Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Apparently, there are a number of legal and political experts who believe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should have just kept on turning his state into a white nationalist utopia (OK, they didn’t say all that) instead of setting his sights on the presidency, because, now, his waning popularity as a potential commander-in-chief is bleeding into his influence over the Sun Shine state.
Last month, we reported that the governor of caucasifying Black history has been watching his presidential poll numbers take a nose dive despite his unwavering agenda to de-woke America, which one would think would make DeSantis a MAGA sweetheart. Well, apparently, not so much.
According to Politico, DeSantis’ clout in Florida is getting so shaky that college boards that are chock full of DeSantis appointees are rejecting job candidates with ties to the governor of killing the Black vote. You know things are bad when you’re rejecting employee candidates who are connected to the guy who gave you your job. And it appears that this is just the tip of the iceberg that could melt and wash DeSantis’ political aspirations away. (Sad, I know.)
From Politico:
Interviews with nearly two dozen lobbyists, political consultants and lawmakers revealed that DeSantis’ struggles as a presidential candidate have already eroded his influence in Florida. There is a widespread expectation that his candidacy will end in failure. His standing at home may depend on how long he slogs forward in the presidential campaign — and how he will manage his exit from the race if he eventually drops out.
Now, it may be just a matter of time before Florida Republicans, once unflinchingly loyal, seek distance from DeSantis and his hardball governing methods.
“You don’t get the assumption they are measuring drapes anymore — they are waiting for him to drop out,” one long-time Republican consultant in Tallahassee said of those working for the governor. The consultant, like others quoted in this story, was granted anonymity to freely discuss the sensitive situation.
State Rep. Daniel Perez, the Miami Republican in line to become the next state House speaker, urged his GOP colleagues this week to move more carefully in the future, saying that “the problem with wielding the power of government like a hammer is that the people start looking like nails.”
Perez insisted his comment was not a “message to the governor,” but added, “That being said, the Legislature can’t work alone, the Legislature works with the governor.”
And no matter how he framed his comments, Perez’s words were being viewed as a rejoinder to DeSantis. One Tallahassee lobbyist said it was a signal that the “conveyor belt” Legislature that passed whatever DeSantis wanted is coming to an end.
And that’s exactly what DeSantis’ time as governor has been. All of the anti-woke policies he’s been pushing have seemed to be more personal than practical. For as long as we’ve known his name, the governor of appeasing white fragility has been unable to stand behind a podium without reiterating his hatred for critical race theory, gender studies, DEI, “wokeness” and any curriculum that paints America as anything less than the greatest and most non-racist country in the world. So, he signed the “Stop WOKE Act,” declared that “DEI is over in Florida,” defended the rejection of an AP African American studies course, advocated for an ahistorical curriculum that teaches the benefits of slavery, targetted colleges to end gender studies, and made it his personal mission to propagandize CRT into white-and-fragile oblivion.
Of course, none of that really explains why even the GOP is growing tired of DeSantis considering his anti-woke vendetta perfectly reflects what seems to be the mission of the current Republican party. But, apparently, some Republicans are just tired of him being such a legislative bully.
More from Politico:
He reshaped the state’s education system by installing allies in top university positions and pushed legislation that limits how race and gender are taught. He endorsed dozens of K-12 school board candidates in the wake of the pandemic in an effort to help Republicans control all levers of state government. He’s used his power to suspend elected officials, including two Democratic prosecutors, while strong-arming his own party to approve congressional redistricting maps that favored Republicans.
He’s also known for his combative streak, willing to fight major corporations like the Walt Disney Co., Google and the cruise line industry.
But DeSantis’ troubles on the campaign trail have emboldened some in his party who are exhausted by his aggressive tactics. The state party last week rescinded a loyalty pledge that would have obligated the GOP primary candidates to endorse the eventual Republican presidential nominee, a stunning turnaround made at the behest of Trump supporters and against DeSantis’ wishes.
A major lobbyist in Tallahassee said: “There’s no love lost between the Legislature and DeSantis. … They are faking it. They are waiting long enough to see the king drained of all his power. It’s a slow-motion coup.”
Please don’t threaten us with a good time.
SEE ALSO:
Ron DeSantis Silent After Nazis Proudly March The Streets Of Central Florida
Ron DeSantis Makes It OK To Be Anti-Black In Florida
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