Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), at one time lauded for his actions with regards to Covid-19, and then reprimanded as those same actions turned out to endanger Floridians, and suspected of cooking the Covid-19 numbers, had a position to fill … and let’s have the Miami Herald fill in the rest of the tale:
When Gov. Ron DeSantis needed to hire a data analyst, his staff picked a little-known Ohio sports blogger and Uber driver whose only relevant experience is spreading harmful conspiracy theories about COVID-19 on the Internet.
In his own words, Kyle Lamb of Columbus, Ohio, has few qualifications for the job at the state’s Office of Policy and Budget, which pays $40,000 per year.
“Fact is, I’m not an ‘expert.’ I’m not a doctor, epidemiologist, virologist or scientist,” Lamb wrote on a website for a subscribers-only podcast he hosts about the coronavirus. “I also don’t need to be. Experts don’t have all the answers, and we’ve learned that the hard way.”
Plucked from the obscurity of the blogosphere, Lamb, 40, broadcasts his lack of scientific training in his theories about the pandemic.
In frequent posts on Twitter and sports message boards, Lamb has said that masks don’t prevent the coronavirus from spreading; that lockdowns are ineffective; that hydroxychloroquine, a drug touted by President Donald Trump, can treat the virus; that COVID-19, which he said might be part of a Chinese “biowar,” is not more deadly than the flu; and that the virus isn’t dangerous for children to contract.
The same article notes that the position pays $40,000/year, which may explain why no one more qualified has filled it – there may have been a lack of applicants.
But it also speaks to the loathing for expertise exhibited by Republican leaders. Why?
If DeSantis dared to hire someone who actually knew what they were doing, he might be shown up. After all, the State under his leadership has not done as well as Republicans might fantasize that he’s done, often on top of the leader board for infections, although not at the moment – if you trust their numbers.
And, for a party of third-raters, it’s important not to be shown up. It will undermine future political plans if Governor DeSantis were known to have smarter people than himself working for him, because that’s not done in the party of the strong man. The strong man knows all and makes no mistakes.
Not like the Democrats, who work with experts and understand that their task is to take the recommendations of experts and turn them into palatable policy actions.
DeSantis is already on dangerous grounds, because he was elected purely because of a Trump endorsement in 2018, an obscure Representative who, prior to that endorsement, was considered an absurd long-shot. Since then he’s done little to separate himself from Trump.
The same Donald Trump who lost his own reelection effort recently, for those readers not paying attention. That endangers DeSantis.
Strong men have tender egos because they’re not all-knowing, and that myth is half their appeal for some voters. To hire in a mere data analyst who might contradict DeSantis is not tolerable, so, instead, offer the ill-paying job to someone who is a skeptic of current medical practices, knows nothing, and needs the money.
That’s how to guarantee loyalty and self-affirming reports. And it answers the questions of Professor Viswanath:
“It’s extremely disconcerting that you appoint somebody that has very limited technical qualifications and has made his agenda very clear,” Viswanath said. “At the end of the day, the price will be paid by the residents of Florida to these steps. So my question is, what is the end game here? Who is going to benefit from this?”
Why, Ron DeSantis, of course.
