Rep. Anthony Sabatini pitched a Special Session on vaccine mandates long before Gov. Ron DeSantis.

When the Governor put out the call, Florida Politics reluctantly gave Sabatini an up arrow — his first — because he seemingly had his finger on the pulse for the first time in his political career.

Well, the Special Session that Sabatini so badly wanted is happening, yet the Howey-in-the-Hills Republican is 900 miles away. According to House Communications Director Jenna Sarkissian, this is another unexcused absence for the man otherwise known as Rep. Blackface.

What's he doing? Accepting a "Legislator of the Month" award from an organization that could best be described as a conservative knockoff of AARP.

In the 60 Plus Association's fawning announcement, Sabatini was described as a "proven leader that can be trusted to uphold the Constitution and fight for his constituents as reflected in legislation that he has introduced or signed into law by Gov. DeSantis."

It's worth noting that while Sabatini has few strengths, getting bills signed by the Governor is not one of them.

Still, the lawmaker had an opportunity to live up to that fluffery — for a certain bloc of voters, at least — by actually showing up to the Capitol and, you know, working.

But he's proven time and again that he has no follow-through. Just a few months ago, he blasted a half-dozen priority bills and told his Twitter followes he would vote against them only to skip work that day. Of course, his defense is that he told his aide to submit some "after roll call" votes — AKA votes that don't count — on his behalf.

He probably has another excuse lined up. Something along the lines "fighting back" against the Democratic agenda by accepting checks from an organization comprised of Newsmax-watching uncles. But everyone knows the real reason is he's all talk.