Often in politics, it’s Republicans vs. Democrats. But right now in Florida, it’s Ron DeSantis vs. the world.

In one instance, congressional Democrats have joined GOP legislators at the state level in calling for a federal investigation into the scandal-plagued Hope Florida foundation touted by DeSantis and his wife. (Really, at this point, just about the only people left defending this $10 million mess have last names that rhyme with “BeFantis.”)

In another developing story, DeSantis is at odds with almost every state legislator from both parties in threatening to veto a bill that would end lawsuit protections for negligent doctors who kill patients and the institutions that employ them. (When you decide to join Team Negligence, it shouldn’t be surprising to not have many teammates.)

I actually believe there’s a connection between the two stories: DeSantis needing to shore up support from one of the few groups still standing steadfastly behind him — deep-pocketed business lobbyists. But let’s take a look at each.

Hope for answers

Two members of Florida’s congressional delegation decided to follow the Legislature’s lead in demanding answers about how $10 million in money meant to help poor Floridians access health care ended up in the bank account of a charity championed by DeSantis’ wife, Casey.

Republican lawmakers conducted hearings and flat-out said they believed a crime was committed. But they stopped short of pursuing charges — in part because the head of the state’s justice division, Attorney General James Uthmeier, was tied up in the scandal. It would be like calling the police chief to report suspected wrongdoing by the police chief.

So congressional Democrats Darren Soto of Kissimmee and Kathy Castor of Tampa asked federal health officials this week to “investigate whether or not the $10 million settlement scheme violates federal law.”

The DeSantises insist they did nothing wrong. Just last week Casey DeSantis called the accusations against Hope Florida “false” and “slanderous.”

Yet when the head of her own Hope Florida Foundation was testifying under oath last month and was asked what kind of checks and balances the organization had in place to ensure the state’s $10 million was properly spent, he said: “We have no monitoring procedures. We have no staff.”

That statement alone merits an investigation.

Even if you don’t have any concerns about how this public money ended up being funneled to two dark-money groups, including one associated with the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which then gave millions to a political committee controlled by Uthmeier, I don’t know how anyone could defend giving $10 million to a group whose own leader admitted it had “no monitoring procedures.”

‘Free kill’ free-for-all

In the other DeSantis-vs.-the-world story, the governor has vowed to veto a bill overwhelmingly supported by members of both chambers of the Legislature.

The bill (HB 6017) would repeal an odd provision in Florida law that says health care providers who negligently kill patients can’t be sued for pain and suffering if the patients were 25 or older and had no spouses — giving dangerous doctors a “free kill” in the mind of critics.

No other state in America has a policy like this — and for good reason. It basically says that the lives of widows, widowers and unmarried adults with disabilities are worth less than the lives of others.

That’s a pretty disturbing declaration, which helps explain why Republicans and Democrats united to pass this repeal by votes of 104-6 in the House and 33-4 in the Senate.

In fact, the only people who benefit from this special protection are negligent doctors and the institutions that employ them.

So why would anyone else want to keep this immunity for negligence in place?

Well, that brings us back to DeSantis needing allies.

Powerful business interests like the Florida Chamber of Commerce have been among the few to stand by DeSantis as his problems mount and his popularity drops. And the Chamber — which basically exists these days to shield big businesses from litigation — has made it a priority to preserve Florida’s “free kill” protection.

The business lobby argues that closing the “free kill” loophole would run off doctors. Except, even with that unique protection having been in place for decades, Florida still has a greater shortage of doctors than many states. So, allowing doctors to kill people without getting sued for pain and suffering obviously didn’t magically solve that problem.

As one former GOP rep said: “Doctors aren’t going to leave Florida because of this bill — no good doctor. If a bad doctor wants to leave, bye.”

That former rep, by the way, was Doctor Joel Rudman, a physician.

DeSantis has also said he wants to prevent “jackpot justice” from family members who view a dead parent like “winning the lottery” … a sentiment I wonder if he’d have the courage to express directly to someone who’d just lost their mother or father to a negligent medical procedure.

The Legislature has the votes to override a veto by DeSantis if he follows through. But he still may do so, as the once-invincible governor is now desperate for allies. Especially those who cut big checks.

smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com

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