Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been under attack from Democrats and the mainstream media since well before he was elected governor in 2018, but it was the beginning of the Wuhan virus pandemic in March 2020 that put DeSantis on the map nationally over his decision to go in a different direction than the federal government was recommending to “slow the spread.”
At the time, the media repeatedly swooned over New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of the outbreak and was using DeSantis’ response as a way to make Cuomo look like a magnificent leader worthy of future presidential consideration. This was all despite the emerging nursing home scandal and the fact that under Cuomo’s “leadership” New York state was the epicenter for COVID-19 in America in the spring of 2020.
Regardless, DeSantis kept bucking conventional wisdom on how to manage his state during a pandemic, further enraging The Usual Suspects in the press and on the left to the point that they were reduced at one point to bizarrely criticizing him in early 2021 for prioritizing senior citizens–those who are especially susceptible to severe cases and death from the virus–when it came to coronavirus vaccine distribution.
All kinds of accusations were thrown at DeSantis during the height of the pandemic. He was a grandma killer for not wanting to shut down his state, he was a racist for allegedly engaging in (not really) “pay for play” with the vaccines at the expense of some of Florida’s low-income communities, he was a supposed Trump stooge because he, too, questioned the so-called “science” behind the guidelines public health officials at the national levels were crafting.
Though DeSantis is still getting publicly portrayed by his detractors as a “racist” and a “murderer” simply because he opposes wokeism in public school classrooms and state-funded higher ed institutions and is also pro-life, some acknowledgements are privately being made by Democrats about him that suggest the real reasons they fear DeSantis revolve not so much around him allegedly being “worse than Trump” but around his ability to connect with the diverse constituencies that Democrats need to win elections:
Democrats worry that DeSantis, who presides over a large, diverse and former swing state, could appeal to possible Biden voters, those who would otherwise lean Republican, but were repelled by Trump’s baggage, the advisers and strategists said.Biden allies privately worry that DeSantis’s record could appeal to the same set of independent, female or suburban voters who Biden needs to court to win. Though many also argue DeSantis is not tested nationally and could fumble in the GOP primary, with voters or on the debate stage against other Republicans.At 44, DeSantis offers a more energetic and youthful alternative to Trump, 76, and Biden, 80.“Right off the bat, you’ve got such a contrast on age. It’s one thing for Biden to stand side by side with Trump, because Trump’s not actually that young. The age difference between Biden and DeSantis is very noticeable,” said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, a consulting firm based in Jacksonville, Florida.
This is by and large why we’ve seen high-profile Democrats from President Biden and members of his administration to California Gov. Gavin Newsom engage in targeted attacks on DeSantis’ record ahead of 2024. They now view him more so than Trump as the biggest threat to Joe Biden getting reelected (assuming Biden runs again).
The DNC, which has participated in swipes at DeSantis in fundraising emails, is also gearing up for a rapid response strategy against him starting as soon as March, according to the same Bloomberg piece:
Democrats are watching the governor closely. The DNC recently hired a Tallahassee-based staffer to respond to DeSantis in real time. That press aide will start before the Florida legislature session begins in March.
All of this said, DeSantis has still not confirmed whether he plans on running for president.
Whatever the case may be, as Prof. Jacobson has said before, Dems and the mainstream press “will always tell you who they fear.”
Judging by the ridiculousness of the more recent attacks alone, there’s no doubt that they fear DeSantis the most at this stage in the game. This is something that is unlikely to change unless or until another GOP contender for the presidency can cut through the media/Dem noise machine and rise to the occasion.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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