De Santis is the Big Daddy of Florida.
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Below is a link to the speech De Santis delivered to the Heritage Foundation. I watched it all, and note that you will need to fast forward in the broadcast.
On the one hand, it is a coherent statement of what these days passes for 'Conservative Politics' shaped in part by grievance, in part by boastful claims about what Florida has achieved.
1) The claims that were made in his tirade against 'Faucism' are not backed up by data but sniping about mask mandates and freedom, yet Florida had one of the worst records for Covid deaths in the US- thus, with 80,000+ deaths...
"Out of 50 states, Florida’s and California’s cumulative COVID-19 death rates rank 25th and 29th, respectively, with Florida’s 11% higher."
Florida COVID deaths top California, but economy is stronger - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
See also
Why are so many Floridians still dying from COVID? | Editorial (tampabay.com)
2) He boasts about the budget surplus in Florida, but in fact Texas has a larger surplus.
3) He offers a Conservative doctrine -low taxes, low regulation, minimal govt, individual liberty- while attacking the 'indoctrination' of School children, thus
"The purpose of school is not to impose political indoctrination on the student"...and then boasts that CRT has been banned from the classroom where it wasn't taught anyway, and declares students will be taught a different kind of history...the one he agrees with, the one that has a school holiday to celebrate the end of 'Communism' and so forth (starts around 44.32).
His remark on 'curriculum transparency' includes the claim that schoolchildren have been shown 'pornographic material' in the classroom, but what is it? He doesn't offer any detail.
4) at the end, he offers this claim about the Founding Fathers and the Revolution of 1776-this is their 'creed' : "Our rights are not the courtesy of Government but are a gift from Almighty God" (c1.11.00).
-This seems to me to flip the story of 1776 from Men making their own History, to making history not on the basis of Reason, but Faith. This may encapsulate current Conservative thinking, but is at odds with over a century of the Conservative thought that is in the textbooks and history books.
And you don't need a 'Permission Slip' to carry a gun....
Reason or Faith?
Government or the People?
The Constitution or the Bible?
Freedom or Tyranny?
You won't find the answers here. But here he is-
Watch: Ron DeSantis speaks after Florida passes bill allowing trans children to be removed from parents (yahoo.com)
In the video of the speech De Santis gave to the Heritage Foundation (see link in #22 above) the Guv'nor extols the benefits of living in Florida. His near-neighbour Donald J. Trump thinks otherwise-
"“The real DeSantis record is one of misery and despair,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. “He has left a wake of destruction all across Florida and people are hurting because he has spent more time playing public relations games instead of actually doing the hard-work needed to improve the lives of the people he represents.”"
Trump throws new insults at the state of Florida in fresh attack on DeSantis | The Hill
Normally when two people from the same party are in conflict, the party suffers. It may be that as support for DS dwindles, he decides not to run for the White House in 2024.
I have never made it to Florida, so I don't know which of the two is close to the truth.
Well if you go by articles like this, its De Santis.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...s/11357516002/
While New York State residents moving to Florida is not a new thing (Miami has often been referred to the sixth borough), De Santis can make the case that his state is a destination for business and that its economy is thriving.
Although he probably picked the wrong time to start a battle with Disney.
I will say this though. De Santis didn't do himself any favors by being on a book tour while the city of Fort Lauderdale was in the middle of an historic flood.
http://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis...floods-1794299
I didn't know that about NY and Miami. I guess they go south in the winter?
It is mentioned in the link that De Santis is a poor team player, if at all. Prefers to discuss policy with his wife than colleagues and rarely remembers their names, if he bothers to talk to them at all. The polar opposite of Trump who needs constant re-assurance and advice because of plain ignorance of policy. I wonder if when the time comes, the Republican candidate will be someone not currently mentioned in despatches -eg. Sununu?
‘Four-time loser’ Trump may not be nominee for 2024, Republican insists | Donald Trump | The Guardian
From the link above
""Disney was openly and legally granted a unique and special privilege, that privilege of running its own local government," Alan Lawson, a former Florida Supreme Court justice whose firm was hired by the DeSantis-appointed board, said during the board meeting. "That era is ending.""
Should Disney have such rights? Is it the same in California? Or France? Do other corporations or individuals have privileges like Disney? Could the State of Florida handled this issue differently, setting aside the 'Don't Say Gay' law -?
It was a deal made with the state over 50 years ago. I suspect it was corrupt, but the state probably did that to entice Disney to locate here. Look at the literal billions of dollars Disney has brought to the state. But the impetus to nullify that deal was purely petulant retribution on the governor's part, and he has replaced the district with something more corrupt, by appointing all the board members himself. It has nothing to do with the will of the people of the state.
So Ron was at Guantanamo, and is outraged at the suggestion he did anything wrong there, or that anyone could recognize him years later, which, like never happened with someone from Auschwtiz recognizing a camp guard? Hmmm. Seems he had a job to do, and preferred to let the 'Guys' 'do their thing' rather than impose the law.
Ron DeSantis in Guantánamo: how questions about his past haunt the Florida governor | Ron DeSantis | The Guardian