes-suspended-parkland-sheriff-claims-ashe-schow">vowed to take legal action</a>.
&#8220;This suspension is not about what occurred on February 14th,&#8221; Israel said at the time. &#8220;The governor promised as a candidate &#8212; well before he had any facts of the investigation, well before the commission even began their work &#8212; that he would remove me from office. Today, he merely fulfilled a campaign promise. This was about politics, not about Parkland.&#8221;
Israel&#8217;s actions as sheriff were criticized in an official investigation which found that his office&#8217;s active-shooter training was ineffective. The report also criticized Israel for changing department policy that said officers &#8220;shall&#8221; confront active shooters to say officers &#8220;may&#8221; confront them.
This change resulted in Broward Deputy Scot Peterson and seven others to stay outside of the high school while a shooter murdered 17 people inside.
Nevertheless, Israel claimed he was being wronged.
The Florida Supreme Court disagreed, ruling on Tuesday that DeSantis had every right to suspend Israel, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/440324-florida-court-rules-against-parkland-sheriff">according to the Hill</a>.
&#8220;Today&#8217;s @flcourts opinion leaves no doubt of my authority to suspend a government official for neglect of duty and incompetence,&#8221; DeSantis wrote on Twitter. &#8220;Scott Israel failed to protect the families and students of Broward County and I look forward to the @FLSenate resuming the process of formal removal.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/flcourts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@flcourts</a> opinion leaves no doubt of my authority to suspend a government official for neglect of duty and incompetence. Scott Israel failed to protect the families and students of Broward County and I look forward to the <a href="https://twitter.com/FLSenate?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLSenate</a> resuming the process of formal removal.
&#8212; Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1120796702426968065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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As the Hill reported, Florida&#8217;s Republican-controlled state Senate could reinstate Israel with a vote, though that is unlikely. As of now, Israel will have to run to be elected sheriff again in 2020.
&#8220;I hope and expect the Senate will look at the merits of the claim,&#8221; Israel&#8217;s lawyer Ben Kuehne <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/440324-florida-court-rules-against-parkland-sheriff">told the South Florida Sun Sentinel</a>. &#8220;If they do, and do not act politically, then Sheriff Israel will be reinstated.&#8221;

Florida Court Rules Governor Had Right To Suspend Sheriff Who Bungled Parkland Shooting

One of the closest major races of the 2018 election cycle was the Florida gubernatorial race, where Republican Ron DeSantis defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum by a mere 33,000 votes, or .4%. However, based on current <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/florida/release-detail?ReleaseID=2605">polling</a>, should he run for reelection, DeSantis may have a much easier race on his hands next time.
DeSantis, according to a Quinnipiac poll conducted between March 6-11, has the overwhelming approval of Florida voters, by a margin of 59-17%. ABC Action News <a href="https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/florida-news/poll-governor-ron-desantis-receives-highest-approval-rating-of-any-florida-governor-in-a-decade">reports</a> that this is the highest approval of any Florida governor in the last decade. Incredibly, even Democrats <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1105774399276412928">approve</a> of him by a margin of 42-28%. &#8220;DeSantis and the state&#8217;s politicians are benefitting from an overall sunny mood among Floridians who are happy about the economy and life in general,&#8221; said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
Interestingly, the poll <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanGirdusky/status/1105827426855239681">showed</a> that every demographic other than Democrats support DeSantis&#8217; <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-ne-desantis-sanctuary-cities-20190226-story.html">proposal</a> to crack down on sanctuary cities by requiring local law enforcement to work with ICE. This includes Hispanics, who approve at a margin of 48-39%, which is an obvious refutation of the establishment Republican narrative that a politician must support amnesty and open borders in order to win the Hispanic vote.
While running for governor, DeSantis, a former House Freedom Caucus member, campaigned as a constitutional conservative, and so far, he has the record to show for it. This record includes the crackdown on sanctuary cities mentioned above, but in only two months in office, DeSantis has managed to create the bedrock for a conservative legacy.
In his first week as governor, DeSantis finally <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-gov-ron-desantis-suspends-broward-sheriff-scott-israel-over-parkland-massacre-response/">suspended</a> Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for his gross incompetence in his handling of the Parkland massacre, which tragically claimed the lives of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last February. He also has been adamant in opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement by officially <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Florida-Governor-DeSantis-fights-back-on-Airbnbs-West-Bank-boycott-577564">boycotting</a> Airbnb for state business after the company decided to stop listing rentals in Judea and Samaria. Additionally, DeSantis has started a process to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/florida-gov-desantis-puts-common-core-out-of-its-misery">eliminate</a> the disastrous Common Core program from Florida public schools, a move which would clearly localize academic standards with the goal of improving education. DeSantis has also pledged to end the epidemic of judicial activism, <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/new-florida-gov-ron-desantis-declares-no-more-judicial-activism/">stating</a> that &#8220;The Constitution, not the judiciary, is supreme,&#8221; which is something every conservative political leader should follow if he or she wants to have a conservative agenda enacted.
The example of Governor DeSantis comes to show that if you govern as a constitutional conservative, you will likely be successful.

FRANKEL: Govern As A Conservative, And You’ll Be Successful

Conservatism

Following <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42092/report-florida-governor-ron-desantis-suspend-paul-bois">his suspension</a> by new Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel vowed to take legal action. Despite reports and investigations showing numerous flaws that led to more deaths at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018, Israel proclaimed his suspension was &#8220;about politics.&#8221;
&#8220;This suspension is not about what occurred on February 14th,&#8221; Israel said. &#8220;The governor promised as a candidate &#8211; well before he had any facts of the investigation, well before the commission even began their work &#8211; that he would remove me from office. Today, he merely fulfilled a campaign promise. This was about politics, not about Parkland.&#8221;
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NEW: Suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel responds to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis&#8217; Executive Order: &#8220;This suspension is not about what occurred on February 14th&#8230; this was about politics, not about Parkland.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/U7vcZIgAW8">https://t.co/U7vcZIgAW8</a> <a href="https://t.co/ka1XYd0vZ8">pic.twitter.com/ka1XYd0vZ8</a>
&#8212; ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1083852120917368833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Israel went on to say no one from DeSantis&#8217; staff nor the governor himself spoke to Israel about what happened in Parkland, and that the governor was carrying out the will of the National Rifle Association (NRA). He also suggested suspending him was an &#8220;easy&#8221; way to ignore the real problem, which is gun violence in America.
The problem for Israel is that the investigation and commission he spoke about found that the department&#8217;s active shooter training was ineffective, though they did not recommend suspending Israel. The sheriff was also criticized in the report for changing his department&#8217;s policy from saying officers &#8220;shall&#8221; confront active shooters to saying they &#8220;may&#8221; confront them.
This allowed Broward Deputy Scot Peterson, who was assigned to the high school where a mass shooting occurred in February 2018, to take cover outside instead of entering the building to save the lives of children. Seven other deputies from Broward also stayed outside, while officers from neighboring Coral Springs entered the building to stop the shooter.
In the months following the shooting, journalists reported that Israel&#8217;s office had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42092/report-florida-governor-ron-desantis-suspend-paul-bois">received two calls</a> &#8212; one in 2016 and one in 2017 &#8212; suggesting the eventual shooter was a potential school shooter. The department also had 20 previous contacts with the shooter relating to arguments with his now-deceased mother.
In <a href="https://www.trbas.com/media/media/acrobat/2019-01/47104981161220-11140947.pdf">his statement</a> announcing Israel&#8217;s suspension, Gov. DeSantis said the sheriff &#8220;has repeatedly failed and has demonstrated a pattern of poor leadership.&#8221;
&#8220;These incidents demonstrate Sheriff Israel&#8217;s repeated incompetence and neglect of duty,&#8221; DeSantis&#8217; executive order removing Israel said. &#8220;The families of the victims deserve accountability. It is my job as Governor to ensure that the safety of our local communities, especially the safety of our children, is paramount. Government officials must be held accountable for their actions, and/or inactions. For these reasons, I am suspending Sheriff Israel from office effective immediately.&#8221;
Seventeen people were killed in the Parkland school shooting because Broward County deputies failed to do their jobs. Sheriff Israel <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-broward-sheriff-scott-israel-20181225-story.html">repeatedly defended</a> their actions and his own when asked about the failures by the investigating commission.

SOUR GRAPES: Suspended Parkland Sheriff Claims ‘This Is About Politics’

Newly-elected governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel from his post due to his response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting last year that killed 17 people.
&#8220;Sheriff Israel has repeatedly failed and has demonstrated a pattern of poor leadership,&#8221; reads the governor&#8217;s executive order, according to <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-sheriff-scott-israel-suspended-order-20190111-story.html">Sun Sentinel</a>. &#8220;He failed to protect Floridians and visitors during the tragic <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/south-florida/fort-lauderdale-SFL00009-topic.html">Fort Lauderdale</a> International Airport shooting in 2017. He failed in his duties to keep our families and children safe during the devastating shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.&#8221;
The order goes on to say that Sheriff Scott Israel has shown incompetence and abdicated his duty of protecting the community.
&#8220;These incidents demonstrate Sheriff&#8217;s Israel&#8217;s repeated incompetence and neglect of duty,&#8221; the order said. &#8220;The families of the victims deserve accountability. It is my job as Governor to ensure that the safety of our local communities, especially the safety of our children, is paramount. Government officials must be held accountable for their actions, and/or inactions. For these reasons, I am suspending Sheriff Israel from office effective immediately.&#8221;
The full text of the executive order can be <a href="http://www.trbas.com/media/media/acrobat/2019-01/47104981161220-11140947.pdf">read here</a>.
A recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39938/parkland-shooting-commission-report-causes-stir-james-barrett">458-page report</a> by the state panel investigating the massacre concluded that the Broward Sheriff Department failed to protect the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Though Sheriff Israel claimed he showed exceptional leadership, the report stated that his subordinates were not properly trained while using outdated radio technology that hindered communication during the shooting. The school&#8217;s assigned sheriff&#8217;s deputy also took cover behind the bushes while another deputy searched his trunk for a bulletproof vest instead of just confronting the shooter.
Furthermore, Sheriff Israel&#8217;s office had multiple opportunities to apprehend the shooter prior to the massacre due to multiple red flags; officers even visited with the shooter a full 39 times. However, when <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/27438/dana-loesch-calls-out-florida-sheriff-failures-he-ryan-saavedra">appearing in a CNN Town Hall</a> opposite NRA spokesman Dana Loesch, Sheriff Israel thoroughly denied it.
&#8220;Thirty-nine visits did not meet that standard? Thirty-nine visits, assaulting students, assaulting parents, taking bullets and knives to school, did that not meet that standard?&#8221; Loesch questioned Israel at the time.
&#8220;They were threatened with death. They were threatened that they were going to &#8230; bleed. They were threatened that they were going to be killed,&#8221; Loesch told Israel. &#8220;He had already taken bullets and knives to school. He had already assaulted people. He had assaulted his parent. He had assaulted other students. 39 visits. And this was known to the intelligence and law enforcement community.&#8221;
Israel denied that authorities visited the shooter 39 times.
&#8220;You&#8217;re wrong. There weren&#8217;t 39 visits, some of them &#8230; were GOAs, some of them calls from other states, to say there were 39 visits, I don&#8217;t know where you got those facts, but you are completely wrong,&#8221; Israel said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Suspends Sheriff Scott Israel For Response To Parkland Massacre

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who oversaw the office during the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, says that now that GOP Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been sworn in, Israel will lose his job.
According to the <a href="https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/desantis-inauguration-new-governor-will-remove-scott-israel-but-must-replace-cronies-10976680">Miami New Times</a>, Israel, 61, informed his top commanders on Monday that he will be removed from office. Israel told his staff that he would be ousted, but Israel told them he would appeal the decision. As The Miami Herald reported, Jeff Bell, the Broward Sheriff office&#8217;s union chief who is a member of DeSantis transition team, <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article224080655.html">stated</a>, &#8220;We know that he is telling everyone at the public safety building that he is going to be gone.&#8221; Bell added that removing Israel &#8220;would remove an incompetent sheriff. But if you&#8217;re looking to fix the agency and put it on the right track, it does nothing to do that.&#8221; He opined that in order to fix the problems in Broward County, people hired by Israel need to be replaced, saying, &#8220;What I will say is we want someone who will remove politics out of police work and commit to protecting the citizens and our children in the schools.&#8221;
That sentiment was reiterated by retired BSO Sgt. Willie Jones, who ran and lost to Israel in the 2016 Democratic primary. He said, &#8220;Top administrators must be looked at real quickly and very closely. You must restore the trust to the community to know that the sheriff&#8217;s office is going to do the things they need to do to make them safe.&#8221;
An attorney for Israel, Stuart N. Kaplan, said he was unaware of any ouster planned by DeSantis, asserting, &#8220;The governor has not said anything to us, directly or indirectly, as to whether or not the sheriff is going to be suspended.&#8221; He stated, &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure his decision is being made on merit or on fact &#8212; or is he just now concerned about following through on a campaign promise that is politically motivated. Scott Israel has never wavered that the school district and school children and all members of the community are safe. There is a false insinuation on the part of the public &#8212; a feeling that BSO is somehow a better agency just because Scott Israel has been removed.&#8217;&#8217;
According to the Miami Herald, in a 458-page report released last week by the state panel investigating the massacre, numerous failures by the Broward Sheriff&#8217;s Department were listed for the Valentine&#8217;s day massacre in February 2018, when a shooter murdered 17 people, 14 of whom were students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The report said sheriff&#8217;s deputies responding to the shooting had not been properly trained and that the sheriff&#8217;s department had used outdated, malfunctioning radios, limiting communication during the fatal attack.
Although Israel declared that he had displayed exceptional leadership, the men working under him failed to protect the students; the school&#8217;s assigned sheriff&#8217;s deputy took cover outside while a deputy took his time looking through his trunk for his bulletproof vest and then crouched behind his car.
Robert Jarvis, author of &#8220;Out of the Muck: A History of the Broward Sheriff&#8217;s Office,&#8217;&#8217; commented, &#8220;At the end of the day, the governor can suspend and has the power to suspend public officials for almost any reason &#8212; whether it&#8217;s malfeasance, incompetence or neglect of duty &#8212; all that is in the eye of the beholder.&#8221;

Broward County Sheriff: Now That DeSantis Is Governor, I’ll Be Removed

The state commission tasked with investigating the tragic Parkland school shooting, which left 17 people dead, unanimously approved its comprehensive 458-page report Wednesday, and it&#8217;s causing a stir. Among its most notable recommendations is that trained teachers should be allowed to carry weapons on campus and internal investigations should be opened into multiple deputies under Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
The report, produced by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, puts the onus on school districts, law enforcement agencies, and state leaders to implement effective reforms in schools to better protect students from future tragedies. After being formally approved by the commission Wednesday, the report passes to state leaders, including newly elected Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-ne-stoneman-douglas-commission-report-20181231-story.html">Sun Sentinel</a>, which has been tracking the investigation closely, provides a summary of the key findings and recommendations of the report, which &#8220;addresses the cascade of errors revealed in the wake of the shooting, including fumbled tips, lax school security policies and unaggressive Broward sheriff&#8217;s deputies who hung back as shots were fired.&#8221;
Among the dozens of recommendations in the report is the proposal that some teachers be allowed to carry guns on campus after going through extensive training. The commission is also calling for the increase in spending on school security measures and recommends changes to laws in order to provide school districts the ability to increase taxes to pay for some of those measures.
Concerning the commission&#8217;s proposal to arm some teachers, the commission chair, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, blasted those who pushed back on it for ideological reasons. &#8220;So what are we saying to people &#8212; we&#8217;re not going to allow you to defend yourself, we&#8217;re not going to allow you to defend the kids &#8212; why? Because of some ideology that we don&#8217;t like guns?&#8221; he said, the Sun Sentinel reports. &#8220;Anyone who thinks they&#8217;re going to get rid of guns is crazy. It isn&#8217;t going to happen. We&#8217;ve got to do something differently and people should be able to protect themselves.&#8221;
Regarding the Broward County deputies, the commission called on the office to &#8220;conduct an internal review of seven deputies who arrived during the shooting but appeared to fail to even attempt to take effective action.&#8221; The report noted that internal investigations into two of the deputies have been opened thus far.
The commission&#8217;s findings on the actions of Sheriff Israel and his deputies prompted the Sun Sentinel editorial board to publish a lengthy <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-broward-sheriff-scott-israel-20181225-story.html">editorial</a> last week declaring that they now agree with Republicans who have been calling for the firing of the sheriff for his egregious mishandling of the tragedy.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve suggested all along that people hold their fire until more details are known,&#8221; they write. &#8220;But after seeing the damning details in the commission&#8217;s draft report &#8212; and Israel&#8217;s troubling testimony &#8212; we cannot encourage the governor-elect to wait and let voters decide the sheriff&#8217;s fate in 2020.&#8221;
&#8220;Israel&#8217;s supporters say the only reason the sheriff finds himself in the political crosshairs is because he stood up to the NRA at a CNN Town Hall after the shooting, and had a terrible interview with CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper,&#8221; they wrote. &#8220;But that&#8217;s not it at all. The issue is public safety, the sheriff&#8217;s paramount duty. And on his two biggest tests &#8212; the mass <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/crime-law-justice/crime/shootings/fort-lauderdale-airport-shooting-EVCAL00089-topic.html">shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport</a> and the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas &#8212; Israel has come up short. Worse, the sheriff fails to accept responsibility for things that have gone wrong, instead suggesting that things couldn&#8217;t have been better. If he fails to acknowledge that mistakes were made &#8212; not only by individuals, but by his command &#8212; how can we expect a better outcome next time?&#8221;
<a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-ne-stoneman-douglas-commission-report-20181231-story.html">Read the Sun Sentinel&#8217;s full summary of the report here</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39721/sun-sentinel-heres-why-we-now-agree-republicans-james-barrett">Sun Sentinel: Here&#8217;s Why We Now Agree With Republicans That Broward Sheriff Scott Israel Should Be Removed</a>

Parkland Shooting Commission Report Causes A Stir: Recommends Arming Teachers, Calls For Investigation Of Sheriff’s Deputies

After defending Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for months against Republican criticism over his office&#8217;s failed handling of the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the left-leaning Sun Sentinel editorial board published a lengthy editorial Wednesday on &#8220;<a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-broward-sheriff-scott-israel-20181225-story.html">the failed leadership of Broward Sheriff Scott Israel</a>&#8221; that explains why they now agree with Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis that Israel must go.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a big deal for a governor to remove an elected sheriff, especially if the governor is a Republican and the sheriff is the most powerful Democrat in Florida&#8217;s most Democratic county,&#8221; the Sun Sentinel editorial board states. But after reviewing a draft of the state commission&#8217;s report on the shooting, the editors have concluded that Israel simply cannot be allowed to stay in office.
&#8220;[A] community of our size is going to face another tragedy,&#8221; the editors conclude. &#8220;It&#8217;s just a matter of where and when. And if we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. Given Sheriff Israel&#8217;s failure to learn from history &#8212; and his failures during our community&#8217;s most horrific events &#8212; we now stand with those who believe he should be removed and replaced.&#8221;
The editors begin by underscoring that they have repeatedly defended Israel against criticism they believed to be premature, including in late February when Republicans called for Gov. Rick Scott to suspend him for incompetence and in April when the deputies&#8217; union voted no confidence in him &#8220;largely because of pay raises.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve suggested all along that people hold their fire until more details are known,&#8221; they write. &#8220;But after seeing the damning details in the commission&#8217;s draft report &#8212; and Israel&#8217;s troubling testimony &#8212; we cannot encourage the governor-elect to wait and let voters decide the sheriff&#8217;s fate in 2020.&#8221;
After highlighting Israel&#8217;s progressive accomplishments, including supposedly lowering burglaries and violent crime and his promotion of left-wing policies, like keeping teachers unarmed and participating in LGBTQ pride parades, the board dismisses the claim that criticism against Israel is only motivated by his war on the NRA.
&#8220;Israel&#8217;s supporters say the only reason the sheriff finds himself in the political crosshairs is because he stood up to the NRA at a CNN Town Hall after the shooting, and had a terrible interview with CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper,&#8221; they write (formatting adjusted). &#8220;But that&#8217;s not it at all. The issue is public safety, the sheriff&#8217;s paramount duty. And on his two biggest tests &#8212; the mass <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/crime-law-justice/crime/shootings/fort-lauderdale-airport-shooting-EVCAL00089-topic.html">shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport</a> and the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas &#8212; Israel has come up short. Worse, the sheriff fails to accept responsibility for things that have gone wrong, instead suggesting that things couldn&#8217;t have been better. If he fails to acknowledge that mistakes were made &#8212; not only by individuals, but by his command &#8212; how can we expect a better outcome next time?&#8221;
The board then walks through key findings of the report, including one of the most infamous moments of the Parkland massacre: when the school resource officer failed to act to protect students. Israel has tried to keep the blame squarely aimed at the officer, but the Sun Sentinel stresses that the resource officer&#8217;s failure to respond was part of a much larger problem that ultimately falls on the sheriff&#8217;s shoulders:
<blockquote>
After the Stoneman Douglas shooting, the sheriff argued that a general can&#8217;t be blamed if a single soldier fails to do his job. He was referring to School Resource Officer Scot Peterson, who failed to pursue the shooter after reporting &#8220;shots fired.&#8221; The commission&#8217;s report says Peterson waited 45 minutes to enter the school and warned others to stay away, too.
But Peterson was not alone. While a great many BSO deputies demonstrated bravery that day, far too many showed cowardice, hiding behind trees, cars and walls.
Besides Peterson, seven other deputies also heard the gunfire and failed to pursue the shooter, as best practices would dictate. During interviews with investigators, several noted BSO policy says they could pursue a shooter, but don&#8217;t have to.
Israel should be mortified to know a team of <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/south-florida/coral-springs-SFL00006-topic.html">Coral Springs</a> police officers blew by his deputies and entered the building where [the shooter, named redacted] had unleashed hell. A Sunrise police officer who raced to the scene said a BSO deputy told him: &#8220;Don&#8217;t go in.&#8221;
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-broward-sheriff-scott-israel-20181225-story.html">Read the Sun Sentinel editorial here</a>.

Sun Sentinel: Here’s Why We Now Agree With Republicans That Broward Sheriff Scott Israel Should Be Removed

Law Enforcement

Rick Scott

On Monday, incoming governor Ron DeSantis of Florida stated bluntly that if Airbnb does not rescind its recently-instituted policy of delisting listings from Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), he will work to make sure that Florida state officials are not permitted to use Airbnb for official travel.
DeSantis stated:
<blockquote>
The other issue that&#8217;s now coming to the forefront is this new policy by Airbnb to basically discriminate against Jews in the West Bank. They delisted all Jewish listings in the West Bank. They do not treat anybody else in the entire world like this; it&#8217;s only targeted in these Jewish communities. I think that that likely runs afoul of Florida&#8217;s BDS legislation; we&#8217;re reviewing that now. We&#8217;re also going to review how Florida interacts with Airbnb; I know that state workers are allowed to use Airbnbn for official travel. That is not going to be acceptable with me as governor, so I think Airbnb should reevaluate and reverse this policy. If they don&#8217;t do that, then it&#8217;s going to be rough sledding here in the state of Florida, and we&#8217;ll review our options of what we can do with that.
</blockquote>
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Many thanks to Florida&#8217;s incoming Governor <a href="https://twitter.com/RonDeSantisFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonDeSantisFL</a> for announcing that he will take action against AirBnB&#8217;s boycott of Israel <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KolHakavod?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KolHakavod</a> <a href="https://t.co/QYUrdZAMjJ">pic.twitter.com/QYUrdZAMjJ</a>
&#8212; Joseph Sabag (@josephsabag) <a href="https://twitter.com/josephsabag/status/1067108397206646784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Last Monday, Airbnb <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-airbnb/airbnb-says-removing-listings-in-west-bank-settlements-idUSKCN1NO1WA">announced</a> its new openly-anti-Semitic policy, stating, &#8220;We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians. Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow.&#8221;
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38519/airbnb-goes-anti-semitic-targets-jewish-businesses-ben-shapiro">The Daily Wire</a> reported, according to Professor Eugene Kontorovich of George Mason Law, Airbnb announced that they will only disallow listings in Israeli settlements when those listings are owned by Jews. For example, if a Jew owns an apartment in East Jerusalem, that won&#8217;t be allowed for listing; if an Arab owns an apartment in the same neighborhood, it would be fine for listing.
DeSantis&#8217; record vis-à-vis Israel has been strong for decades; in October he bluntly <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article220017410.html">stated</a>, &#8220;BDS is nothing more than warmed-over anti-Semitism. I would never seek nor accept support political or otherwise from a group that supports a boycott of Israel.&#8221; He added that his wife had bottled water from the Sea of Galilee during her last trip to Israel to bring home for their daughter&#8217;s baptism, and that his first international trip as governor would be to Israel, concluding, &#8220;As soon as I take the oath of office, that very day, we&#8217;ll have the most pro-Israel governor in the country.&#8221;
In November 2017, one month before President Trump announced the United States was moving our embassy to Jerusalem, DeSantis launched a petition urging the Trump administration to make the move. He <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RonDeSantisFlorida/posts/it-is-time-we-move-our-israeli-embassy-from-tel-aviv-to-israels-capital-jerusale/1550123028387791/">wrote</a>, &#8220;It is time we move our Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel&#8217;s capital, Jerusalem! Congress voted in 1995 to move the embassy, but past Presidents blocked the move. President Trump has committed to move the embassy to its rightful place and we should support the relocation to Jerusalem as soon as possible!&#8221;

Incoming FL Governor DeSantis Blasts Airbnb For Anti-Semitic Policy, Says He’ll Take Action

Airbnb

Israel

After a brutal race for the Florida Governor&#8217;s mansion with an additional recount after election day, Democrat candidate Andrew Gillum officially conceded the race to Republican Ron DeSantis. But one may wonder how DeSantis managed to pull it off, considering that Gillum <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/governor/fl/florida_governor_desantis_vs_gillum-6518.html#polls">led</a> in most pre-election surveys, many by decent margins.
Despite the apparent pre-election lead for Gillum, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls/florida">polls</a> and <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article221439990.html">analysis</a> of the 2018 election show that Hispanic voters likely helped DeSantis clinch his victory over Gillum. The findings seem to confirm that Democrat attacks against DeSantis, accusing him of being <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/06/historic-florida-governor-election-mired-name-calling-racist-accusations-andrew-gillum-ron-desantis/1897717002/">a racist</a>, failed to galvanize Florida Hispanics.
According to an exit poll released by CNN, DeSantis earned 44% of the state&#8217;s Hispanic vote compared to 54% for Gillum. This 10-point margin was a 17-point improvement for the GOP, compared to 2016, when President Donald Trump lost Hispanic voters by 27 points, 35% to 62%, to Hillary Clinton. It was also a gain for Republicans compared to the last midterm election when Governor Rick Scott <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/2014/FL/governor/exitpoll">lost</a> Hispanics by 20 points in his re-election bid.
How did Republicans make inroads with Hispanics in Florida despite warnings from left-wing activists and the media that President Trump would alienate the rapidly growing demographic?
An analysis shared with the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article221439990.html">Miami Herald</a> shows that DeSantis likely won 66% of the state&#8217;s Cuban American voters. The study looked at election results in 35 predominantly Cuban precincts in the suburbs of Miami-Dade County and found that the Republican gubernatorial nominee won twice the number of voters as his Democrat opponent, 66% to 33%. As the Herald notes, DeSantis&#8217; 33-point advantage among Cuban Americans was consistent with a Telemundo/Mason Dixon <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000166-cb4c-d7ac-abfe-ebcf677c0000">poll</a> published days before the election that showed him with a similar lead over Gillum.
In an interview with The Daily Wire, the study&#8217;s author, Giancarlo Sopo, a Miami-based communication strategist, who himself is an American of Cuban heritage, noted the important role that Hispanic voters played in DeSantis&#8217; success.
&#8220;DeSantis&#8217; win was the result of three factors,&#8221; said Sopo. &#8220;First, he maintained GOP strongholds in rural and exurban counties, and in doing so, won 60% of Florida&#8217;s white voters. Second, it appears that turnout among Hispanic Democrats was low this year, which is evidenced by the state&#8217;s three majority-Hispanic counties &#8212; Miami-Dade, Hendry, and Osceola &#8212; having had some of the lowest turnout levels in all of Florida. Last, but not least: the Cuban vote. Had DeSantis merely replicated Trump&#8217;s margins among Cuban American voters, we&#8217;d be talking about Governor-elect Gillum right now.&#8221;
While Republicans typically perform better with Cubans than other Hispanics, Pew Research noted in 2014 that this constituency had been <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/24/after-decades-of-gop-support-cubans-shifting-toward-the-democratic-party/">trending toward</a> the Democrat Party in recent elections. About <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/15/unlike-other-latinos-about-half-of-cuban-voters-in-florida-backed-trump/">half</a> of Cuban voters backed Trump in 2016, compared to over 80% going for George W. Bush in 2000. Sopo estimates that by building upon Trump&#8217;s share of the Cuban vote, DeSantis added approximately 79,000 votes to his statewide victory margin, which currently stands at just 33,000 votes.
Census figures show that Cuban Americans account for 6.5% of Florida&#8217;s population and are estimated to be approximately 6% of the state&#8217;s voters. With fewer young voters &#8212; who tend to be more liberal &#8212; showing up to vote, the Cuban American vote, and by extension the Hispanic electorate, performed more Republican than it has recently. This is confirmed by a November 2 Miami New Times article that <a href="https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/floridas-young-people-are-not-voting-as-expected-and-democrats-trail-in-early-voting-10877329">noted</a> young voters in Florida were voting in lower numbers relative to their share of the electorate.
&#8220;According to an analysis by University of Florida political scientist Daniel A. Smith, voters between the ages of 18 and 29 have cast just 6 percent of the ballots to date, despite making up 17 percent of the state&#8217;s electorate.&#8221;
Lagging turnout among non-Cuban Hispanics, who typically vote Democrat, may have also hurt Gillum. Despite comprising 16.4% of Florida&#8217;s registered voters, Hispanics were just <a href="http://steveschale.com/blog/2018/11/6/like-the-jaguars-season-the-election-is-nearly-over.html">13% of the electorate</a> this year during early and absentee voting, according to an Election Day memo by veteran political strategist Steve Schale.
Florida Democrats voiced concerns about their standing with the state&#8217;s Hispanic voters throughout the election. An August 2018 Politico story <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/08/14/nelsons-narrow-lead-with-florida-latinos-worries-democrats-556698">noted</a> that at least one statewide Democrat, Senator Bill Nelson, was only winning by seven percentage points among Puerto Ricans, a demographic group that tends to lean left.
It is also possible that Gillum, who campaigned with Senator Bernie Sanders during the primary, may have been too extreme for Florida voters. Forty-six percent of them told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls/florida">pollsters</a> that Gillum&#8217;s policies were &#8220;too liberal.&#8221;
&#8220;The message that Gillum is a socialist worked,&#8221; <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article221439990.html">said</a> Florida International University political analyst Eduardo Gamarra to El Nuevo Herald. In a state with large numbers of Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants who fled leftist dictatorships, it&#8217;s easy to see why Florida voters, including many Hispanics, were turned-off by a gubernatorial candidate who <a href="http://floridapolitics.com/archives/271410-andrew-gillum-questions-about-being-a-democratic-socialist-are-fair-game">refused</a> to clarify whether he was a socialist throughout the primary.
Gillum even accepted an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Ocasio2018/posts/congratulations-andrew-gillumthe-progressive-movement-is-transforming-the-countr/1825557417534934/">endorsement</a> from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the congresswomen-elect in New York and member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a radical Marxist group that <a href="https://www.dsausa.org/statements/sanctions_against_venezuela/">supports</a> the Venezuelan government and has called for nationalizing industries and <a href="https://radio.foxnews.com/2018/08/09/democratic-socialists-eliminate-private-ownership-and-nationalize-healthcare/">eliminating</a> private ownership of property in the United States.
&#8220;Interestingly, Democrats have had a harder time winning in Florida as the state&#8217;s Hispanic population is growing, which defies conventional political wisdom,&#8221; added Sopo, noting that the party&#8217;s shift to the left at a national level could be hurting it with the state&#8217;s Hispanic voters.
The politics of a national Democratic Party that is increasingly progressive may be incongruent with the nuances of Florida politics. For instance, in much of Latin America, the word &#8220;progresista&#8221; is often associated with the kinds of governments and political movements that many of the state&#8217;s Hispanic voters fled. When you combine a Hispanic voting bloc that is at least somewhat skeptical of progressivism with an electorate that is older, more rural, and leans conservative in midterm elections, it&#8217;s no surprise that Republicans have dominated the state for 20 years.
DeSantis&#8217; victory in Florida may provide Republican candidates across the country with a blueprint for how to reach Hispanics: Run as a conservative, emphasize sound economic principles and remind them that the progressive Left supports the kinds of policies that caused them and their families to leave their countries and come to America.
Not only did DeSantis not have to compromise his conservative values to make inroads with Hispanics, he ran with a Hispanic running-mate, Representative Jeannette Nuñez, who championed them. In doing so, Nuñez became the first Latina ever elected as Lieutenant Governor in Florida and undoubtedly helped energize Hispanics for the GOP on the campaign trail.
Conservatives should also remember that just because someone happens to be Hispanic, that doesn&#8217;t mean they <a href="http://www.fairus.org/press-releases/exit-polling-data-refutes-claims-hispanic-voters-punish-candidates-who-support">support</a> the Left&#8217;s vision of open borders or cultural Marxism. In fact, just like other ethnic groups, Hispanics are attracted to the American dream of liberty and opportunity, and that clearly showed here.
The sooner Republicans learn that they can&#8217;t play the Left&#8217;s game and balkanize the population for their own ends, the better. The Left panders and will always pander better than the Right. So why not just run on the American values you stand for?

How The Republicans Won Florida

Andrew Gillum

Bill Nelson

Democrat Andrew Gillum conceded the Florida gubernatorial race &#8220;for a second and final time&#8221; Saturday night, <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/11/17/andrew-gillum-concedes-florida-governors-race-second-time/2041301002/">Tallahassee.com reports</a>, signaling the end of an extended recount.
Gillum and fellow Democrat, Bill Nelson, who is running for his own long-held Senate seat against Florida&#8217;s current Republican governor Rick Scott, have been in election limbo for more than a week as Florida first proceeded to an electronic recount in both races, and then to a hand recount.
After results were finally certified Saturday, both Scott and DeSantis were clear winners, but so far only Gillum has admitted there&#8217;s no way he can prevail over his Republican opponent.
Gillum conceded in a video posted to social media, thanking supporters and acknowledging DeSantis as the state&#8217;s next governor.
&#8220;R. Jai [Gillum&#8217;s wife] and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Mr. DeSantis on becoming the next governor of the great state of Florida,&#8221; Gillum said.
&#8220;We also want you to know that even though this election may be beyond us, that this &#8211; although nobody wanted to be governor more than me &#8211; this was not just about an election cycle,&#8221; he added. &#8220;This was about creating the kind of change in this state that really allows for the voices of everyday people to show up again in our government, our state, and our communities.&#8221;
DeSantis responded, &#8220;This was a hard-fought campaign. Now it&#8217;s time to bring Florida together.&#8221;
Tallahasse.com reports that more than 8 million ballots were recounted in the gubernatorial race statewide, but that Gillum&#8217;s deficit was simply insurmountable. DeSantis won 4,075,445 to 4,041,762.
All eyes, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/18/politics/florida-recount-comes-to-an-end/index.html">CNN reports</a>, are now on Bill Nelson, who still has not acquiesced in his recount efforts. Nelson&#8217;s and Scott&#8217;s race went to a machine recount a week ago, at the same time Gillum&#8217;s and DeSantis&#8217; did, and even though Scott picked up votes in the machine recount, bringing his lead to more than 12,000 ballots, the race still fell within the margin of error necessary to conduct a hand recount.
Results from the hand recount are expected to be certified on Sunday, no later than noon EST. CNN predicts that &#8220;[f]acing an insurmountable vote gap with Scott, Sunday&#8217;s deadline will bring an end to Nelson&#8217;s bid, barring further legal maneuvering.&#8221;
A Democratic strategist close to the operation <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/11/16/nelson-has-no-path-democrats-admit-scott-beats-florida-icon-702880">told Politico Sunday</a> that Nelson has &#8220;no path forward&#8221;: &#8220;It&#8217;s done. But it was done before today. This was a total Hail Mary.&#8221;
Nelson&#8217;s loss should have been clear by now, but Florida&#8217;s Broward County &#8212; now notorious for a string of election recount disasters this week &#8212; <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-broward-manual-recount-agriculture-commissioner-20181117-story.html">&#8220;lost&#8221; more than 2,000 ballots</a> &#8220;somewhere in the building&#8221; on Saturday.
&#8220;Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes said they either misplaced, misfiled or mixed in with another stack,&#8221; the Broward County&#8217;s Sun-Sentinel newspaper reported. At 8 p.m. Saturday night, Broward gave up the search and resumed the hand recount Sunday morning.

Andrew Gillum Concedes AGAIN As Florida Recount Draws To A Close But Bill Nelson Has Yet To Admit Defeat

Democratic Party

Oops.
Despite completing the machine recount in time, the office of embattled Broward County elections supervisor Brenda Snipes missed the deadline for submitting its new results by just a few minutes Thursday, which happened to give both Republican candidates Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis even larger vote margins over their Democratic opponents.
&#8220;With just 15 minutes to go before Thursday&#8217;s deadline, Broward County finally finished recounting every vote,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article221709445.html">Miami Herald</a> reports. &#8220;At least, that&#8217;s what officials told reporters and the canvassing board at 2:45 p.m. In a surprise announcement at nearly 6 p.m., Broward&#8217;s director of elections planning, Joseph D&#8217;Alessandro, told the canvassing board the county actually turned in results to the state two minutes late. They won&#8217;t count officially.&#8221;
&#8220;Basically I just worked my ass off for nothing,&#8221; D&#8217;Alessandro said. &#8220;What caused it was my unfamiliarity with their website.&#8221;
Since the office failed to submit them in time, the original results will stand.
So what did those now nullified machine recounts find? Democrats lost about 1,300 ballots, while Republicans lost about 600. In other words, the recount benefited both Republicans. In the case of Scott&#8217;s contest against Bill Nelson, Scott came out 779 votes ahead in comparison to the initial count.
They found a discrepancy of 2,040 votes due to &#8220;a commingling of ballots,&#8221; said D&#8217;Alessandro, who admitted, &#8220;We did not correctly handle the ballots.&#8221;
So, despite having actually completed them with 15 minutes to spare, Snipes&#8217; team says they weren&#8217;t able to properly submit them, wiping out all of that work they had just done &#8212; and the Republicans&#8217; gains. As the Herald notes, that suspicious sequence of events prompted Scott senior campaign advisor Brad Todd to suggest to MSNBC that the &#8220;error&#8221; was maybe not an error at all.
The manual recount in Broward has reportedly also wrapped up, and much more quickly than the Democrats hoped it would. Mother Jones&#8217; Pema Levy has been on the scene tracking the developments and has some bad news for Democrats.
&#8220;The hand recount in Broward is over for the Senate race,&#8221; she reported Friday. &#8220;It was a blur it went so fast. Looks like Nelson didn&#8217;t come close to making up the ground he needs.&#8221;
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The hand recount in Broward is over for the Senate race. It was a blur it went so fast. Looks like Nelson didn&#8217;t come close to making up the ground he needs. <a href="https://t.co/JNYAGpmSNk">https://t.co/JNYAGpmSNk</a>
&#8212; Pema Levy (@pemalevy) <a href="https://twitter.com/pemalevy/status/1063452048384016384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The recount in Palm Beach County isn&#8217;t expected to take too long, either, which also isn&#8217;t a good sign for Democrats:
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Hello from Palm Beach County, where the hand recount is just getting underway. Word here is they have about 5k ballots to check and that it will take less than 2 hours. <a href="https://t.co/KCUDGcwvHC">pic.twitter.com/KCUDGcwvHC</a>
&#8212; Pema Levy (@pemalevy) <a href="https://twitter.com/pemalevy/status/1063479510212009986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Heading into the recount, DeSantis and Scott led the races for governor and U.S. Senate by counts of <a href="https://www.politico.com/election-results/2018/florida/">33,669 and 12,536</a>, respectively. According to the 26 elections that have experienced a recount in recent history, the chances of either result being overturned was effectively zero. Only three of those 26 recounts resulted in a reversal of who won the election, but the average vote margin change was just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38280/what-are-chances-recounts-will-swing-florida-james-barrett">311 votes</a>.
According to FairVote, between 2000 and 2016, 26 of the 4,687 statewide elections went to a recount, and the outcomes of only three reversed. &#8220;The 2004 Washington governor&#8217;s race, the 2006 Vermont state auditor&#8217;s race and the 2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate race,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article221506705.html">Miami Herald</a> reports. &#8220;The average swing in those three elections after the recounts? About 311 votes.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38429/rubio-no-evidence-election-fraud-look-what-we-just-james-barrett">Rubio: No Evidence Of Election Fraud? Look What We Just Learned Democrats Did In Florida</a>

Broward County Completes Recount Showing Republicans Gaining Votes, Then Fails to Submit Them In Time, Nullifying Recount

With the machine recounts finished &#8212; reportedly resulting in a <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-ne-florida-vote-recount-deadline-20181115-story.html">net gain</a> for Republican Rick Scott of 41 votes, putting him ahead of Bill Nelson by 12,603 votes, and a one-vote gain for Democrat Andrew Gillum, which leaves him still trailing Ron DeSantis by 33,683 votes &#8212; and the hand recounts underway, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sounded the alarm over potential voter fraud by Democrat officials.
&#8220;No evidence of fraud in #FloridaElection?&#8221; wrote Rubio in a post Thursday. &#8220;Dems got voters to use altered forms to fix &amp; submit as many mail ballots as possible after FL deadline in hopes that a judge would later order state to count them. Today that&#8217;s exactly what a federal judge did.&#8221;
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No evidence of fraud in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FloridaElection?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FloridaElection</a>?
Dems got voters to use altered forms to fix &amp; submit as many mail ballots as possible after FL deadline in hopes that a judge would later order state to count them.
Today that&#8217;s exactly what a federal judge did. <a href="https://t.co/MC4Tlvy9gi">https://t.co/MC4Tlvy9gi</a>
&#8212; Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1063171854997831683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Rubio linked to a story by the <a href="https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/15/florida-recount-democrats-launch-plan-altered-state-form-fix-ballots/2009178002/">Naples Daily News</a>, which detailed an effort by Democrats to swing the election outcome by giving Democrat voters altered absentee ballots with the hopes of getting a judge to admit them. &#8220;A day after Florida&#8217;s election left top state races too close to call, a Democratic party leader directed staffers and volunteers to share altered election forms with voters to fix signature problems on absentee ballots after the state&#8217;s deadline,&#8221; the outlet reports.
The forms were discovered in Broward, Santa Rosa, Citrus and Okaloosa counties and reported to federal prosecutors for review for possible election fraud. USA Today obtained an email that &#8220;shows that Florida Democrats were organizing a broader statewide effort beyond those counties to give voters the altered forms to fix improper absentee ballots after the Nov. 5 deadline. Democratic party leaders provided staffers with copies of a form, known as a &#8216;<a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5130053-Altered-form-Affidavit-vote-by-mail-ballot-cure.html">cure affidavit</a>,&#8217; that had been modified to include an inaccurate Nov. 8 deadline.&#8221;
A Democratic activist in Palm Beach admitted that the goal was to have voters submit as many of these altered absentee ballots as possible after the election deadline with the hope of a judge admitting them. The Naples Daily News provides more details:
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An email that Jennifer Kim, Florida Democratic Party&#8217;s central deputy field director, sent Nov. 7 to party workers instructing them how to give voters an altered form to fix signature problems with their absentee ballots after the state deadline. Kim&#8217;s email shows this is a statewide effort to give voters the altered form with the wrong deadline to return it. The altered forms have turned up in several counties and have been turned over to federal prosecutors to review for possible election fraud.
U.S. Chief Judge Mark Walker ruled Thursday that voters should have until Saturday to correct signatures on ballots, a move that could open the door for these ballots returned with altered forms to be counted. Republicans supporting Gov. Rick Scott, who leads U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by less than 13,000 votes in the recount, appealed the ruling.
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Rubio has been calling attention to the sketchy behavior of Broward and Palm Beach Counties for the last week, as more and more reports revealed questionable behavior by elections officials and a judge determined that both counties had violated Florida law in the counting process.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38162/rubio-heres-more-evidence-potential-voting-law-james-barrett">Rubio: Here&#8217;s More Evidence Of Potential Voting Law Violations In Broward County, FL</a>

Rubio: No Evidence Of Election Fraud? Look What We Just Learned Democrats Did In Florida

Marco Rubio

While one of the two &#8220;Democrat stronghold&#8221; counties in Florida has managed to complete its machine recount ahead of the 3 p.m. deadline, some images and footage provided by a local outlet from the other problem-plagued county don&#8217;t encourage confidence that its going to get the job done.
Broward County managed to complete its recounts of some 700,000 votes overnight with several hours to spare before the big deadline Thursday. <a href="https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Broward-Finishes-Machine-Recount-of-2018-Election-Votes-Ahead-of-Thursday-Deadline-500571281.html?fbclid=IwAR3dQgRduBWZbJ4RHuasnGtr8HPSU7n806s29zsHINemC4AlONUbKDtBzlM">NBC 6</a> reports:
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After days of being in the national spotlight &#8211; and being criticized by everyone from candidates to protesters from both major political parties &#8211; Broward County completed their machine recount of votes for three offices in the 2018 election ahead of Thursday&#8217;s deadline.
Workers put the last ballots to be counted through machines at election headquarters in Lauderhill around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night. Officials will spend the remaining time before the 3 p.m. deadline Thursday going through ballots that were mailed in or not able to be read by the machines.
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Meanwhile, Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes finds herself the subject of two court hearings Thursday after a judge ruled that she had violated Florida law in her handling of the process.
While the notoriously problematic Broward County wrapped up the recount in time, CBS 12 provided reason to worry that the Democrat-heavy Palm Beach won&#8217;t be able to say the same.
&#8220;Less than 12 hours until the #Florida #recount deadline&#8230;. no machines running here at Palm Beach County tabulation center. Where is everyone!?&#8221; reported CBS 12&#8217;s Kara Duffy.
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Less than 12 hours until the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Florida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Florida</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/recount?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#recount</a> deadline&#8230;. no machines running here at Palm Beach County tabulation center. Where is everyone!? <a href="https://t.co/pLn3rvVO0y">pic.twitter.com/pLn3rvVO0y</a>
&#8212; Kara Duffy (@KaraDuffyCBS12) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaraDuffyCBS12/status/1062994424987312130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Hours away from the #Florida #election #recount. Here at the Palm Beach County tabulation center&#8230; silence,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;Supervisor of Elections said: &#8216;We&#8217;re doing everything in our human power possible to make this happen.'&#8221;
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Hours away from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Florida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Florida</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/election?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#election</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/recount?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#recount</a>. Here at the Palm Beach County tabulation center&#8230; silence. Supervisor of Elections said: &#8220;We&#8217;re doing everything in our human power possible to make this happen.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/c0iicm9fl2">pic.twitter.com/c0iicm9fl2</a>
&#8212; Kara Duffy (@KaraDuffyCBS12) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaraDuffyCBS12/status/1063008491122626560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Hours away from the Florida #recount deadline&#8230; no workers in sight here at the Palm Beach County tabulation center? Where is everyone?&#8221; she reported later.
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Hours away from the Florida <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/recount?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#recount</a> deadline&#8230; no workers in sight here at the Palm Beach County tabulation center? Where is everyone? <a href="https://t.co/YKKB1GSFnc">pic.twitter.com/YKKB1GSFnc</a>
&#8212; Kara Duffy (@KaraDuffyCBS12) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaraDuffyCBS12/status/1063041775168831494?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Duffy was likewise on the scene Wednesday providing updates as the recount re-started, then stopped.
&#8220;RIGHT NOW: observers being seated at tabulation table. Looks like they&#8217;re gearing up to start recounting process at Palm Beach County center,&#8221; she tweeted. &#8220;Recount, redo! SOE says Palm Beach County #voting machines overheated (which explains the little/no activity yesterday) forcing another recount of about 175K early votes.&#8221;
&#8220;[M]achines back up &amp; running at #PalmBeachCounty tabulation center,&#8221; she posted later.
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RIGHT NOW: observers being seated at tabulation table. Looks like they&#8217;re gearing up to start recounting process at Palm Beach County center. <a href="https://t.co/vcyVCR3vLH">pic.twitter.com/vcyVCR3vLH</a>
&#8212; Kara Duffy (@KaraDuffyCBS12) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaraDuffyCBS12/status/1062359481647009799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Recount, redo! SOE says Palm Beach County <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/voting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#voting</a> machines overheated (which explains the little/no activity yesterday) forcing another recount of about 175K early votes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MidtermElections2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MidtermElections2018</a> <a href="https://t.co/hx9I3X9nlM">pic.twitter.com/hx9I3X9nlM</a>
&#8212; Kara Duffy (@KaraDuffyCBS12) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaraDuffyCBS12/status/1062640552062185472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
RIGHT NOW: machines back up &amp; running at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PalmBeachCounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PalmBeachCounty</a> tabulation center. This after some machines overheated. Supervisor said they lost day and a half worth of work due to issue. Must now redo, recount for about 175K early <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/votes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#votes</a> <a href="https://t.co/VXPsUWFy3l">pic.twitter.com/VXPsUWFy3l</a>
&#8212; Kara Duffy (@KaraDuffyCBS12) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaraDuffyCBS12/status/1062642192274128898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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But at some point that evening, the whole place shut down, leaving Duffy asking &#8220;Where is everyone!?&#8221;
As if the situation in Florida wasn&#8217;t messy enough, a Barack Obama-appointed Florida judge has just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38380/more-waiting-florida-judge-extends-deadline-hank-berrien">extended</a> the deadline to Saturday at 5 p.m. for voters whose votes weren&#8217;t tabulated due to signature problems.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38280/what-are-chances-recounts-will-swing-florida-james-barrett">reported</a> earlier this week, historical precedent indicates that both Republicans in the two big races will come out of the recounts seeing their victories confirmed:
<blockquote>
Heading into the recounts, Republicans Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott lead the two big Florida races for governor and U.S. Senate by counts of <a href="https://www.politico.com/election-results/2018/florida/">33,669 and 12,536</a>, respectively. So what are the chances that the recount will reverse the outcomes? According to the 26 elections that have experienced a recount in recent history, almost zero. In fact, the average number of total votes that actually changed from recounts of similar elections was just 311 votes. &#8230;
Citing the nonpartisan group FairVote, the [<a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article221506705.html">Miami Herald</a>] notes that between 2000 and 2016, out of the 4,687 statewide elections only 26 went to a recount &#8212; and the outcomes of only three of those 26 reversed. &#8220;The 2004 Washington governor&#8217;s race, the 2006 Vermont state auditor&#8217;s race and the 2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate race. The average swing in those three elections after the recounts? About 311 votes.&#8221;
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38377/bill-nelson-wont-overcome-rick-scott-report-says-hank-berrien">Bill Nelson Won&#8217;t Overcome Rick Scott, Report Says</a>

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