We all remember “hanging chads” and the national focus on Florida over problematic presidential ballots that helped George W. Bush become a popular-vote-losing president in 2000. “Flori-duh” became a political-laughingstock trope and never totally recovered from media punch lines. Nowhere to go after that but up.
Nope.
Rick Scott–of HCA infamy, light-rail defiance and a Lord Voldemort look–and Trump disciple Ron DeSantis hardly helped. Especially the latter, a Fox-favorite dissembler who has been de facto doubling down on “Flori-duh” via his uber divisive, faux freedom brand that is geared to an office higher than Tallahassee.
DeSantis’ agenda—with the support of the spineless GOPster legislature—is all about self-appropriated definitions of “freedom” and “liberty” and the demonization of opposition as “anti-woke.” If it doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker, it doesn’t matter.
It manifests itself across a spectrum of issues that places DeSantis in a national spotlight with The Villages too often as an insolent backdrop. He got his version of a redistricting map that adds to minority under-representation and gives him more congressional cover. He got his disturbing choice of surgeon general in the controversial Joseph Ladapo. He took shots at academic freedom of speech, school districts that played it safe with mask mandates and Reedy Creeked Disney’s efforts to combine fairy tales with diverse casting and storytelling.
Speaking of Disney, its loud speaker announcements are now gender neutral. “Dreamers of all ages” has replaced “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.” Disney wants its Main Street to be inclusive and look like America 2022. DeSantis doesn’t.