Analysis: Should Florida lower its flags to honor Rush Limbaugh?
And that blended legacy for Limbaugh has led some within the state to query whether or not Limbaugh is the type of one that ought to be honored with flags being lowered to half-staff.
State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) is main that cost.
“The American flag should not be used and cannot be used as a political prop by Governor DeSantis,” she stated on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday morning. “But what he is doing is bending over backwards to honor a radio host who spent his entire career talking hate speech and talking bigotry and division and conspiracy theories. And lowering our flag should be a symbol of unity not division, raising our standards, not lowering our standards.”
Asked instantly by CNN’s John Berman Tuesday about her plans for 2022, Fried stated this: “We’re certainly looking into it, but again it’s becoming clearer every single day that we need to make sure that Governor DeSantis is a one-term governor and that we end this hatred in our state in 2022.”
Putting the apparent political motivations apart, the talk over whether or not Limbaugh is eligible to be honored with flags lowered to half-staff is definitely fairly attention-grabbing.
“The Governor shall adopt a protocol on flag display. The protocol must provide guidelines for the proper display of the state flag and for the lowering of the state flag to half-staff on appropriate occasions, such as on holidays and upon the death of high-ranking state officials, uniformed law enforcement and fire service personnel, and prominent citizens.”
Fried — and mayors in a number of cities in Florida — put extra emphasis on the second half of the statute, which says that flags could be ordered lowered “upon the death of high-ranking state officials, uniformed law enforcement and fire service personnel, and prominent citizens.”
“We have a state protocol that dictates when to lower the flag and that’s to honor a fallen hero, servicemen, people who served our country and served our state,” Fried stated on CNN. “And it’s very clear what the flag protocol is. And the governor is using this as a political prop and not something that should be taken for granted.”
What the struggle comes down to is whether or not Limbaugh, who lived in Florida, was a “prominent citizen” — and in whose eyes. Of course, since there isn’t any stipulated penalty or punishment for any authorities official — like Fried — who refuses to adjust to flag-lowering order, she is free to ignore DeSantis’ resolution.
Ah, politics!
