Part III of a series on anti-wokeness in U.S. politics
(Part I. “From #staywoke to anti-woke”)
(Part II. “The Democrat who slammed “stupid wokeness”)
Ron DeSantis didn’t make it to Dallas for the GOP’s unhinged radical hate-fest last week but he made enough of a splash back home to be sure that folks at CPAC heard from him. While the conference was getting underway, the Florida governor held a press conference to suspend a twice-elected county state attorney—not for anything the prosecutor had done—or failed to do—but for something he had signed. In doing so, the governor played a perfect GOP trifecta:
opposing abortion
persecuting trans people
overturning a free and fair election
The target of DeSantis’s stunt, Democrat Andrew Warren of Tampa had shown the unforgiveable temerity to join with scores of other elected state and local prosecutors across the country in signing two strong statements—one in support of abortion rights and the other condemning the persecution of transgender people. (Both statements were sponsored by Fair and Just Prosecution, an organization of progressive prosecutors.) Both statements pledged to you prosecutorial discretion to decline prosecuting people seeking or providing arbortion and people providing gender-affirming care.
The firing prompted Warren’s local paper, The Tampa Bay Times, to blast DeSantis in their lede editorial, calling the move “politically craven, legally suspect, suspiciously timed, and odorously soaked in autocracy.”
In response to his sacking, Warren said, “This is Orwellian thought police where I'm being punished for not enforcing a law that doesn't even exist yet.”
While Florida’s current abortion ban starts at the fifteenth week of pregnancy, Republicans in the state legislature are now pushing for a “heartbeat” threshold. But it’s not law yet and there currently is no Florida law preventing gender-affirming care.
“The governor cites no case that Warren mishandled, making his suspension a preemptive strike,” said the Tampa Bay Times editorial, adding that the DeSantis 10-page order was “a political smear job, full of what-ifs and supposition that would be laughed out of court.”
Then, DeSantis followed up by replacing the suspended prosecutor with an ally of the guy Warren had defeated to win office. The Trumpian irony of overturning an election wasn't lost on Warren:
For the past 2 years we've heard nearly half of America baselessly complaining about a stolen election. Do you want to see an election was actually stolen? Look no further. Because the governor has stolen the position of state attorney away from the voters of Hillsborough County.
As Lauren-Brooke Eisen of The Brennan Center noted,
If Tampa-area residents disapprove of Warren’s approach to crime and punishment, they can vote him out of office. But that is a call for the public to make — not the governor.”
For DeSantis, it’s all on-brand.
DeSantis’s attacks on trans youth fit into his long-running embrace of anti-woke-ism. He’s been following the propaganda pathways pioneered by Christopher Rufo. (see Part II of this series, From #staywoke to anti-woke.)
Christopher F. Rufo (at the podium) taking a victory lap as Governor Ron DeSantis (right) signs Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E. Act”)
DeSantis, in his public speaking has kept Rufo-crafted talking points against critical race theory and trans youth front and center. This speech, for example, was from the February CPAC—as covered by the Miami Herald:
Don’t fulminate, legislate
But unlike Rufo, DeSantis isn’t just some pundit with a column, a Twitter account, and a standing invitation to appear on Fox News. He’s the governor of a red state with a strong and pliant Republican majority in the legislature. That puts him in position to walk his talk. DeSantis has more than a podium—he has power. He has been using his power to turn Florida into a demo to burnish his authoritarian bona fides for GOP voters across the country. He’s building a proof of concept. As Jonathan Chait put it, “What DeSantis is building in Florida is his blueprint for the country.”
Prior to sacking Andrew Harris, here are a few of the anti-woke laws DeSantis has signed and actions he has taken:
Limiting teachers' ability to talk about about sexual orientation and gender identity in the Parental Rights in Education Act (Known to critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill—or as his press secretary calls it “the Anti-Grooming Bill.” (By the way, there’s no mention of grooming in the bill. But “groomer” has replaced “Commie” in the GOP lexicon of vilification.)
Threatening Disney for (eventually) speaking out about that bill
Eliminating two majority-Black congressional districts (now held by Rep. Al Lawson and Rep. Val Demings, who is running for the Senate against Marco Rubio)
Sending Florida troops to Texas to help block immigration at a cost of $1.6 million
Banning math textbooks with unacceptable social content. Preparing to ban social studies textbooks as well.
Restricting how elementary schools, universities, and even private corporations can teach about racial issues with a bill that manages to turn “woke” into an awkward acronym—Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees.
In this weekend’s CPAC staw poll, Donald Trump is still the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 GOP nomination. At 69%, he jumped ten points from the previous CPAC poll in February, while DeSantis dropped four points to 24%. Bear in mind, however, that DeSantis is only 43 years old. His presidential ambitions won’t end in 2024.
Part III of a series on anti-wokeness in U.S. politics
Warren always wants to impose in his own way and convenience and handle the laws in his own way. such as the case of cameron the best example of evidence manipulation bailiffs and judges sent by warren to testify with false testimonies and judges paid with money for exaggerated sentences compared to other car accidentswarren is dedicated to embezzling families with millions of dollars ....... FLORIDA IS IN A STAGE OF CORRUPTION GOVERNOR HADTA DOING A CORRUPTION CLEANUP