Ron DeSantis administration officials solicit campaign cash from lobbyists

[robosmith]

Ron DeSantis administration officials solicit campaign cash from lobbyists

Quote

Officials who work for Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration — not his campaign — have been sending text messages to Florida lobbyists soliciting political contributions for DeSantis' presidential bid, a breach of traditional norms that has raised ethical and legal questions and left many here in the state capital shocked.

NBC News reviewed text messages from four DeSantis administration officials, including those directly in the governor's office and with leadership positions in state agencies. They requested the recipient of the message contribute to the governor’s campaign through a specific link that appeared to track who is giving as part of a “bundle” program.

“The bottom line is that the administration appears to be keeping tabs on who is giving, and are doing it using state staff,” a longtime Florida lobbyist said. “You are in a prisoner’s dilemma. They are going to remain in power. We all understand that.” 

Dethantis mimicking Trump's highly unethical behavior. Lock him up! 

[Rebound]

9 minutes ago, Contrarian said:

Doing the work I see, securing that MAGA path for Joe. 

Stage 1: Attack DeSantis so Trump can win the Republican primary and meet with Joe in the final because Trump is a weaker candidate says Democratic think thanks. 
Stage 2: Trump goes against Joe Biden:

• a) Joe Biden wins (=) the country is stuck with a 81 year old = 86 year old, kids will look up to him as a role model, which is not important for party domgatics. 
• b) Trump wins the election and this whole forum (=) will be filled by @robosmith @Rebound and all the anti-DeSantis obsessed fans will say: "Fascism is here, Trump won, we want in Canada". 

@herbie can take you, I think he said he lives up north and he flips houses too, or I might have read that wrong after retirement, so that is good, maybe he can find you some property there, in Northern Canada. 

Plan B: Republicans vote for candidates who are not overtly corrupt.  
 

It’s not a bad plan. Seems like the decent thing to do.  Trump and DeSantis are not the only two candidates.  DeSantis is not by any means the reasonable alternative to Donald Trump. He is an extremist. 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Rebound

[Rebound]

1 hour ago, Contrarian said:

Who is an extremist? DeSantis?

Name the top 3 PERFECT Republicans that can win in the current climate.

Who does @Rebound sees as the Republican Reasonable Future? 

I am not a Republican, but there are other Republicans who have declared their candidacy for President. They get little attention because they don’t break laws and do outrageous corrupt things like ban books and attack corporations who disagree with one of their policies. 

[Rebound]

25 minutes ago, Contrarian said:

The right can not survive without a degree of populism, which is the reality and the market. You can not go to battle with Chris Christie or Kasich, finding that a certain combination between establishment and a bit of populism seems to be key.

Most of the things that DeSantis says are for show, please, he is trying to fish from MAGA, in my opinion. Is just a game brother, at the end, on your side, they only have 1 man, they did not bother for competition. I don't even think they will hold a debate. 

I don’t care about their games, but I’m pretty sure that using government staffers to solicit political contributions is illegal. 

[robosmith]

13 hours ago, Contrarian said:

Who is an extremist? DeSantis?

Name the top 3 PERFECT Republicans that can win in the current climate.

Who does @Rebound sees as the Republican Reasonable Future? 

No candidate is "perfect" and you just reveal dishonesty by suggesting that is necessary.

There are several reasonable R candidates already announced or on the verge.

1. Asa Hutchinson

2. Chris Sununu

3. Glenn Youngkin or Chris Christy

12 hours ago, Contrarian said:

The right can not survive without a degree of populism, which is the reality and the market. You can not go to battle with Chris Christie or Kasich, finding that a certain combination between establishment and a bit of populism seems to be key.

Most of the things that DeSantis says are for show, please, he is trying to fish from MAGA, in my opinion. Is just a game brother, at the end, on your side, they only have 1 man, they did not bother for competition. I don't even think they will hold a debate. 

Dethantis signing 6 week abortion ban makes him an extremist and kills his chances in the general election.

[robosmith]

8 hours ago, Contrarian said:

I am on a phone now, it's only an article from the party client media, <-- NBC?! Forgive the satire, however you get my point.

I want to see some centrist or right wing sources to confirm this, or some real investigations and then we'll talk.

Ever hear of the Hatch Act? Maybe it's not illegal in FL State, but it's definitely illegal for Federal employees and at least highly ethical for ANY government employees.

https://osc.gov/Documents/Outreach and Training/Handouts/A Guide to the Hatch Act for Federal Employees.pdf

 

[robosmith]

How Ron DeSantis found a home in Florida’s swamp

Quote

Ron DeSantis promised to drain the swamp in Tallahassee. Instead, over more than four years as governor, he has reconfigured the swamp to suit his political needs and shielded it from Florida’s famous sunshine.

In anticipation of his 2024 presidential bid, he pushed the Legislature to change Florida's resign-to-run law. He revised state policy so he could transfer $80 million in campaign cash to a federal political committee. And just after his official announcement last month, his administration pressured state legislators and lobbyists to aid his presidential campaign while they awaited his decisions on pet projects in the budget.

His use of state power to aid his presidential ambitions hasn’t come as a surprise to Florida political insiders who have watched him use the tools of governance to advance his agenda and ideology.

Now, as DeSantis campaigns for the presidency, he’s renewing his vow to drain a swamp — this time in Washington — and is trying to convince conservative voters that he is better suited than former President Donald Trump to shrink government and make it more accountable to the public. 

 

[CdnFox]

On 6/2/2023 at 12:54 AM, robosmith said:

Ever hear of the Hatch Act? Maybe it's not illegal in FL State, but it's definitely illegal for Federal employees and at least highly ethical for ANY government employees.

https://osc.gov/Documents/Outreach and Training/Handouts/A Guide to the Hatch Act for Federal Employees.pdf

 

So... not illegal for Desantis then?

[robosmith]

2 minutes ago, CdnFox said:

So... not illegal for Desantis then?

Do you want your governor conscripting state employees for HIS CAMPAIGNS?

Don't you think that would be very unfair to candidates who cannot order state employees to work on their campaigns?

[Rebound]

25 minutes ago, robosmith said:

Do you want your governor conscripting state employees for HIS CAMPAIGNS?

Don't you think that would be very unfair to candidates who cannot order state employees to work on their campaigns?

The former governor of New York was just fined nearly $400,000 because he brought his New York State security detail with him to Presidential campaign events. So that nonsense certainly isn’t legal in New York and almost surely Florida state law prohibits officials from misappropriating state employees and resources for personal use. 

[robosmith]

4 minutes ago, Rebound said:

The former governor of New York was just fined nearly $400,000 because he brought his New York State security detail with him to Presidential campaign events. So that nonsense certainly isn’t legal in New York and almost surely Florida state law prohibits officials from misappropriating state employees and resources for personal use. 

DeSantis has been busy getting the FL legislature to change laws to aid his campaign. There was a law requiring him to resign as governor in order to run for POTUS, that he got repealed. And another law was changed which allowed him to transfer his left over campaign funds to a Federal PAC to aid his campaign for POTUS. So even if there is a law against him conscripting state employees, he might be able to get that repealed, given his sway with the FL legislature.

[reason10]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:06 PM, robosmith said:

Ron DeSantis administration officials solicit campaign cash from lobbyists

Dethantis mimicking Trump's highly unethical behavior. Lock him up! 

As does EVERY SINGLE GOOSE STEPPING DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE IN EXISTENCE.

[robosmith]

12 minutes ago, Rebound said:

The former governor of New York was just fined nearly $400,000 because he brought his New York State security detail with him to Presidential campaign events. So that nonsense certainly isn’t legal in New York and almost surely Florida state law prohibits officials from misappropriating state employees and resources for personal use. 

 

1 minute ago, reason10 said:

As does EVERY SINGLE GOOSE STEPPING DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE IN EXISTENCE.

You missed the FACT that it's illegal and charged in other states. Duh.

In FACT IDK if it's illegal in FL and have NOT stated it is more than highly UNETHICAL.

[reason10]

Just now, robosmith said:

 

You missed the FACT that it's illegal and charged in other states. Duh.

In FACT IDK if it's illegal in FL and have NOT stated it is more than highly UNETHICAL.

FCK THE OTHER STATES, you mor0n.

Florida has the best economy, the best schools and the best state government.

AND YOU GOOSE STEPPING NAZIS HAVE NO FCKING ROOM TO TALK WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT'S ETHICAL OR NOT, SINCE YOU VOTED FOR ADOLF HITLER'S GRANDSON, UNELECTED JOE.

[Rebound]

3 minutes ago, reason10 said:

FCK THE OTHER STATES, you mor0n.

Florida has the best economy, the best schools and the best state government.

AND YOU GOOSE STEPPING NAZIS HAVE NO FCKING ROOM TO TALK WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT'S ETHICAL OR NOT, SINCE YOU VOTED FOR ADOLF HITLER'S GRANDSON, UNELECTED JOE.

Let’s talk about Florida law then:

”MISUSE OF PUBLIC POSITION.—No public officer, employee of an agency, or local government attorney shall corruptly use or attempt to use his or her official position or any property or resource which may be within his or her trust, or perform his or her official duties, to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for himself, herself, or others. ”

 

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0112/Sections/0112.313.html#:~:text=OF PUBLIC POSITION.-,—No public officer%2C employee of an agency%2C or local,or exemption for himself%2C herself%2C

[CdnFox]

1 hour ago, robosmith said:

Do you want your governor conscripting state employees for HIS CAMPAIGNS?

Don't you think that would be very unfair to candidates who cannot order state employees to work on their campaigns?

Sure.  But not illegal apparently.  It would certainly be illegal in canada. 

thing is  if something is legal and it's going to give you an edge then they're likely going to do it. Can't really fault them for that. I'm wondering why it isn't illegal. Apparently it is federally

[Rebound]

8 hours ago, CdnFox said:

Sure.  But not illegal apparently.  It would certainly be illegal in canada. 

thing is  if something is legal and it's going to give you an edge then they're likely going to do it. Can't really fault them for that. I'm wondering why it isn't illegal. Apparently it is federally

It is definitely illegal in Florida:

”MISUSE OF PUBLIC POSITION.—No public officer, employee of an agency, or local government attorney shall corruptly use or attempt to use his or her official position or any property or resource which may be within his or her trust, or perform his or her official duties, to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for himself, herself, or others. ”

 

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0112/Sections/0112.313.html#:~:text=OF PUBLIC POSITION.-,—No public officer%2C employee of an agency%2C or local,or exemption for himself%2C herself%2C

 

”An employee of the state or any political subdivision may not participate in any political campaign for an elective office while on duty.”

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0100-0199/0104/Sections/0104.31.html

Edited June 16, 2023 by Rebound

[CdnFox]

5 hours ago, Rebound said:

It is definitely illegal in Florida:

”MISUSE OF PUBLIC POSITION.—No public officer, employee of an agency, or local government attorney shall corruptly use or attempt to use his or her official position or any property or resource which may be within his or her trust, or perform his or her official duties, to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for himself, herself, or others. ”

 

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0112/Sections/0112.313.html#:~:text=OF PUBLIC POSITION.-,—No public officer%2C employee of an agency%2C or local,or exemption for himself%2C herself%2C

 

”An employee of the state or any political subdivision may not participate in any political campaign for an elective office while on duty.”

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0100-0199/0104/Sections/0104.31.html

Well - you shouldn't need me to tell you that law is in no way shape or form what you claim it is

What part of what they did is "Corrupt" as it's defined in the law? Remember - they need to take the action 'corruptly'.  If they can PROVE that what was being said is 'you'll get this contract if you make a donation' then fine but they are NOT saying that happened. And that law hinges entirely on the 'corrupt' part.  That's a relatively high bar.

ANd further - raising money is not a political 'campaign'. Desantis wasn't even running when this happened.

If it was illegal they'd have been charged.  Unless further evidence we havent' seen comes to light it does not appear to be illegal apparently. maybe some new info will be found and they will be charged later or something but it doesn't look that way right now.

[Rebound]

1 hour ago, CdnFox said:

Well - you shouldn't need me to tell you that law is in no way shape or form what you claim it is

What part of what they did is "Corrupt" as it's defined in the law? Remember - they need to take the action 'corruptly'.  If they can PROVE that what was being said is 'you'll get this contract if you make a donation' then fine but they are NOT saying that happened. And that law hinges entirely on the 'corrupt' part.  That's a relatively high bar.

ANd further - raising money is not a political 'campaign'. Desantis wasn't even running when this happened.

If it was illegal they'd have been charged.  Unless further evidence we havent' seen comes to light it does not appear to be illegal apparently. maybe some new info will be found and they will be charged later or something but it doesn't look that way right now.

Raising money for your political campaign is not a government function.  
 

My understanding is that the crime here is that his paid government staffers solicited campaign contributions by sending text messages to donors. I would tend to think this would fall into the category of, “Don’t do this again; you’ve been warned,” and not, “We are prosecuting.” But if the governor insists that his staff continue to do it, then it’s a violation.  
 

Is it a “corrupt” practice? It is certainly corrupt in the sense that he is using people on the state payroll to his PERSONAL benefit. It may also be corrupt if donors believe that they are ingesting themselves with the senior state staff, which may benefit them, if they donate.  

Edited June 16, 2023 by Rebound

[robosmith]

14 hours ago, CdnFox said:

Sure.  But not illegal apparently.  It would certainly be illegal in canada. 

thing is  if something is legal and it's going to give you an edge then they're likely going to do it. Can't really fault them for that. I'm wondering why it isn't illegal. Apparently it is federally

I didn't say it wasn't illegal, I said I don't know whether it is, and that DeSantis has been busy changing FL laws to benefit HIS CAMPAIGN for POTUS.

That is corrupt, whether it is illegal or not.

2 hours ago, CdnFox said:

Well - you shouldn't need me to tell you that law is in no way shape or form what you claim it is

What part of what they did is "Corrupt" as it's defined in the law? Remember - they need to take the action 'corruptly'.  If they can PROVE that what was being said is 'you'll get this contract if you make a donation' then fine but they are NOT saying that happened. And that law hinges entirely on the 'corrupt' part.  That's a relatively high bar.

ANd further - raising money is not a political 'campaign'. Desantis wasn't even running when this happened.

If it was illegal they'd have been charged.  Unless further evidence we havent' seen comes to light it does not appear to be illegal apparently. maybe some new info will be found and they will be charged later or something but it doesn't look that way right now.

Corruption is using OFFICIAL POWER to gain an UNFAIR advantage over other candidates. Duh.

[CdnFox]

21 minutes ago, robosmith said:

I didn't say it wasn't illegal

I didn't say you did. Pay attention.

Quote

That is corrupt, whether it is illegal or not.

No, by definition if it's legal it's not corrupt. It may be wrong or immoral in your OpIniOn  but it's not corrupt if it's allowed under the law.

Quote

Corruption is using OFFICIAL POWER to gain an UNFAIR advantage over other candidates. Duh.

No, not really. The incumbent always has an unfair advantage  - they can announce spending, they can fly on teh gov't dime etc etc.

Corruption is something else.

By the way - you know that every time you say 'duh' it makes it look like you're kind of an !diot right? Like a zombie or something. It's not a good look. 

 

[robosmith]

1 hour ago, CdnFox said:

I didn't say you did. Pay attention.

No, by definition if it's legal it's not corrupt. It may be wrong or immoral in your OpIniOn  but it's not corrupt if it's allowed under the law.

^BULLSHIT. The law is FAR FROM the definition of morality nor corruption.

㊙️ the law is often BOUGHT.

Notice that legality is NOT MENTIONED in the definition:

Quote

corrupt

1 of 2

verb

cor·rupt kə-ˈrəpt 

corrupted; corrupting; corrupts

Synonyms of corrupt

transitive verb

1

a: to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions

Officials were corrupted by greed.

was accused of corrupting the youth

also : BRIBE

b: to degrade with unsound principles or moral values

Some fear the merger will corrupt the competitive marketplace.

2

: ROT, SPOIL

The fruits were transported without being corrupted.

3

: to subject (a person) to corruption of blood

4

: to alter from the original or correct form or version

The file was corrupted.

intransitive verb

1

a: to become tainted or rotten

leaving the bodies to corrupt on the field

b

: to become morally debased

2

: to cause disintegration or ruin

corrupter noun or less commonly corruptor 

kə-ˈrəp-tər 

corruptibility 

kə-ˌrəp-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

 nouncorruptible 

kə-ˈrəp-tə-bəl 

 adjectivecorruptibly 

kə-ˈrəp-tə-blē 

 adverb

corrupt

2 of 2

adjective

1

a

: morally degenerate and perverted : DEPRAVED

b: characterized by improper conduct (such as bribery or the selling of favors)

corrupt judges

2

: PUTRID, TAINTED

3

: adulterated or debased by change from an original or correct condition

a corrupt version of the text

corruptly 

kə-ˈrəp(t)-lē 

 adverb corruptness 

kə-ˈrəp(t)-nəs  noun

1 hour ago, CdnFox said:

No, not really. The incumbent always has an unfair advantage  - they can announce spending, they can fly on teh gov't dime etc etc.

The Hatch Act (and others cited) says legitimate campaign resources CANNOT BE PUBLIC funds.

1 hour ago, CdnFox said:

Corruption is something else.

By the way - you know that every time you say 'duh' it makes it look like you're kind of an !diot right? Like a zombie or something. It's not a good look. 

 

No, it means you are the ldiot cause I have to point out the OBVIOUS TO YOU.

[CdnFox]

5 minutes ago, robosmith said:

^BULLSHIT. The law is FAR FROM the definition of morality nor corruption.

 

Oh - sorry, i forgot you're retarded. My bad.

Quote

 the law is often BOUGHT.

And?

Quote

Notice that legality is NOT MENTIONED in the definition:

Legality is not mentioned in the law. LOLOLOL  Ok kid Have you checked for updates today?

Quote

The Hatch Act (and others cited) says legitimate campaign resources CANNOT BE PUBLIC funds.

These would be private funds.

You really arent' very good at this.