"OUR GOVERNMENT IS a government of laws, not a government of men," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared last August, standing at a podium in Tampa with a phalanx of armed officers behind him. "That means that we govern ourselves based on a constitutional system." The occasion was a triumphant press conference announcing his suspension of Andrew Warren, an elected county prosecutor who, DeSantis alleged, had put himself above the law after the Supreme Court rolled back abortion rights by signing a pledge not to prosecute related cases. That evening, DeSantis appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show to squeeze every ounce of publicity out of the affair. "There's a lot of line prosecutors in that office that are very happy that this was done," DeSantis boasted. "We took it seriously, we did a thorough review, and we pulled the trigger today."
DeSantis, in his telling, had removed a tyrant to benefit the less powerful. But what happened is a stark example of the opposite: an autocratic governor overturning the will of the people to punish his enemies for political gain. It was DeSantis who had placed himself above the law.
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In the Name of the Mother - How Shyamala Gopalan Harris raised a presidential contender
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WHEN IN DROUGHT
This obscure yet adaptable grain could be a healthy staple for a warming planet.
BAD HABITS
A spate of recent horror movies recycle tired tropes about nuns-and reveal society's ongoing discomfort with independent women.
Taking the Fifth For a glimpse of the Supreme Court after a second Trump term, look at the radical circuit court that's already driving America to the right.
Imagine obamacare is dead and millions of Americans have lost health coverage.
THE ARCHITECT
TRUMP WANTS TO BE KING. RUSS VOUGHT HAS A PLAN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Losing Faith
As an evangelical leader, I enticed lawmakers and federal judges to adopt a conservative Christian agenda. Donald Trump’s rise proved how wrong I was.
GOD'S COUNTRY
These Christian nationalists have a plan to take over Americafrom small towns to the highest court in the land.
