Newly minted GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis promises to “Make America Florida.” To me, that sounds more like a threat than a campaign slogan, but I suppose it depends on how you like your democracy: plain or with a side of fascism.
The Florida governor made his formal presidential campaign announcement in the weirdest way possible, joining a Wednesday evening Twitter Spaces conversation with Twitter CEO and noted conspiracy-theorist-coddler Elon Musk. The event was moderated by David Sacks, a wealthy GOP donor who is pals with Musk and supports DeSantis, creating a turducken of wealth, confirmation-bias and “very online” social awkwardness. There were also spectacular technical glitches, again raising questions of whether the governor is truly ready for a national campaign.
But don’t let the spectacle of DeSantis’ entry into the GOP primary distract you from what “Make America Florida” might actually mean. The governor has implemented a far-right, culture-war-heavy agenda in the Sunshine State and ruled like a power-hungry autocrat, bolstered by a Republican-controlled legislature. He views diversity as a societal ill, and seems focused only on making the world better only for people who share his values. But don’t take my word for it. Just look at the things he has done.
Ron DeSantis has done a lot in Florida – and a lot of it should scare voters
For many Americans, folks lucky enough to not spend their days drinking from the firehose of 24-hour political news, DeSantis remains an abstraction. He has been controversial among liberals and hailed as a hero among conservatives. A recent poll by the progressive think tank Data For Progress found about a third of likely voters view him unfavorably and a third view him favorably. But, important, nearly a third of likely voters “haven’t heard enough to say” whether they like or dislike him, and among independents that number jumps to 36%.
So now that DeSantis is in the running for a presidential nomination, voters are going to have to understand him, and that requires looking at what he has done in (and to) Florida and asking: Is this a palatable model for the rest of America, and is this the kind of person I’d want in charge?
The now-infamous ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law is causing widespread confusion
Let’s start with the Parental Rights in Education law, which critics have aptly dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The original bill barred Florida teachers in kindergarten through third grade from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity. It was then expanded so it covered students through eighth grade and then, in April, it became a complete K-12 ban, which was presumably the goal from the jump.
Teachers who violate the vaguely worded ban could lose their teaching licenses, and the law has created widespread confusion, leading to the banning of seemingly innocuous children’s books that mention LGBTQ issues. The law also said a teacher “may not provide to a student his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.”
A childish and self-destructive war with Disney
Disney, one of Florida’s largest employers and tourist magnets, voiced gentle disagreement with the “Don’t Say Gay” law, prompting DeSantis to launch a crusade against the company, dubbing it “woke.” Disney has now sued the governor for “a targeted campaign of government retaliation,” and recently pulled out of a planned $1 billion development near Orlando that would’ve brought 2,000 high-paying jobs to the state.
Game on.With DeSantis making it official on Twitter, the fight against Trump can begin.
That mess ties in nicely with DeSantis’ borderline fanatical “war on woke,” in which he has staked out firm opposition to things like diversity, LGBTQ rights and pretty much anything that might make straight white people mildly uncomfortable.
Drag show bans and DEI defunding and pronoun policing – oh my
His “accomplishments” on that front include:
- Signing the Stop WOKE Act, which, among other things, prohibits businesses from diversity training or practices that might make an employee feel guilty or responsible for historic wrongs relating to race, sex or national origin. It effectively undercuts any steps a company might take to help employees of different backgrounds understand and appreciate each other. A federal judge has blocked the law, ruling it unconstitutional.
But wait … there’s more …
DeSantis has also: rounded up migrants in Texas and flown them to Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard at Florida taxpayers’ expense in one of the more cruel anti-immigrant stunts ever concocted; created an election police unit called the Office of Election Crimes and Security, best known for arresting 20 mostly Black voters and accomplishing nothing other than messing up those voters’ lives; signed a six-week abortion ban; and signed a law allowing people to carry a concealed gun without training or a permit.
Much is made about Florida’s strong economy and the fact that people and companies have flocked there because there’s no income tax for individuals and the state has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in nation.
But lower taxes mean less money for other things. Florida ranks 42nd in the country for spending on public education, according to the Education Data Initiative, even though it received the third-most federal education funding for K-12 schools.
DeSantis’ high-profile ‘war on woke’ distracts from Florida’s struggles
In the 2020-21 school year, Florida ranked 48th in the country for teacher salaries, according to the National Education Association.
In Education Week’s state-by-state 2021 chance-for-success Index, Florida ranked No. 32.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida ranks near the bottom in terms of uninsured residents, with 12.1% of Floridians uncovered. Only four states are worse.
And AARP’s 2020 Scorecard Report on long-term services and supports for older adults and people with physical disabilities ranked Florida dead last.
One parent fears a poem, and in DeSantis’ Florida, that means the poem is gone
Don’t take my word for these things. Read the included links. Do your own research and see how DeSantis’ priorities and approach to government aligns with your own values.
But I’ll leave with one final development. In Miami-Dade County recently, a parent filed a complaint about a book that contains the poem “The Hill We Climb,” written by Amanda Gorman and recited at President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
On the complaint, the parent wrote – and this transcription is correct – that the book is “not educational and have indirectly hate messages.”
This is what’s on one of the offending pages the parent referenced:
“We’ve braved the belly of the beast.We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,And the norms and notions of what ‘just’ isIsn’t always justice.”
Those words count as “hate messages” in Ron DeSantis’ Florida. And students in that county’s kindergarten through eighth grade are now barred from seeing that book.
So ask yourself, as DeSantis steps onto the national stage and promises to “Make America Florida,” is Florida the America you want?
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
More from Rex Huppke:
Disney nixes $1 billion Florida development, latest casualty in DeSantis’ ‘war on woke’
Joe Biden is definitely going to prison! As soon as the GOP finds its missing informant.
Would today’s GOP try to ban Mister Rogers for being woke? Probably.