Most Florida Republicans vote against lowering health insurance costs; DeSantis wants more of them in Congress; but at least Trump may get a better shower

You can't make this stuff up. This is your representative democracy at work

If the cost of health care insurance is lowered soon, it will be no thanks to most of Florida’s Republican congressional delegation.

The U.S. House voted yesterday to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies to reduce the cost of medical care, but only one member of the G.O.P.’s Florida delegation voted with the majority.

Overall, 17 Republicans defied Speaker Mike Johnson and joined Democrats in approving the legislation on a 230-196 vote that now goes to the Senate.

But Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Miami was the only Republican from Florida voting “yes.” All the others voted in lockstep against lowering insurance bills.

So, why was Salazar the outlier? She explained her vote on Twitter (currently known as X):

“Our district has one of the highest enrollment rates in the nation, and without them, thousands face higher premiums or possibly no coverage at all. This isn’t partisan. It’s human.”

In other words, had she not switched, she would have been lynched. Politically speaking.

Which is how representative democracy is supposed to work, I suppose.

In the same week that Congress reconvened and this vote took place, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he plans to call a special session of the state legislature in April to further gerrymander Florida’s congressional districts to try to squeeze out a few more Republican-leaning districts.

Just what we need: More representation in Congress from people who don’t care about the welfare of Floridians.

Currently, Florida has 28 members in Congress. Twenty of them are Republicans from congressional districts specifically mapped out to favor Republicans.

Here’s the math:

That means that 71 percent of the Florida congressional delegation is Republican in a state in which only 41 percent of voters are registered as members of the G.O.P.

Why is DeSantis, a lame duck, doing this? Well, for one thing, he’s following orders from Donald Trump, who has insisted that every red state redraw its districts so Republicans won’t lose control of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections.

How long do you imagine it would be before a Democratic-controlled Congress impeached Trump? It might be measured in minutes.

So, Trump is running scared and he’s calling upon his minions to bail him out. DeSantis no doubt is counting on something good happening if he successfully follows Trump’s orders.

Although this could all backfire.

In order to create more G.O.P.-leaning districts, you have to move Republican voters into Democratic-leaning districts, which will dilute Republican strongholds. It could blow up in DeSantis’s face.

Then there’s the small problem that political gerrymandering is unconstitutional in Florida.

But while all this was playing out in the Sunshine State, the House of Representatives got down to the serious work of Congress.

Its first new bill up: Ensuring Donald Trump gets a better shower.

I kid you not.

It’s the “Rich People Showerhead Bill.”

Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico explains it all in this video that I just had to share.

Yeah, try as I might, sometimes it’s hard to be cynical enough about the state of our politics.

J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press, a journalist, and award-winning author. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida.

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