It’s usually a good thing when one has a role model to guide your work.
One huge exception is when you are the governor of Florida, and your role model is Donald Trump. Gov. Ron DeSantis has been an astute student, and he’s picked up on Trump’s authoritarian ways.
Initially, some were not concerned about DeSantis’ election due to his position on the environment. However, the signs he would not be there for all Floridians made themselves known early on. It began with his “don’t monkey up Florida” comments and disrespect of opponent Mayor Andrew Gillum, by calling him by his first name on the debate stage although they had no prior relationship.
The last 12 months have clearly shown DeSantis’ disdain for the democratic values we hold dear as a country.
On May 13, he pledged to pardon any Floridian prosecuted for breaking mask and distancing rules during the pandemic. At the same time, he forced an anti-protest bill through the Legislature that he promptly signed into law. This new law, being challenged in the courts by civil rights groups, attacks the First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly. If he is so committed to law and order, why is he giving pardons to people who don’t comply with the law?
Oh, wait. The majority of the people who don’t wear masks are white (and probably Republican); the anti-protest bill was targeted against Black and brown communities.
Next up: voting. DeSantis went on Fox News in 2020 and said that Florida elections went well, with no problems. In a sudden about-face, his allies in the Legislature stripped access to vote by mail, and made voting on Election Day more onerous via Senate Bill 90. The bill prohibits giving food or water to people waiting in line to vote. Close to five million Floridians voted by mail in 2020, with no real reports of voter fraud. If there is no problem with fraud, then why reduce access when it will also impact his base?
Oh, wait. His election is in 2022, and if he can keep Black and brown people from voting, he can potentially assure victory.
To continue his attack on the First Amendment, DeSantis gave special treatment to Fox News. In a clear lack of transparency, he signed SB 90 into law with only Fox News in attendance and no other news outlets. Much like his master, he only wishes to engage with those that agree with him, which is undemocratic. Freedom of the press is a critical part of the First Amendment. Elected officials don’t get to pick and choose who they give access to at public events, such as the signing of a bill. It defeats transparency.
Lastly, DeSantis joins his role model and several Republican governors in their war on history. “Critical race theory” has become a rallying cause in the GOP. Much like Trump creating the 1776 Commission as a direct response to the 1619 Project (created by Black American Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones), there are some on the political right who believe that teaching the negative parts of United States history is unpatriotic. It is part of a broader effort to erase the history of racism in this country.
In keeping with his master, DeSantis stated “there is no room in classrooms for things like critical race theory.”
Education Secretary Richard Corcoran (appointed by the governor) led the state Board of Education in proposing a rule that “instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective and may not suppress or distort significant historical events, such as the Holocaust, and may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.” Events like slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow were not mentioned – which is obviously by design.
Trump also forbade diversity training in all federal government agencies. In this same vein, the Florida Supreme Court (where three of the seven justices were appointed by DeSantis) recently ruled to no longer grant continuing legal education credits for any program that requires diversity among its presenting speakers. This is very much the opening salvo in what will be a long war.
Let’s not catch amnesia – we need to remember DeSantis’ actions and vote accordingly as the 2022 election approaches.
Melba Pearson is an attorney specializing in criminal law policy and civil rights. She is a former veteran homicide prosecutor. Follow her on Twitter @ResLegalDiva.