Sunday's letters: Buchanan, Steube thumb their noses at bipartisan debt ceiling deal

Buchanan, Steube stand up for frugality

I read Zac Anderson’s May 30 piece about Rep. Vern Buchanan taking a stance against raising the debt limit. Buchanan said in no uncertain terms that his vote would be no, and it was (“‘Enough is enough’: Congressmen Buchanan and Steube oppose debt limit deal,” May 30).

Buchanan, of Longboat Key, said that we can’t keep spending money that we don’t have. Attaboy, Vern! Stand up for your constituents.

Except for the four years of the Trump administration, when Buchanan voted in favor of adding $8 trillion to the national debt, without question.

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Buchanan backed a major tax cut for the rich, including himself, and the same day he bought a million-dollar yacht.

Celebration anyone?

And when COVID-19 came along Buchanan asked for and received millions to support his companies, even though he really didn’t need it.

Meanwhile, Rep. Greg Steube of Sarasota also opposed the bipartisan debt ceiling deal. He probably didn’t want to spend more taxpayer money either.

More: Congressman Greg Steube in 'good spirits' as he recovers from 25-foot fall

Unless he falls off a stepladder, is hospitalized and expects his salary and medical costs to be covered by the taxpayers.

Funny how that works, isn’t it?

John Vedral, Nokomis

Governor campaigning at our expense

I don’t like tax cheats who spend my money for things I don’t support. The supermajority in Tallahassee has given our governor a blank check for his presidential campaign at taxpayer expense.

When they represented the electorate, legislators made candidates quit to run for another office. But not Gov. Ron DeSantis.

While still being investigated in Texas for a million-dollar flight taking migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, DeSantis did it again, chartering two planes to fly immigrants from Texas to California.

With our tax dollars!

More: DeSantis makes surprise trip to border as he works to outflank Trump

When the governor picks a culture war with our state’s largest employer in our biggest industry, tourism, it is our tax dollars that pay for the court battles and the other debts that Disney assumed previously.

A Harvard lawyer, DeSantis knows when his policies are unconstitutional. His gerrymandered maps and attacks on our First Amendment rights to dress like we want, gather peacefully, read what we want and teach our children tolerance and the full history of our country cost time in court before they are overturned.

But not before the damage is done at the expense of Florida taxpayers.

Linda Richardson, Port Charlotte

‘Free State’ or ‘Dark State’?

Elena Komsky's excellent column on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “anti-woke” push should be a wake-up call to all Floridians (“Fla. ‘anti-woke’ push breeds division, hate,” June 8). This is not the state I moved to and loved in 1999.

The similarities between DeSantis’ restrictive, anti-democratic policies and the rise of Nazism and fascism are frightening. His narrow, discriminatory educational edicts will further erode Florida’s educational system and exacerbate teacher resignations.

Librarians as well are being forced to ban books or face vague retaliations. All of this plays into the hands of a willing, ignorant group of voters whose children will be even less educated and even more narrow-minded.

Is this DeSantis’ idea of a “Free State”? Maybe it’s time to change Florida’s motto from “The Sunshine State” to “The Dark State.”

Joan Martin, Bradenton

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bipartisan debt deal not good enough for Buchanan, Steube