Florida Republicans are now distancing themselves from shit they helped stir

Just about every politician took to Twitter to condemn the violence, including the ones who literally inspired these lunatics in the first place.

Florida Republicans are now distancing themselves from shit they helped stir
PHOTO BY JEREMY REPER

For the first time in 220 years there won’t be a peaceful transition of power, as hoards of Trump supporters-turned terrorists fought with law enforcement officers and broke into the nation’s Capitol Wednesday afternoon. Just about every politician took to Twitter to condemn the violence, including the ones who literally inspired these lunatics in the first place.

Plenty of Florida Republicans, who just days prior either joined baseless lawsuits to overturn the election results or selfishly announced they would vote against certifying Joe Biden’s victory for no reason other than to score points with Trump's deranged base, were among these politicians asking the hoards of QAnon followers, white supremacists, and other fringe far-right groups to stop ripping apart federal buildings. 

Notably, there was Sen. Rick Scott, who earlier today said he would “likely” not certify the election results despite Mitch McConnell saying he should.“Thank you to the Capitol Police officers who protect us and our institutions every day,” tweeted Scott. “And thank you to all law enforcement working to keep people safe in DC. Everyone has a right to peacefully protest. No one has a right to commit violence. What happened today at the Capitol is disgraceful and un-American. It is not what our country stands for.”

Then there’s Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican who let it be known that one of his first acts as a U.S. congressman would be to vote against certifying the electoral results, tweeted: “Americans have the right to peacefully protest & demand their government works for them—that doesn’t mean we resort to violence. Rule of law must stand during our nation’s brightest & darkest hours & that includes right now. We are better than this. There is no place for anarchy.” 

Similarly we have Rep. Brian Mast, a Stuart Republican who just three days ago said he wouldn’t certify the election results for seemingly no reason other than out of spite, tweeted: “Attacking our Capitol and the selfless law enforcement officers defending it is as unpatriotic and appalling as it gets. The people who are doing that must stop so we can return to our democratic process!”

Other feckless Florida politicians who took to Twitter today to distance themselves from their own burning outhouse, include Mario Diaz-Balart, Matt Gaetz, Kat Cammack, Neal Dunn, Pam Bondi, and Michael Waltz.

Over the last month, every one of these politicians, in some way or another, made the point that the 2020 election was stolen, despite zero evidence, tossed lawsuits and pleas from their own party to stop before someone gets hurt or killed

None of this is surprising. For weeks, Trump supporters said they would do this, and then they did. And, now there’s a photo of a deranged QAnon shaman standing at the podium in the Senate chamber, which is arguably the most fitting image for the modern Republican party. 


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Colin Wolf

Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent company, Chava Communications.
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