What a contrast. Chaos and confusion reign in Washington, DC. But in Tallahassee, Florida, it was blue skies as far as the eye could see.
In a stirring and poetic 20-minute inaugural speech on Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis captivated an enthusiastic crowd with two themes sorely lacking in American political life: truth and common sense.
These were the tools of a governor who refused to bow to the Covid panic, who more than any other elected leader resisted absurd and unnecessary lockdowns, who defied the latest cultural perversities and progressive conservative governance.
“In the last few years, when so many states in our country were putting down their citizens, we in Florida have raised our people up,” he said at the beginning of his second term.
As a matter of fact.
“When other states threw the freedom of their people in the dustbin. Florida stood strong as the fulcrum of freedom.’
I couldn’t say it better myself.
“When the world was going insane—when common sense suddenly became an uncommon virtue—Florida was a sanctuary of sanity, a citadel of freedom for our fellow Americans and even for people around the world.”
There’s no arguing about that.
Today, with pandemic lockdown wages crushing residents of states like New York, California and Michigan, it’s easy to forget how vilified, how chastised, how hated DeSantis was when he reopened Florida in April 2020.
In a stirring and poetic 20-minute inaugural speech on Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis captivated an enthusiastic crowd with two themes sorely lacking in American political life: truth and common sense.
“In the last few years, when so many states in our country were putting down their citizens, we in Florida have raised our people up,” he said at the beginning of his second term.
It all seems so obvious now. But that wasn’t the case then, or as he put it, “We face attacks, we take blows, but we weather the storms, we stand our ground and we do what’s right.”
That was a lap of honor. And hopefully more than that.
May I say a new beginning?
It was impossible to ignore the fact that while DeSantis was speaking, a fractured national GOP was struggling in Washington, unable to elect a new House Speaker, with a significant number of its members engaged in bickering and posturing more than with the affairs of the people.
Washington is leaderless for conservatives. And while the DC set plays petty politics, DeSantis handles things.
“Florida is positive proof that We the People are not doomed. Decline is a choice. success is achievable. And freedom is worth fighting for,” he said.
It wasn’t just the foresight of his pandemic policies that was reflected in his speech, it turned out to be just the appetizer of his fine first term. The main dish, the meat and potatoes of American politics and its discontent, is the struggle against the cultural excesses of the left and a defense of conservatism.
The speech celebrated the “Free State of Florida,” but its message translated to the nation just as easily.
“The fight for freedom is not easy because the threats to freedom are more complex and pervasive than in the past — the threats can come from entrenched DC bureaucrats, jet-setters in Davos, and corporations with public power. But we must fight,’ he insisted.
And now DeSantis has the record to prove he can offer more than just talking.
According to the CATO Institute, Florida leads the way in terms of economic freedom and freedom of education. It’s no wonder, as the governor pointed out, that refugees from deep blue states are pouring into Florida like a flock of geese, their flying V pointed south.
Florida is the fastest growing state in the nation. And that’s not just because of sound economic leadership and an emphasis on personal freedom. DeSantis has also shown a brave willingness to aggressively wage the culture war.
What a contrast. Chaos and confusion reign in Washington, DC. But in Tallahassee, Florida, it was blue skies as far as the eye could see.
DeSantis has also shown a brave willingness to aggressively wage the culture war.
“We reject this awakened ideology. We are looking for normality, not philosophical madness! We will not allow reality, facts and truth to become optional. We will never surrender to the awakened mob. In Florida the Awakened dies.«
It’s a line we’ve heard before, and we’ll do well to hear it again.
There’s a lot of talk about populism and the new right, with many factions struggling to define and own the movement, but what DeSantis said was perhaps the first time he articulated the core principles of today’s GOP and conservative movement.
For more than a decade, a fearful conservative movement bowed to the shibboleths and orthodoxies of a progressive left that had gone haywire. The cultural arsonists have established themselves in science, medicine, law and early education.
But DeSantis will not pretend that biological men can become women, he will not pretend that the United States is a racist corporation, and he will not allow these inventions to be taught to our children.
These are the fights American conservatives want to fight, and in DeSantis they have a champion.
“We need to make sure school systems are responsive to parents and students, not partisan interest groups, and we need to make sure our colleges are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of a trendy ideology.”
Another clear call to reason.
DeSantis says the things you shouldn’t say. As we know, the truth these days can be viewed as hate speech.
DeSantis will not pretend that biological men can become women, he will not pretend that the United States is a racist corporation, and he will not allow these inventions to be taught to our children.
And make no mistake, if DeSantis rightly thinks unfair attacks have been leveled at him, he hasn’t seen it yet.
This speech, this manifesto for liberty and the American dream, will stoke his critics as much as his admirers.
Soon the parade of pundits will posit that he’s worse than Donald Trump, that he’s a fascist bent on destroying the marginalized, or some nonsense like that.
Don’t be fooled, see through it. He’s hated for loving everything that’s great about our nation.
Speeches rarely matter in our cynical age, which is more prone to Twitter dunks and viral videos, but so much was made clear on Tuesday.
There is a leader for the right.
And in a nod to one of the greatest Republican leaders in American history, DeSantis aptly concluded his speech.
“We insist on the restoration of well-established constitutional principles so that government by, by and for the people does not disappear from this earth.”