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There’s a “Draft Ron DeSantis” campaign afoot within the Republican Party as some conservatives attempt to find a standard bearer not named Donald Trump.
The Florida governor has attained popularity among vocal right-wing activists due to his resistance to drawn-out coronavirus mitigation measures beyond his initial “stay at home” and bar and restaurant closure orders and the banning of alcohol sales at bars. His public squabble with Rebekah Jones, the creator of his state health department’s Covid-19 dashboard, led to more praise from conservatives when her whistleblower story started showing cracks. DeSantis’s likability rose further after a “pay-to-play” implication by CBS last year turned out to be false.
What attracts conservatives to DeSantis is his pugnacious attitude and willingness to fight culture wars. “He has authorized a host of economic, cultural, and law-enforcement initiatives that are buoying Florida and transforming him into the Great Right Hope,” Deroy Murdock wrote in a June 2021 FoxNews.com piece praising DeSantis. PJ Media’s Jeff Reynolds said DeSantis provided plenty of leadership for a GOP “that too often backs down from the fight,” praising DeSantis’s defense of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. One of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s top advisers told Politico that DeSantis is willing to say things other Republican politicians aren’t rather than meekly answering questions.
It’s an understandable attraction, particularly to those in search of a Trump alternative. DeSantis seems to be consistent in his public statements and policies. David Frum profiled him in the Atlantic, praising his ability to politically maneuver in ways that don’t offend the GOP base or those in the middle. National Review editor Rich Lowry characterized DeSantis’s defense of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill as “defending the eminently defensible, in fact the unfairly maligned,” in contrast to Trump’s continued claims of election fraud. Matt Lewis described the governor as a hybrid candidate who fights against the media narratives while guarding cultural conservatism without a “grab them by the…” moment.
Yet conservatives are overstating DeSantis’s dedication to liberty. This is the same governor whose staff worked with Disney to make sure it was exempt from Florida’s bill cracking down on so-called “Big Tech oligarchs.” Mickey Mouse and DeSantis may disagree on diversity training and “Don’t Say Gay,” but they’ll still work together when it suits both of their agendas.
“You can’t just say private companies can do whatever the hell they want to,” the Republican said in a rather populist and national-conservative tone last month to an audience at Hillsdale College. “They are not the friend of conservatives right now; they are not the friend of freedom. They are using these harmful ideologies and we have a responsibility to stand up and fight against it.”
DeSantis’s view is that freedom is essential to a just society, but more is needed. But what is that more? “I’m for the Constitution, I’m for the Bill of Rights, and we need to have our young people understand what that means,” DeSantis told CPAC in Orlando, after calling Florida “the freest state in these United States.” His crackdown on big tech paints a different picture, since it prevents freedom of association by business. This was something US District Court Judge Robert Hinkle wrote in his ruling issuing an injunction on the law.
This isn’t to say that DeSantis’s sentiment isn’t understandable. Corporations give plenty of lip service to diversity and “wokeness” in hopes of garnering publicity. It’s not wise, however, to give the government vast power to decide whether businesses should promote wokeness, require masks or proof of vaccination, shut their doors to protect employees, or other culture war issues. After all, what happens if DeSantis loses re-election? The power of regulation then goes to Democrats and can be used against Republicans and freedom-loving business owners.
Voting for someone because they’re “not Trump” is a bad idea. That’s not meant as a defense of Trump; it’s just to point out that sometimes people get so caught up in the idea of “anyone but ____” that they become blind to the flaws of the person they’re defending. There are popular politicians out there who have said things that allegedly make small-c, weaker-government conservatives cringe, but they remain interested in them nonetheless because they’re “not Trump.”
The issue shouldn’t just be the politician, but what they’re saying. Unless, of course, the so-called small-c conservatives are perfectly fine with government flexing its muscle on issues they support. If that’s the case, they should just admit it.
