Yesterday, Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Brandon, FL yesterday to play a very clever trolling of the Biden administration. RedState covered the incident at Brandon Honda to add some humor.
But while the troll was newsworthy on its own, what DeSantis said when he addressed the crowd was incredibly important stuff, and it serves as a marker for other Republicans who continue to straddle the fence on a variety of issues (yeah, I’m looking straight at Asa Hutchinson and Mike DeWine, among others).
“These local government wanted to lockdown businesses, they wanted to force mandates, they wanted to keep kids locked out of schools…you’re damn right I overruled them” 🔥 @GovRonDeSantis pic.twitter.com/kabIHLKEXl
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) November 18, 2021
You hear the reporter use the canard that protecting individual rights is “violating the conservative tenet” of home rule. That’s been a line used by several other GOP governors (and supposedly big-brained beltway analysts) who continue to allow their citizens to suffer under the malaise of overbearing COVID-19 mitigation.
DeSantis ripping this reporter apart just to make it seem like he has a different opinion. The governor slams the idea that conservatism is about submitting to local tyrants, saying that it’s “the United States of America, not the united school boards or county commissioners of America.” That’s a point that hits the mark, with the original intent of our republic not being for local municipalities to be able to violate the rights of citizens at will.
DeSantis then went after Joe Biden’s federal vaccine mandate, painting Florida as a protector against an unconstitutional dictate and noting that a federal vaccine mandate on civilians has never been done before. Again, he’s correct in his assessment, as the case that the left always cites as proof that vaccine mandates are constitutional actually had to do with a state legislature, not the federal government. DeSantis dismissed further the suggestion that federal control over the military is somehow still legal to force substances onto private citizens.
The governor then returned to the question of localities enforcing their own mandates where he delivered his best line, stating “These local government wanted to lockdown businesses, they wanted to force mandates, they wanted to keep kids locked out of schools, Yeah, you’re damn right I overruled them because they were wrong.” Be sure to finish the video, though, because there are some other firey moments worth watching.
When DeSantis is so forceful, other Republicans who are watching tend to be irritated. He would not use the power of the voters to defend their personal liberties. Wouldn’t the founders want some tyrannical local school board member to have the final say? That’s always been an asinine viewpoint, though. States exist because they provide the strongest bulwark against any government intervention at any level. Voters didn’t elect DeSantis in Florida to defer to leftwingers in Tampa. They voted for him to take a stand when a stand needs to be taken, and he’s done that in spades.
And while I know DeSantis isn’t entertaining thoughts on 2024 just yet, as a general statement, know that there are going to be a lot of Republicans of all stripes who join the field. GOP voters ought to be looking at how each candidate reacted to tough situations, regardless of whether one is Florida Governor. They made the right decisions when given the opportunity, and put their lives on the line for individuals. They talked the talk, but made excuses to not take action.
If the answer is yes to these questions, it should be a prompt culling. Republicans need leaders who won’t back down, and DeSantis has proven, with all the national heat beating down on his skin, that he’s got the guts to do the right things.
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