Ron DeSantis clearly wants to have his own country, where he is el caudillo, the guy in charge of everything. Now that he has a supine supermajority in the Legislature and has named the majority on the Florida Supreme Court, what else does he need? His own army!
Never willing to say no to DeSantis, the Legislature appropriated millions for the governor to have a state guard (in addition to the National Guard, which is under federal control).
But that was not good enough for Ron. He wanted his Guard to be combat-ready. So he hired a private company to teach his Guard how to use weapons and explosives and to prepare for urban warfare.
The Orlando Sentinel reports:
The Florida company trains police and military members on tactical shooting, explosives and urban combat and is owned by a former Army green beret who supports the Republican governor’s presidential campaign. The governor, the State Guard and the Florida Department of Military Affairs, which oversees the agreement, didn’t respond to questions about the training services.
The state’s civilian force was initially sold as a unit that would help Florida’s overworked National Guard respond to emergencies within the state. Since then, its scope has been expanded to allow the state guard to respond to emergencies anywhere in the country, and some members have been granted the ability to make arrests and carry weapons….
In promotional videos, Stronghold SOF Solutions highlights training that teaches individuals how to use drones, explosives and precision shooting. The company, based in Destin with a training facility in Defuniak Springs, touts having trained various special forces units, including Army Rangers, and police officers. Its facilities include a shoot house, various firing ranges, an airfield and a targetry.
If DeSantis can’t be President, at least he will have his own combat-ready army.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Here goes another $1.2 million dollars of tax dollars down the drain to fund Ron’s private militia. DeSantis is turning Florida into the banana republic of “strong man Ron.” He wants to be able to send out his own publicly funded enforcers any time he feels persecuted or misunderstood. Florida needs to dump this ‘wantabee’ dictator. He has no talent, no skill except for how to persecute and scapegoat those that disagree with him.
It’s all about Rhonda Santis’s ego. She of the go-go boots.
Go-go boots and elevated heels. Needs his own army.
Talk about a whole lot of basic insecurity about his masculinity! I wonder, was he bullied on the playground as a kid? Trump has this problem as well, and it manifests as extreme pugnaciousness and vindictiveness. in both of these guys.
A necessary correction: The state National Guards are under federal control ONLY when they have been called into national service. (Since the Constitution refers to this explicitly, I feel a little weird having to point it out.) Otherwise, it is a state organization answerable to the respective governors.
DeSantis is an almost comical little martinet who is clearly fascism-curious. To date, the courts have been pretty good at reminding him that federal law and the Constitution are the supreme law of the land. But it is the nature of would-be Mussolinis to act out their fantasies.
“. . . he is el caudillo.”
You have the wrong ‘c’ word in Spanish. It should read “he is el cojudo.”
You made me look that up.
I was impressed by the use of that word caudillo. That’s exactly what DeSantis and Trump aspire to. They want to be strongmen leaders like Mussolini and Peron.
Duane, you are the Spanish teacher so I defer to your superior knowledge.
But….
“A caudillo is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation of caudillo, though it is often used interchangeably with “warlord” and “strongman”. Wikipedia”
Strongman, chief warlord, all convey the power and authority a caudillo assumes. DeSantis would love to have that power and authority but, thanks to our system of governance, he doesn’t, even if he is trying his best, which will come up far short, to be one.
A good translation of cojudo is a prick, bastard, asshole of limited mental capabilities. No hay duda-¡Que cojudo es!
Duane,
“Cojudo” works too:
“English Translation of “COJUDO” | Collins Spanish-English Dictionary
7 days ago — cretin (informal) (offensive) ⧫ stupid prick (vulgar). Copyright © by HarperCollins.
Nazi stormtroopers!
Always suspicious, I think Deranged DeSantis is not planning to step down when his current term ends in January 2027. He wants to be a leader for life, if not the United States, then Florida. DD may be more dangerous than TT. And that’s saying a lot.
Unless he has his puppet legislature change the state’s constitution, DD terms out and cannot run for governor again, for at least four years.
I read this morning that Putin isn’t planning to end the war in Ukraine until after the results are in for the US 2024 election. If Traitor Trump wins, Putin’s war will continue. If Biden wins, that war may end.
More prove that our traitor is allied with the likes of Putin in Russia and Kim in North Korea.
Knowing that the state legislature rubber stamps anything DeSantis proposes, I think the legislature may very well change the law so that DeSantis and his band of kleptocrats can run again. It is also becoming harder for Democrats to win in Florida since its notoriety has attracted right wing extremists from other states.