This had the potential to become a real crisis, unless he acted as fast and as stupidly as possible.

There was now-Florida’s junior Sen. Rick Scott facing a genuine threat to what had seemed to be his air-tight legacy as the worst governor in state history. And there was the incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis threatening to blow up years of carefully cultivated missteps, insane public comments and addled legislative efforts with his own agenda of bullying, attacks on children, Black people, the LGBTQ+ community and yes, even Disney.

Show off!

Recently, the NAACP had issued an advisory urging Black Americans to rethink Florida travel plans in light of efforts by DeSantis and the state Legislature to undermine the teaching of Black history, critical race theory and banning books on racial issues. Oh, and let us not forget the governor signed into law a measure to restrict commie programs relating to diversity, equality and inclusion in Florida schools.

That only makes sense. Once you start promoting dark policies like diversity, equality and inclusion, where does it end? Pretty soon people will expect to be treated with respect. No good can come from this.

As well, the Human Rights Campaign, along with Equality Florida issued similar advisories in response to Tallahassee’s assault on the LGBTQ+ community, which included such things as denying health care to transgender youth, cracking down on drag shows, restricting access to abortion and a really, really, really dunderheaded new law allowing people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. What could possibly go wrong?

This was obviously one of those crucible moments for Rick Scott, who gives artificial intelligence a bad name.

The Senate’s answer to “2001: A Space Odyssey’s” deranged computer HAL, issued a stern travel advisory of his own warning that any socialists traveling to Florida would find a state “openly hostile” to them and their enablers. In fact, Scott added that socialists coming to Florida to spread their dreaded dogma “… will fail and be met with laughter and mockery.”

Now some of Scott’s flunkies, factotums and gofers tried to suggest the senator was merely indulging in some whimsical mockery of his own. Rick Scott, such a kidder.

But it is worth noting this chap has zero sense of humor. Pol Pot was a veritable Dave Chappelle compared to Rick Scott, whose idea of a practical joke was overseeing a medical company that engaged (at the time) in the largest case of Medicare fraud in American history. Now there’s a knee-slapper for you.

Oddly enough Scott doesn’t seem so troubled about a growing infusion of neo-Nazis, white supremacists, antisemites, Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection supporters and other creepy lowlifes coming to Florida. But at least they’re not ... socialists. Whew!

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Unfortunately, Scott sat in the governor’s mansion for eight very long years. It still hasn’t dawned on him that when you treat African Americans and LGBTQ+ people as mere second-class serfs whose humanity means nothing to you, not only are you dismissing a sizable chunk of the population, but also a sizable chunk of their checkbooks.

The travel advisories discouraging travel to Florida will have an adverse impact on Florida’s tourism industry. How many conventions will rethink Florida as a destination for its members? How many corporations with Black and LGBTQ+ employees will give pause about coming to Florida? Ahem, some of these groups might even harbor a socialist or two in their midst. Oh dear. Is that OK with the Shecky Greene of the U.S. Senate?

If Scott is so consumed with trying to ban certain groups from traveling to Florida, perhaps we can broaden the list. What better place to begin than giving the bum’s rush to any two Florida U.S. senators who voted against raising the debt ceiling. Do you really want to consort with silly people who would have preferred plunging the country and the world into an economic catastrophe just because … well who the heck knows?

Can we also throw out of the state: (A) the review committee at the Miami-Dade K-8 school that voted to restrict access to writer Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb,” which she read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, after one parent objected to it and (B) the dimwit parent who admitted she hadn’t read the entire work, but objected to it anyway?

And as long as DeSantis is already spending so much time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina there’s really no reason for him to come back.