Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says Republicans have been so successful at turning the Sunshine State into the place where “woke goes to die” that Florida’s Democratic Party has effectively become a “dead, rotten carcass.”
DeSantis, a likely 2024 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, added that the GOP in Florida has shone a light on Democrats when they’re “totally off their rocker” and protected Floridians from the left’s “worst pathologies.”
“You should be able to live your life the way you want to in Florida, without having the left’s agenda crammed down your throat,” the governor told Newsweek in an interview promoting his forthcoming book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.”
He added that because of that philosophy, the Democratic Party in his state ”is basically a dead, rotten carcass on the side of the road.”
DeSantis, 44, who was re-elected in a 19-point landslide in November, said he rejected advice to not “make a lot of waves” in his first term, opting instead to take the opposite approach.
The governor said he wanted to “be on offense. … That really ends up being a good defense, too, because a lot of Republicans are more likely to sit back; media attacks them; media defines the terms of the debate.”
“We do not shirk from issues,” he told Newsweek in the interview published Tuesday. “We leaned in across the board, whether it’s education — yes, fighting the wokeness — illegal immigration, all those different things.”
Ron DeSantis has claimed the Democratic Party in Florida has effectively become a “dead, rotten carcass.” Paul Martinka
Gov. Ron DeSantis, at a campaign rally with then-President Donald Trump on Nov. 3, 2018, is expected to challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Getty ImagesDeSantis just scored a huge legislative victory over Disney, the entertainment behemoth that lobbied against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Law, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
He signed legislation Monday putting Disney’s self-governed Reedy Creek Improvement District under state control.
“Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said at the bill-signing ceremony. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.” HarperCollins PublishersDeSantis has yet to formally announce his intention to challenge Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, but the former president has repeatedly lashed out against the governor, calling him “Meatball Ron” and “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
DeSantis has railed against the teaching of critical race theory and has backed parents’ right to have a say in what their children are being taught in schools, accusing teachers’ unions of pursuing a woke agenda.
“What we said is that parents have a right to know what is being taught in schools … and what books are in the libraries,” he said. “Now, they have a right to raise that with the school district and those books can be removed from these younger grades, in particular.”
DeSantis scored a huge legislative victory over Disney, which lobbied against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. AFP via Getty Images“Our view is that education should be done in the classical sense,” he continued. “It is nonpartisan; it is not value-neutral … we want people to learn about the facts of the Holocaust, and if you teach Holocaust denial, you will be fired.”
DeSantis added that he believes the educational reforms he has pushed through in Florida will be used as examples by states across the country.
“I think we’ve been able to do more in these last four years than anyone thought possible,” he said. “Going forward, in the next few years, with all the (school board) members we’ve elected and will elect in ’24, I think we’re going to be the model for the country.”
DeSantis was re-elected by a 15-point landslide in November, far beyond the margin by which he was first elected in 2019. APDeSantis’ political star began to soar when he balked at the federal government’s restrictions at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping schools and businesses open and pushing back against the mandates urged by top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
”What we were doing was so different from what the established narrative said we were supposed to do, that I was like the guy who was fighting for these people … fighting Fauci … fighting the corporate press … fighting the local governments,” he told Newsweek.
He said his actions set Florida apart from the rest of the country, which struggled to recover economically after the lockdowns.
“We do now, in Florida, have a little bit of a mojo; this idea of, ‘Don’t tread on Florida,'” he said. “The idea that we’re the free state of Florida. … People have viewed Florida as a refuge.”
