As the Republican Party debates the most favorable and likely victorious candidate in the fast-approaching 2024 general election, the media has taken it upon itself to declare Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida the greatest threat to the current regime. How can you tell? The activist left-leaning press are throwing rumors, lies, and innuendos at the electorate, just to see what will stick.
Fake News
No one in the high-stakes game of politics will allow a good crisis to die a peaceful death. Pandering to the freedom crowd, the government reopened the Sunshine State as early as possible, making liberal heads explode. A case in point, still trending on highly policed platforms, is the inaccurate nickname for the Florida governor: DeathSantos. And Jim Acosta blathered in 2021 as the delta variant made an unfortunate appearance, “Why not call it the DeSantis variant?” Headlines nearly screamed in outrage over such a liberty-minded monster. Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic, published this gem: “The Right Wants to Freedom Us to Death.”
More recently, DeSantis was labeled a book burner – censoring the state of knowledge – with a widely retweeted lie perpetuated by progressives and Democrats. The book used to bludgeon Ron DeSantis is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course, he never banned it. In fact, as Associated Press, Reuters, and nearly every other internet fact-checking site admits, the state recommends this particular piece to grades 8-12.
The Ron DeSantis Approach To LGBTQ
None of the other claims add up, either. Florida’s casualty rate of COVID – including the multiplying strains – was still lower than states that maintained heavy-handed lockdowns, like Michigan and New Jersey, during DeathSantis’ time on social media.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
It matters not what reality is in the smoke and mirrors production of political gaming. Whatever a candidate may or may not say will be taken out of context, entirely made up, invented by an angry focus group, or even a Saturday Night Live skit. No, Sarah Palin did not declare she could see Russia from her backyard. That was Tina Fey in Palin drag.
And in keeping with made-up content that becomes suddenly real, Ron DeSantis did not say, “Don’t Say Gay,” no matter how catchy the slogan may be – nor does not saying “gay” have anything to do with the Parental Rights in Education legislation, which prohibits teachers from instructing k-12 students on any sexual orientation, sexual acts, or anything related to transgender. But the slam stuck in certain circles and made it all the way to the president’s fleeting attention, who immediately labeled it “hate speech.”
The Ron DeSantis Affect
There is a long, dirty laundry list that seemingly rereleases as the November midterms approach. Will it help challengers in Florida cover the political ground? Will it effectively chip away at America’s love of freedom and interest in another America First candidate? Unfortunately, whether it’s COVID or LGBTQ, the real pandemic seems to emanate from those who cling to the motto “the ends justify the means.” But the good news is that critical thinkers on both sides of the aisle hold media feet to the fire.
