Unless You Do
On his way out the door, Kevin McCarthy had nothing but praise for everyone— including the Democrats— except for one person: Matt Gaetz. He was still fuming and bitter towards the Florida Congressman, and still hoping for revenge. He seems certain the the House Ethics Committee will deal with Gaetz satisfactorily. Yesterday he said he is criminally insane. The rest of the Florida news yesterday was… better.
First off, Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group working to enshrining abortion rights in the state Constitution, surpassed the required number of signatures they needed to get their initiative on the ballot. Needed: 891,523 verified voter signatures by Feb. 1, 2024. As of yesterday, they had collected more than 1.4 million. They still have to get by the very partisan, very right wing state Supreme Court, which could screw them over and say “sue me.” And even if the Court allows them onto the ballot, 50% won’t do. They need 60% of the vote.
A similar initiative just passed on Ohio but only garnered 57.1%. The threshold there, though, was just 50%. Both states have moribund Democratic Parties but Florida is slightly bluer than Ohio. Ohio’s voter registration breaks down like this:
Unaffiliated voters- 6,196,547
Registered Democrats- 947,027
Registered Republicans- 836,080
Ohio’s PVI is R+6
Florida’s PVI is R+3 and the voter registration breaks down this way:
Registered Republicans- 5,158,753
Registered Democrats- 4,460,831
Unaffiliated voters- 3,607,279
Minor parties- 313,272
The proposed amendment reads “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” Viability is usually considered 6 months.
Meanwhile, the head of the Florida Republican Party, rapist Christian Ziegler is offering to step down for a $2 million payoff. Jacob Ogles reported that “The demand comes as the political leader remains under investigation for rape and involved in a scandal making national headlines… [O]ne Republican Party of Florida official said the party is in no position to offer Ziegler any money. Another was skeptical any request would be entertained, because the party already set a process in motion to force Ziegler out of power.”
Overtures of a buyout came days ahead of a scheduled meeting of the Republican Party of Florida’s executive board. Party officials on Sunday are expected to launch an investigation of Ziegler and ultimately to impose sanctions, which could include Ziegler’s expulsion from the party.
In the meantime, the scandal continues to make national headlines, paralyzing the state party and embarrassing those previously allied to the political leader.
…Ziegler and his wife, Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler, admitted to police they previously engaged in a threesome with the woman [accusing the male Ziegler of rape]. Digital communications between Ziegler and the accuser indicate they intended to meet for another three-way sexual encounter, per investigation documents already made public. The accuser told Christian Ziegler she was no longer interested when Bridget Ziegler could not attend.
The Zieglers have been on the front line of culture war battles in Florida politics. Bridget Ziegler, a co-founder of Moms For Liberty, stood alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis when he signed a legislation decried by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, barring teachers from including anything about sexual orientation or gender identity in classroom instruction.
The Sarasota County School Board on Tuesday approved a resolution calling for Bridget Ziegler to resign, and she has already lost a job with the Leadership Institute, a conservative think tank based in Washington.
But Christian Ziegler rebuffed numerous calls to leave his post as state Chair, including from DeSantis, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, the entire Florida Cabinet and leaders of the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature.
The state party’s constitution allows a process for punishing its elected leadership. Some executive members planning to attend hope to force Ziegler’s exit from the party as soon as Monday.
But others say the party’s constitution sets out a more lengthy process that could require additional meetings. Those would need to be scheduled as the holiday season approaches and the state’s Legislative Session looms in January.
Party officials acknowledged they are still exploring all allowable options, and that an ouster could happen quickly or take time. What officials legally determine could impact how much leverage Ziegler brings if he insists on being bought out before the end of his term.
The female Ziegler, Bridget, who runs an anti-LGBTQ hate group— interesting since she was having sex with another woman— hasn’t set a price for disappearing. In Monday, the Sarasota County School Board voted 4-1 in favor of Bridget stepping down. The one vote in opposition was her own and she refuses to resign. Only the governor of Florida can fire her and there are strong suspicions that DeSantis has had sex with her and has refused to move against her in fear that their liaison will be revealed.
Trump and his allies like Matt Gaetz have remained mum and Ziegler interprets that as tacit approval of his conduct. Bannon and Corey Lewandowsky have advised the male Ziegler to stay put and become a "MAGA hero" by not resigning. Team Trump just wants to make DeSantis feel as much discomfort as they can give him. And remember, Trump Lewandowsky and Gaetz have all been credibly accused in multiple sex scandals... and Trump is a confirmed rapist. You can tell from the cap he wears.
