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Is DeSantis Jeopardizing a Presidential Run?
Many of us have said that if there’s any indication that Ron DeSantis was running for President, he would immediately have a target on his back. He hasn’t even declared his candidacy yet, and the media is attacking him. At this point, though, it’s helpful to actually know the facts about his potential for running, the ideas and policies that will help or hinder him, and what the future might hold.
So why hasn’t DeSantis declared his candidacy? The answer seems so obvious to me. Several months ago, he stated that he wanted to stay engaged with the FL legislature until this session was concluded; that happens in May. I’m pretty certain that he isn’t going to allow a persistent and badgering media to change his mind. Second, he technically can’t run for President while he is governor of Florida:
Currently, F.S. Chapter 99 reads: (4)(a) Any officer who qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office he or she presently holds if the terms, or any part thereof, run concurrently with each other. (b) The resignation is irrevocable.
Since the next presidential term would begin in January 2025, in the middle of DeSantis’s second term as governor, lawmakers will certainly make adjustments to allow him to stay governor as long as needed.
In that case, there’s no hurry to pass the new legislation.
Another criticism is the image the media is trying to impose on DeSantis. Some describe him as cold and indifferent to people; others say that he is trying to imitate Trump through his assertive language. In the first place, this is the man who protected Floridians from draconian Covid policies, and also made sure that the most at-risk people, including the elderly and minority groups, had access to the shots. Comparing him to Trump is a bizarre observation; DeSantis rarely attacks other people, limits his name-calling (I do think he called Biden “Brandon”), and is direct and not hyperbolic in his feedback on destructive policies.
The most critical arguments against him are almost always about policies that Floridians have embraced (including many Democrats) and that outsiders hate. He has been described as authoritarian when he refused to comply with the Biden administration’s demands. He was labeled uncompassionate when he wouldn’t allow people to be forced into Covid shots. His protecting children from the education system was courageous and consistent; refusing to allow gender-affirming curriculum, CRT propaganda, and prohibiting books in school libraries that were inappropriate for children made him a champion among parents.
DeSantis has repeatedly said that Florida is a place where “woke comes to die.”
One of the most controversial conflicts has been with the Disney company. Given that Disney took political positions, attacking not only DeSantis but the people of Florida, DeSantis felt they were fair game for retribution. Thus, began the fights over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, where Disney had been given nearly full control. He also decided to create a new governing board that would be accountable to the state, not to Disney. The Disney company tried to make an end run around this change, but they completed only two of the legal requirements to maintain control, and thus their efforts to reverse the DeSantis actions were voided.
Up to this point, I agreed with the DeSantis changes regarding Disney; I believed that the Disney accommodations by Florida were extreme and needed to be modified. But more recently, DeSantis has pushed for more actions that appear to be more punitive than warranted. He proposed that Disney World would no longer self-inspect its own rides, as Disney and the other large amusement parks have done for many years. The other parks, like Sea World and Universal, would continue to self-inspect, so it appears that Disney was singled out—even though it had a stellar record on safety and reporting. I agree with ride safety expert Brian Avery that the issue shouldn’t be politicized and requirements should be uniform for large parks:
‘What’s good for one should be good for all,’ he said. ‘This should not be targeted in any way . . . I would rather that they all be removed from the exemption [that allows them to self-inspect] and then the Department of Agriculture acts as a layer providing additional safety inspections, oversight [and] accident investigations.’
Better yet, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Occasionally, DeSantis likes to poke at people and organizations that try to flex their muscles against the state (as Disney has repeatedly tried to do). He commented on the district land that Disney didn’t own:
‘People are like, ‘Well …what should we do with this land?’ said a smiling DeSantis. ‘Maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks? Someone even said, ‘Maybe you need another state prison?’ Who knows? I just think that the possibilities are endless.’
Donald Trump is piling on his criticisms of DeSantis with name-calling and misleading issues. (He’s distorted DeSantis’ position on Medicare and Social Security, for starters.) I believe that the more hyperbolic Trump acts and speaks, the more his efforts will be self-defeating. Self-immolation, so to speak, makes the DeSantis run even more appealing.
Finally, much has been made of the abortion law passed in Florida. This article, for thoughtful reasons, explained why the fetal heartbeat (six-week) law passed in Florida was appropriate for this state, following a 15-week law that passed earlier when he ran again for governor. The problem is not that “extreme” laws are being passed, but that the laws are not being drawn up to meet the needs and expectations of a state’s population:
Running on an absolutist pro-life platform now is the mirror image of the mistake Democrats have made running on an absolutist pro-abortion platform. Some tolerance for less-than-ideal laws is politically necessary. So, too, is a willingness to work incrementally—enacting a pain-capable law today if that’s possible, working to shape public opinion, and passing a heartbeat bill later. Florida accomplished that in only a year.
When the law matches the state’s expectations, Republicans can win:
Taxpayer-funded abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy—the official Democratic platform—is extremely unpopular, going too far even for many Democratic voters. The pro-life movement and the GOP have an opportunity to expose this left-wing extremism.
When articulate politicians do this, they win. Mr. DeSantis—no shrinking violet in front of hostile media—ran for re-election in 2022 having signed into law a pain-capable bill, which protects babies after 15 weeks, that same year. He won by 19 points. Last week, while considering a presidential bid, he signed the heartbeat bill. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine won last year by 25 points after signing a heartbeat law. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott both won decisive victories after signing heartbeat laws. Sen. Marco Rubio was re-elected by 16 points after expressing strong support for a 15-week federal limit.
But Republicans can’t win if they allow Democrats to define the debate. The Republicans must rally constituents in primaries in an effort to save the lives of the unborn. They must remind the people that Democrats—without exception, at least publicly—are prepared to kill fully developed babies. Instead of seeing the abortion debate as a liability, we must fight for babies’ lives.
* * * *
The national abortion argument is precisely the type of stance that Gov. Ron DeSantis has been prepared to engage, along with many other issues.
He speaks clearly and with conviction. He takes care of the people in his state. He knows his values and the interests of his constituents.
I believe DeSantis will declare his candidacy in the next three months.
He will run.
And he will win.
Published in Elections
I wouldn’t think so. I think it’s referring to whatever qualifications are required for that office, e.g., being of a certain age or an American citizen.
I think that is what it means.
That was my first thought. Any Citizen over the age of 25 Is “qualified” for Federal Public Office.
Your reply stil doesn’t clarify what you think it means. Any American citizen over the age of 25 is qualified to hold any elected office (Congressman).
Your OP implied that he had to resign just to run for federal office.
I actually don’t see the ambiguity. If he’s elected, and only if he’s elected, to federal office does he have to resign his state office.
There have been governors elected to the presidency that have chosen to stay on as governor as president-elect, resigning just before inauguration day. I believe George W Bush did as governor of Texas, as his term did have two more years to run.
Yeah, I think that’s what it mean. The language really needs to be cleaned up.
While I agree with the thrust of your example, Texas doesn’t matter for a Florida law.
Now I’m confused! You make good points, Al. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Or I’ll see if there’s anything I can find that clarifies the language.
Hes a deep state tool. He gives fig leafs and always fails to deliver.
Look at the grand jury into big Pharma. It has yet to contact any of the law firms that have been suing Pharma.
DeSantis was tipped off to the raid on Mar a Lago so he would do nothing. The Deep State promised him that they would clear the board for him by arresting Trump. He only decided to offer to prevent Trump from being extradited several weeks after Trump broke the news because he was dumping in the polls.
Hes a Trojan horse. His National election campaign is being run Karl Rove for crying out loud.
Wow, TWW, I guess you don’t like DeSantis. Where in the world do you get this stuff? And what is the reference to Big Pharma?
What would you have expected DeSantis to do about the raid?
According to one report, the law is interpreted as requiring resignation when one has applied and qualified for the ballot:
Presumably one of the last orders of business in the current Florida session would be a change of law.
I don’t see that interpretation mentioned anywhere in the report linked.
From Yahoo News–
So everyone knows it’s not clear, and they will likely get rid of the law, rather than fix it.
I actually think all states should have laws like that. How can someone do the job of the office they hold if they’re off running for some other office?
It’s kind of funny when you think about it: DeSantis is taking his work as governor very seriously, but people expect him to compromise his job so that he can officially run. Patience is a virtue.
Weeelllll, not exactly. I think Desantis has obviously been campaigning. He just hasn’t officially declared and filed paperwork – or resigned as governor. He’s trying to run underground so that there’s no open battle, because the nature of that battle can only be a personal one. The trouble is that it can’t be avoided forever, and I don’t see how he can win that battle. Is he hoping Trump falls away for whatever reason?
I like Desantis, I think, and resigning from governor is a big step. Is it worth giving up to run for president? I think all politicians should be forced to make that kind of calculation.
The same way they can do the job they already have when they’re running for re-election.
So the only people who should be running for office are those who don’t have jobs?
I remember when a previous Senator from Arizona (whom I really admired) protested that most of them spent a huge amount of time campaigning for their next election. It was a while ago, but the amount of time they spent was obscene.
OK, I have never run for office, but I think you file some papers someplace — that is what I referred to as “applied” and presumably someone in that office does something which makes sure that you are eligible, what I referred to as “qualified”. I just assumed that these were done if in fact you could be considered “running” for office. So I think that is in the bolded text. But maybe that is just me. I am not looking for a fight, but obviously someone, including Passidomo, thinks Florida law would need to be changed if DeSantis is really truly in the race.
No. That’s dumb. Why would you suggest it?
I didn’t, you did.
“How can someone do the job of the office they hold if they’re off running for some other office?”
” don’t like the mixing of job and campaigning in that case [running for re-election] either.”
“We should demand better and more of our public servants. At minimum we should demand focus on the jobs they were elected to do.”
None of that says or means that only people who don’t have jobs should run for office. Notice the parts “off” and “some other office”. Those are words conveying meaning. Which is why I chose them. Even running for reelection – yes I think there should be a separation between performing the public duty held vs beating the bushes for new votes. Yes, we should demand it too.
We’re getting away from Susan’s post, but how would you separate running from reelection from performing the public duty? Would you shut down the legislature for X months? What about a mayor, governor, etc.? They can’t stop being the chief executive. How would you handle that?
No employee is always on the clock. No mixing public time and personal/campaign time, for one. Certainly be scrupulous about resources used during each time. Certainly no using work time to do clear campaigning.
Will there be opportunity to legitimately kill two birds with one stone? Yes, probably.
Honestly, I don’t understand. Are we all so unfazed by an acclimated to the the blurring of public and private? Is it no big deal because it’s no big deal, or is it no big deal because the outrage has been beaten out of us by now?
I’m not sure. I know that every time–I mean every time–DeSantis has given a speech since Covid, and on any topic, they say he’s making a campaign speech. Sigh.
Well, let’s extend this. What about running for re-election? He’s out campaigning. He’s not doing the job.
Shouldn’t he have to resign first to run for re-election?
Never mind. Someone beat me to that argument.
No. Of course not.