A few days back, Politico, the foremost among Democrat media mouthpieces, carried an article by Matt Dixon that attempted to depict Florida governor Ron DeSantis as ungrateful and hypocritical.

The piece begins by claiming that DeSantis, despite being a persistent critic of Biden, still “likes one thing about the president: his wallet.”

Dixon dedicates highlights the following to make his case:

• Florida stands to benefit from billions of dollars in federal assistance in response to the devastating damage from Hurricane Ian.
• DeSantis requested Biden for an emergency declaration for all of Florida’s 67 counties, which Biden approved, freeing up federal money for counties devastated by Hurricane Ian.
• For the past two years, DeSantis’ administration received billions of dollars in federal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• DeSantis used pandemic fund used to pay for a wide range of non-pandemic-related programs, programs that Biden is critical of.
• DeSantis previously accepted billions of dollars in federal aid to fund high-profile spending items, despite Florida having a $20 billion budget surplus.
• DeSantis used interest from federal money totaling $12 million, to fund a migrant transportation program from Florida to Democratic strongholds such as Martha’s Vineyard.
• DeSantis used $200 million from the federal coronavirus funding to give Floridians a gas tax break in October.
• DeSantis used federal dollars to give teachers and police $1,000 bonuses.

The piece then reveals that nearly a decade ago, DeSantis as a congressman opposed billions of dollars in relief for Hurricane Sandy, citing unrelated provisions and unnecessary spending.

When matters have devolved to such ludicrousness, it is worth revisiting the fundamentals

When the Revolutionary War ended, George Washington received an offer to become king of the United States. But Washington rejected the overture and said that “I did not defeat King George III to become King George I.”

The founding fathers always wanted the U.S. to be a representative democracy which was defined by Abraham Lincoln as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

This means is citizens are the stakeholders and the owners of the government.

The citizens lend their power to a representative via their votes for a representative.  

The elected representatives do not own the power or the funds accrued from taxpayers meant for the constituency. The elected representatives are subordinates to the citizens.

This applies to each and every elected official within America from the president to the city counsel members.

Now for federalism.

This is achieved by cooperation, collaboration, and coordination between the federal government and the state governments.

The federal government has certain powers that are given to it by the Constitution and the 50 state governments have powers that are reserved for them. There are also powers that are shared by both the state and federal governments.

When the United States was first established in 1787 the country operated under the system of dual federalism whereby the federal government and the state governments functioned within their own spheres of influence. 

However beginning in 1937, the U.S. moved to cooperative federalism where the federal government exerts more and more influence in the affairs of the states. The state often has to rely on the federal government for help and aid.

In a democracy, citizens have an inherent right to be unsparingly critical of their subordinates, i.e., the elected representatives when they err. Even elected representatives have the right to be critical of each other.

However, it is the duty of the elected representatives in the federal and state government to set their personal differences aside at times and work together for the citizens. This is essential during a crisis.  

In a democracy, the news media also reports to the citizen, and must function as a government watchdog.

So what happens now?

The representatives who have been lent power by the citizen think that they own power. They look at citizens as subjects and themselves as rulers. They look upon political opponents as impediments to their supremacy and enemies.

Instead of becoming a watchdog against the powerful, the news media has become a lapdog for the Democrat party.

Consequently, Politico carries an article calling referring to taxpayers' money collected by the federal government as the president’s wallet, i.e., federal funds belonging to Biden.

They purposefully conflate a working relationship with a personal relationship. They attempt to portray DeSantis as a self-centered individual who only contacts friends in times of peril, but badmouths his benefactors during sunny times.

The article implies that since DeSantis is critical of Biden’s policies, he has no right to seek federal funds. 

The piece also implies that DeSantis should be grovelingly and personally grateful to Biden for doing his duty and providing federal support during Hurricane Ian, the COVID-19 pandemic, etc.

The piece complains that DeSantis used federal funds in areas other than their stated purpose.  

Well, as long as funds were spent on the citizens, DeSantis has committed no offense.

It is hilarious that the Democrat media are suddenly concerned about government spending.

What about the claim that DeSantis voted against federal aid for Hurricane Sandy but is seeking funds for Florida?

The Sandy relief cost $50 billion. It dedicated funds for future mitigation efforts. It raised the debt-ceiling deal by another $9.7 billion with no plan to offset the spending with cuts elsewhere which is not fiscally responsible. To sum it up, like all Democrat bills, the relief bill focused on everything besides its stated objective and its name. It intended to misuse the crisis to further its far-left agenda.

Politico conveniently doesn’t mention that DeSantis has on occasion rejected federal funds when his state didn’t need them and used state funds instead.

In a odd way, the hit piece, despite its intent to cause political damage, end up portraying DeSantis as a capable governor and even a principled congressman.

As governor, during a crisis, DeSantis places his differences asides and works with Biden. He is fiscally responsible, resulting in a state budget surplus. He astutely funds state programs by rerouting federal funds or using interest from federal funds. Unlike the Democrats, DeSantis doesn’t spend the money he doesn’t have on items the public doesn’t need.

As a congressman, he wasn’t deceived by the name of the bill and voted 'no' based on its content.

The Politico piece is an obscenity in its tone, content, and blatant sycophancy of Biden.

As always, the self-righteous are devoid of self-awareness, or else someone on the editorial board of Politico would have not only rejected the article but have asked the author to re-read the Constitution, the tenets of democracy, and the principles of federalism.  

It reveals the mindset of the Washington Democrat Establishment that thinks of Democrat leaders as the rulers of the country.

They expect state governors and citizens feel 'much obliged' that a Democrat-led federal government is doing its job.

They are confusing a duty with a favor.

Image: Mikhanbd via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.