DeSantis Disaster Leadership & Dr. Ladapo Knows – Top 3 Takeaways – October 12th
- Leadership during times of extreme adversity. Leadership during natural disasters and emergencies can define and redefine an elected leader’s position in the mind of voters in a way perhaps no other catalysts can. There are numerous examples of politicos defined by their handling of these historically. One of the best examples of both success and failure during times of extreme adversity was George W. Bush’s presidency. His initial handling of 9-11, deemed by the overwhelming majority of Americans to be exceptional, defined the first term of his presidency, leading to a record high approval rating which peaked above 90% and led to a far more comfortable reelection bid in 2004, compared to his razor thin margin of victory in 2000. Conversely, early in President Bush’s second term, the underwhelming FEMA response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans became an event which defined his second term. He never recovered politically from that event with Democrats seizing control of Congress in the 2006 midterms and Bush’s approval rating dipping as low as the high 20’s on his way out of office. There’s never been a president with a wider range of approval, a full 65% swing top to bottom, than Bush since the onset of the polling age in the 1930’s. That’s the power of the impact of adversity and a leader’s perceived handling of the adversity. The reason this is my top takeaway today is that the first scorecard is in for Governor DeSantis’ Hurricane Ian response, and it says...
- High marks for Florida’s Ian Leadership. The Economist/YouGov poll of voters was extensive, covering a total of 150 pages. There were questions sampling about everything one could imagine associated with a hurricane – including numerous questions about climate change for example. What was instructive in that regard was that only 5% of Floridians suggest there isn’t climate change. But among the more instructive questions asked contextually regarding Ian was this. Do you know anyone personally impacted by Hurricane Ian? 49% of Floridians said no, which means effectively half of the state said yes in some capacity. That pointed to the importance of the state’s leadership extending far beyond those in the direct path of Ian’s impact. And what did voters have to say? By a margin of 60% approval to 12% disapproval Floridians have approved of the state’s response in general thus far. A margin that’s even higher than that of FEMA – which received high marks as well. But when asked of Governor DeSantis’ handling specifically, 64% of likely voters approve of DeSantis’ response compared to only 21% who don’t. Especially notable, majorities of all Floridians, including likely Democrat voters approve of DeSantis’ performance in handling Ian. That stands to reason given that President Biden himself made clear during last week’s visit that he approved of the governor’s performance. Far too much has happened over the past, close to four years, for Governor DeSantis to be solely defined by his response to Hurricane Ian, however with under four weeks to go before Election Day, it is proving to be his closing argument. One which is essentially inarguable, regardless of one’s political preference. And one which will likely propel him from a likely comfortable margin of victory previously, into a double-digit win rivaling Jeb Bush’s reelection win from twenty years ago.
- Dr. Ladapo knows. As outlined in yesterday’s Q&A, Florida’s Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo is no quack, a comment Florida’s original Orangeman and politically fluid perpetual candidate, Charlie Crist should be made to apologize for. Ladapo’s recs are based on facts. It’s a big stinking deal that empirical data in Florida showed an 84% increase in cardiac related death from males 18-39 who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within 28 days. Especially when few in that age group have been susceptible to even the most severe strains of COVID-19. This story, and the relative effort to bury it, is instructive of how few news organizations really are on your side, regardless of what they say, and how few delve into real agenda free investigative reporting. The agenda is real, and it's clearly pervasive, by virtue of how little coverage this bombshell study of Floridians has received even locally. The why for suppressing this story and the facts is complicated. It’s likely driven by dollars in addition to political agendas within news organizations. Among the biggest advertisers over the past two years have been Moderna and Pfizer – advertising their mRNA vaccines and the government itself. The US Department of Health and Human Services has been a massive advertiser across just about all platforms and mediums. This country is being done an informational disservice on a huge development discovered by the Florida Department of Health – articulated by Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, likely in large part due to news media organizations being bought and paid for by those pushing the vaccines.