I restrict my gambling to driving in Miami. Still, if I did venture into political wagering, I might give good odds that the 2024 presidential race will be between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom. I must not be alone as pollsters are beginning to test the waters of both political candidates. I use the term candidate loosely as neither has declared they are even running.
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| DeSantis Newsom |
Governor Ron is still in the fading shadow of the party
leader, Donald Trump and Governor Gavin is still waiting on President Biden to
decide. Others have decided to act now
on behalf of both “candidates.” The oil
and gas industry (Western States Petroleum Association) took out a full-page ad
in Florida newspapers to decry Newsom’s policies in California that hit their
bottom line and tax California residents at the pump. Newsom on the other hand has taken out
broadcast ads attacking Republican leaders (DeSantis) on abortion, voting
rights, and free speech.
Why Florida? With a
close to even divide between Democrats and Republicans in Florida, the Sunshine
State has been a major factor in several recent national elections. For Gavin Newsom, Florida is also home to his most potent rival who is not Trump. Nationally, Republicans
are at least vaguely familiar with DeSantis and many already prefer him to
Trump. Newsom is a lesser-known Democrat
on the national scene.
I would rather see Donald Trump as the 2024
Republican candidate as I think he would be weaker than DeSantis. I also find DeSantis more of a threat to the
future of American democracy than Trump, so that is saying a great deal.
Why is DeSantis so scary?
He is an autocrat with brains who greatly prioritizes politics over
personal freedoms. Examples? Sure, I have a few. My personal physician had her medical license
threatened by DeSantis because she required patients and staff to wear
protective masks in her office. She,
like many of her patients, is immunocompromised and with South Florida statistically
a major Covid infection zone, she used her medical knowledge to reduce the risk
of infection. Governor Ron didn’t hold
with her medical decision and wanted to terminate her ability to see patients. The governor holds no medical degree but wants to make medical decisions that override accepted medical wisdom.
DeSantis also wants to impose his religious morality on
everyone. He is trying to shut down a
bar in Miami that allowed an outdoor drag show to be seen by minors because it
doesn’t fit within his moral sensibilities.
There were bare buttocks in plain view of impressionable youth. I hope he never ventures onto any of our
beaches, or he will have to pull the plug on our tourism industry. There are more bare butts on display on virtually
any of South Florida’s seaside venues and he would have a heart attack if he ever stumbled
onto one of our nude beaches.
DeSantis is also banning books that he or his self-deputized
army of morals police deem objectionable. They use vague references to “age
appropriate” to define the limits. The
world hasn’t seen the likes of such censorship by a control freak since the
rise of the Third Reich. Florida
students are not allowed to learn about the existence of the atrocities of slavery and the
struggles of Black Americans during the Jim Crow era calling it a theory, aka
Critical Race Theory. All sexual
identity outside his defined norm of heterosexual doesn’t exist for students
of any age.
A journalist and elected Democratic National committee member
representing Florida, Thomas Kennedy, confronted DeSantis about his Covid
policies. The DeSantis response was to
refer Thomas' name to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for criminal investigation
and surveillance. His name, photo, and vehicle
information were distributed to other law enforcement agencies. Thomas was trying to cover a DeSantis speech but was detained for half an hour without
explanation and ejected from the area, a block away from the Port of Miami garage where DeSantis was speaking. with a trespass warning. He was never asked for press credentials and had never entered the "press-only" location. When the police officer was reminded that the Port of Miami was a public place the officer responded, “not for you,” and a vague reference to "orders" he had.
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| Snapshot of post from Thomas Kennedy stopped on a public street and kept away from a press conference at the Port of Miami because he was "on a list." |
You can read more about the Thomas Kennedy detention at this Miami New Times link.
DeSantis regularly censors journalists who may have opposing
views. Ben Frazier, a member of the
National Association of Black Journalists was also “on a list” and was asked to
leave a DeSantis press conference before it began. When he refused to leave, he was yanked out of
his wheelchair and placed in handcuffs.
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| Ben Frazier before his arrest |
Free speech is under attack in Florida universities with the
“Stop Woke Act” that restricts race-based teachings in schools, universities,
and workplaces. The act prohibits any
teaching that could make students feel that they bear personal responsibility for
historic wrongs because of their race, color, sex, or national origin. It also blocks businesses from conducting
diversity training that might make sensitive employees feel guilty.
Yes, DeSantis’ view of freedom is, in his words, “a freedom
from having oppressive ideologies imposed on you without your consent.” What the governor hasn’t figured out is that,
by his defining what HE thinks is oppressive, HE is imposing HIS views on others
without THEIR consent.
In keeping with his policies and views on the evils of the
Covid vaccines, the same vaccines that he has taken and which he made available to his favored
constituents on a priority basis early in the pandemic, he supports the actions of
Centner Academy. That is a South Florida
private school that not only advised teachers not to get vaccinated but threatened
to fire any teacher or staff member who got a Covid vaccine.
The founders at Centner believe, without evidence or
foundation, that vaccinated individuals can transmit from their bodies “something”
that can harm others and quite possibly impact their fertility. One of their key leaders, Alex Serrano, who
has no children in public school, also got 2 books on sexual education banned in
Miami-Dade County schools that he didn’t like*. Serrano's children attend Centner Academy but he, along with 278 signers of a
petition, got the book banned under the cover of the DeSantis rulings.
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| This and similar book for high school students had been banned leaving no sex ed for any students. [Banning was later reversed in a narrow 5-4 vote] |
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| These topics would be verboten in middle and high schools in Miami-Dade County under the new DeSantis morals police scrutiny. |
You can read a pdf of the entire middle school text here.
So, what are Gavin Newsom’s qualifications? One exceptionally strong point is that he is
not Ron DeSantis. He is also not Donald
Trump. I could rest my case there, but he
has also run the state of California without banning books, attacking minorities
and the LGBTQ community, nor has he attacked a long list of personal freedoms. His probable opponents can’t make that claim.
While I think Biden has done an OK job as president, I question
that he can get independent voters and fence-sitters to back him again unless
his opponent is Trump. Kamala Harris is a
friend of Newsom and, if she ran, he might not.
I like Harris too but I question her for the same reasons I doubt Biden’s
future success. She also has the burden
of being a woman, a fact that doesn’t bother me but does bother enough folks
for that to be a liability.
Who else might be on a Democratic shortlist for the presidential election in 2024? Bernie
Sanders, I like him, but his age, like Biden’s, would be a factor. Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer offers a
fresh face. Mass. Sen. Elizabeth Warren
and Minn. Sen. Amy Klobuchar share the same burden of being former
also-rans. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
is too far to the left for many and would have difficulty winning over independents and
fence-sitters. Transportation Sec. Pete
Buttigieg is smart, personable, and would be an excellent president, but comes with that
one single personal factor that far too many in America find too difficult to
comprehend. They all have that one thing
going for them though, they are not Trump or DeSantis.
The shortlist for Republicans is very short, Donald Trump (assuming he avoids legal hurdles) and Ron DeSantis. The two are tied in many polls but the former president is nationally ahead. Most in his own party rightfully fear the wrath of The Donald as his disapproval can be career-ending. There are a few others with aspirations but none have shown support beyond their own home bases.
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| Goldilocks and the Three Bears The Goldilocks Principle Getting it just right. |
There are many here that could be fine leaders, but each would
face an uphill battle with electability.
Even Gavin Newsom has the burden of being dyslexic. There are those in America who don’t know what
that word even means but might think that the alphabet soup of LGBTQ now has a
D in it. When it comes to electing a
president in America, you always must consider the stupidity factor. These are the same folks you could call homo sapiens and they would want to punch you in the nose fearing some disparagement. If only we could use the Goldilocks principle
to find the perfect candidate. Not too right,
not too left, but just right, or left if you prefer.
* July 29, 2022 update: The Dade County School Board then reversed their decision and the book is back on the approved list. No word yet from DeSantis who might challenge their decision.
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