In the left’s grand disdain for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, it has been willing to fabricate any story that smears his response to the pandemic in the state of Florida. The corporate media have assisted in the effort, going to great lengths to publish DeSantis fear porn, but conservatives clearly see through the facade.
What the media does not realize is that the more they lambaste DeSantis as the chief opponent to authoritarian-style governance, the more those on the right will determine him to be their preferred leader to steer the GOP back in 2024.
Florida Got It Right
Legacy media have vilified DeSantis since the offset of the COVID-19 pandemic, persisting in suspended disbelief that a state would prioritize the freedom of the individual to guide public health policy. In the latest stunt, CBS’s “60 Minutes” claimed DeSantis is in cahoots with Publix grocery stores in a pay-for-play conspiracy for vaccine distribution — since the chain, which is the most ubiquitous in the state — donated to the governor in a routine political committee contribution.
The “60 Minutes” smear by reporter Sharyn Alfonsi, who refused to interview both Democrats and Republicans, is less shocking than it is predictable. Florida was the first state to announce restaurants and bars could open up without restrictions in September, after ordering a statewide lockdown in April. It was also the first state to prioritize seniors not in long-term care facilities to receive the coronavirus vaccine, which likewise got Alfonsi and the left ginned up over an ill-substantiated white supremacist conspiracy theory.
While left-leaning politicians could acknowledge that seniors are the most at risk of COVID-19, and should be prioritized, they do the opposite and then decry DeSantis for sticking to his word. Look no further than Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his nursing homes scandal that needlessly killed thousands.
Even as the media portray DeSantis and his policies as not conducive to an ideology that says Americans should stay locked in their homes until every last strain of COVID-19 is wiped off the face of the earth, Florida has weathered the pandemic successfully.
As of March 28, more than 6.2 million residents have been vaccinated, and more than 4.2 million of this number are seniors, according to the state’s Department of Health. Florida opened up vaccine distribution for all adults 18 years or older on Monday.
In terms of death rates per 100,000 people, Florida ranks 27, despite being the third-largest state by population. For comparison, Democratic-ran states New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts — all of which have a smaller state population and have instituted strict lockdowns — rank in the top three for deaths per 100,000.
From an economic standpoint, Florida also ranks well. In terms of the change of percent of jobs available from February 2020 to February 2021, Florida comes in at -6.2 percent. New York is -10.8 percent, California at -9.4 percent, Illinois at -7.5 percent, Massachusetts at -8.7 percent, and Pennsylvania at -7.2 percent — according to a study from the University of New Hampshire.
The unemployment rate in Florida, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ranks 17 in the nation, at 4.7 percent. Gov. Cuomo’s New York comes in at the 50th worst, 8.9 percent, with Connecticut and California trailing behind at 8.5 percent.
Data Does Not lie, But The Corrupt Media Does
No doubt, it is quite early to be declaring who will be the GOP nomination in 2024, but it is vital to look at where voters’ minds are after four years of Trump. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando in February, DeSantis ranked second to Trump in a 2024 Presidential Straw Poll.
Given that it is a major question whether Trump will run again, and that the once-promising South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has all but devastated her appeal to conservative voters by wavering on a trans-bill, DeSantis seems to have a great chance if he throws his hat in the ring. Additionally, the governor has thus far aligned himself with the America First movement that 95 percent of attendees at CPAC said is their vision for the future of the GOP.
But putting aside the grand speculation about who will capture the nomination three years from now, it is vital to recognize that the left’s attempts to throw DeSantis in the ideological gulag only make Republicans more confident that he represents their values. In the past four years especially, Americans have been manipulated and led astray by a corporate media willing to make up stories that suit its partisan interests. Two failed impeachments, along with dozens of other planted stories that have since been corrected about Trump, have only done two things.
First, they have erased the last shred of credibility the media had, making Americans skeptical of any future stories. But more importantly, the media’s malfeasance, which has no sign of ending, has done the opposite of what the left sought. The lying, self-aggrandizing stories about how all Republicans are white supremacists have made conservatives deem that whatever the corporate media says is the opposite of what the truth must actually be.
Trump got elected because he spoke to people who were exhausted by the media’s promulgating of false narratives and the government’s failed promises. If the Democrats wish to brand the Florida governor as the next reckless buffoon on the GOP block, they ought to be a little more retrospective and realize the millions of Americans that will feel they are in DeSantis’s corner.
If the leftist media was hoping to turn Republicans against DeSantis in 2024, they have achieved the opposite effect.
