Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis brings the war on ‘woke mind virus’ ideology to California
Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the Golden State Sunday to tout his record in Florida as the ideal American future and an antidote to the “woke mind virus” of Democrats like his ideological nemesis, California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“Your Governor’s very concerned about what we’re doing in Florida so I figured I had to come by,” he said as he took the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
An unannounced but widely anticipated candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, DeSantis came to this conservative shrine to promote his new book, “The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” and court wealthy donors as the headliner at an Orange County fundraiser.
The 45-minute talk checked all the boxes for a campaign stump speech: his resistance to COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccines, a hard line against school curricula that address race, gender, sexual orientation, and aggressive steps to check illegal immigration.
“We’ve witnessed a great American exodus from states run by leftist politicians, and we’ve seen massive gains in states like Florida who are governing in accordance to the tried and true principles that President Reagan held dear,” DeSantis told the crowd of 1,300, which included high profile attendees such as former Gov. Pete Wilson and actor Gary Sinise.
Organizers at the Reagan Library said that tickets for the DeSantis event sold out in less than 24 hours.
Near the library entrance were dozens of protesters, holding signs in support of LGBTQ students and denouncing banned books.
“What he’s doing in Florida is absolutely a laboratory for fascism,” said Laura Zempel from nearby Moorpark, who comes from a family of educators and said she’s horrified that DeSantis is banning books. “If he’s going to be a national figure, that would ruin our democracy.”
Tarra Lynne, an educator from Simi Valley, also expressed fears about DeSantis’ book bans.
“He’s banning books ... not on my watch are you going to ban books. You’re going to ban Maya Angelou? No.”
Other protesters who drove up from Los Angeles said they were protesting the “UnAmerican” governor. “We support queer kids and trans kids,” they said. “And we believe Black history is American history. We’re here to stand up for that.”
No mention of Trump
Inside, DeSantis presented himself as a figure of hope and conservative renewal in the tradition of Reagan.
“Many people think America’s best days are behind us,” he said. “But I think Ronald Reagan provides a great example of this. The 1970s were a period where people were saying much of the same thing … Reagan rejected that. He believed in what America was founded on very deeply.”
Absent from DeSantis’ speech was any mention of Trump, who’s already begun his campaign against the governor. During his Saturday speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the former president didn’t call out DeSantis by name, but declared that the party would “not go back” to leadership that wants to raise the retirement age and privatize Social Security and Medicare, positions DeSantis once expressed support for.
“Even some in our own party,” Trump said, adding, “I wonder who that might be.” Trump has also reportedly been busy workshopping nicknames for DeSantis, and so far seems to favor “Ron DeSanctimonious”.
DeSantis was re-elected Governor of Florida in 2022 by an enormous margin — nearly 20% — and called it “a win for the ages.”
“Boldness,” he said on Sunday, “is something voters reward.”
Since their 2018 gubernatorial wins the two governors of giant coastal states have found in one another ideological antagonists, accuse one another of representing the worst of their respective parties. Newsom has called DeSantis “Chief Bully” while DeSantis has ridiculed Newsom’s fondness for hair gel.
Beyond their verbal scuffling, their policies are distinctly polar. Under DeSantis Florida passed “Don’t Say Gay” laws and seeks to ban abortion while supporting permitless gun carry laws . Newsom made political history as Mayor of San Francisco when he legalized same-sex marriage, and in his tenure as Governor, protected and expanded abortion access. He required all public schools to offer Ethnic Studies classes, and just last month announced new gun safety legislation after a series of mass shootings killed 19 Californians.
DeSantis said Sunday that blue America will lose the culture war.
“I think these liberal states have gotten it wrong and why are they getting it wrong? I think it all goes back to ideology. And it goes back to this woke mind virus that’s infected the left and all these other institutions. I mean, think about the way they have governed their states.”
Newsom, who flew back to California Sunday after a trip out of state, welcomed DeSantis to the “real freedom state.”
“California residents are safer, healthier, and more prosperous than those unfortunate enough to have you as their Governor,” he said, before predicting how a face-off with Trump might go.
“By the way,” he said, “You’re going to get smoked by Trump.
This story was originally published March 5, 2023 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis brings the war on ‘woke mind virus’ ideology to California."
