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Q&A Of The Day – Is DeSantis Using CRT & Gender ID For 2024 Ambitions? Part 1
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Parler & Twitter: @brianmuddradio
Today’s entry: Brian, I respect the diligence you clearly put your into you work and agree with you more often than not. My current concern, I’d like for you to address, is whether Governor DeSantis is pressing policy in Florida specifically for the purpose of scoring national political points. Even if I agree with certain policy ideas, like the banning of CRT or banning transgender sports participation in schools, is the policy really needed or is it more about scoring political points to boost his 2024 profile? I don’t like the idea of passing laws and setting standards specific to Florida for national attention and ambitions.
Bottom Line: Recently I mentioned Governor DeSantis’s greatest 2022 weakness is what you just mentioned. The perception he’d jump ship in the middle of his second term to become President of the United States. Before officially running for governor, Nikki Fried repeatedly made mention of this. Most recently, in advance of today’s Florida Board of Education ruling on the proposed CRT ban, this same tactic has been used by Democrats. The suggestion that Florida policy and laws are really just being used by DeSantis to gain national headlines to set up his perceived 2024 run. Speaking purely in a political sense, this doesn’t appear to be working. The most recent polling on Florida’s Governor’s race shows DeSantis expanding his lead over prior polling, with a 10-point advantage over Charlie Crist and a 12-point edge over Nikki Fried. Given DeSantis’s track record and Florida’s incredible momentum exiting the pandemic – Democrats are left grasping at straws. But to address your concern – that policy is being crafted and enacted in Florida to serve his personal aspirations – rather than Floridians. I say let’s talk specifics.
When it comes to public policy, I care about the policy itself. We elect public officials to represent our interests. Too many in my view get caught up in nonsense that has nothing to do to public policy or our interests. IE, Trump’s tweets were uncouth. Well, I happen to think an open border, a rampant rise in crime, defunding police, getting jerked around by China, Hamas, Iran and Russia, etc. are far more uncouth but maybe that’s just me? The contrast in Trump’s strong and effective polices in contrast to Biden’s feckless and failing polices is what happens when people place emphasis on all the wrong things. We’re all flawed, we all have our shortcomings. I’d much rather have good policy with someone who’s rough around the edges than someone who fails at policy but hides their flaws well.
You referenced the proposed ban on critical race theory and the new law which mandates one’s biological gender be used to determine sports eligibility as opposed to one’s decision to gender identify. I’ll specifically address those topics and the concern regarding public policy in Florida being set for purely political purposes in the second part of today’s Q&A.