In his speech to the Florida Legislature, DeSantis takes a bow as he plots his second act | Opinion

Two starkly different visions of Florida emerged during Tuesday’s opening of the 2023 Legislature. One was a rosy scenario laid out by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The other was the Democrats’ glum response.

In his 30-minute State of the State Address, DeSantis seemed to be auditioning for a future State of the Union Address. Time — and the nation’s voters — will determine if he gets that chance.

Alas, the governor had not entered the House Chamber when the bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine concluded the day’s opening prayer by urging the lawmakers to serve “with integrity and humility.” It was the last time any attention was paid to humility, a virtue in short supply around the Capitol — and especially in the governor’s office.

As the Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reported in her excellent report on DeSantis’ speech, he began by reciting a long list of his achievements, many of which were also chronicled in his new book, “The Courage to Be Free.”

Florida’s first

Among other things, DeSantis boasted that Florida is now No. 1 in the nation — or at least No. 1 among large states — in population growth and in a long list of other categories ranging from the quality of higher education to the state government’s efficiency.

This, he said, is what had caused an influx of freedom-seeking Americans. He added that major factors in the state’s growth spurt were the policies he adopted during the pandemic, when he resisted the lockdowns, mask requirements and mandatory vaccinations common in many other states.

Some of DeSantis’ actions during the pandemic were indeed praiseworthy, especially his decision to open Florida’s schools for in-person classes while also giving parents the option of keeping their kids in online classes.

Conversely, some of DeSantis’ actions in the so-called “culture wars” have been cringeworthy and reflect his seeming squeamishness and/or prudishness about issues related to sex and gender identity.

This was evident in his over-the-top reaction when some parents, taking advantage of the Free State of Florida’s alleged support of parental rights, chose to let their kids come with them to a drag show.

In my April 28, 2022, Right to the Point column, I praised DeSantis for several of the noteworthy accomplishments during his first term, but I also wondered whether he might repeat a mistake made in the World War II military mission that became the basis of the book and movie titled “A Bridge Too Far.”

When I wrote that, an angry DeSantis was bent on punishing Disney for taking a stand against the Parental Rights in Education law. Granted, it could be argued that letting Disney operate its own government — the Reedy Creek Improvement District — could no longer be justified since none of its competitors enjoyed such a privilege. On the other hand, his demanding a sudden and drastic change because the company disagreed with one of his viewpoints is troubling.

So is requiring people who wish to distribute information around the Capitol to find a sponsor and “align” with the state’s policy positions. Such intolerance of diverse views is reflected in his book, where he devotes an entire chapter to a list of his grievances against the “legacy” news media.

Promise? Threat?

DeSantis’ current posture suggests that he may be edging toward a bridge too far, especially when he ended his speech by declaring “You ain’t seen nothing yet” and is pushing for a law making it easier to sue the news media.

In its political orientation, Florida has long been a center-right state, not an extreme-right state. Judging from his speech and his legislative agenda, DeSantis may be misinterpreting his impressive re-election victory as a license to lurch much further to the right.

Meanwhile, in the Democrats’ responses to DeSantis, Broward’s Sen. Lauren Book and Tampa’s Rep. Fentrice Driskell demonstrated why their party has shrunk in power and influence in Florida as a whole and within the Legislature, which now has a GOP super-majority.

For instance, it takes chutzpah for the Democrats to complain about Florida’s insurance rates when the exorbitant rates are a byproduct of decades in which their party was closely allied with the state’s personal-injury lawyers.

As for DeSantis, his plan for his second term seems intended to answer the question “What do I do for an encore?” After a first term of actions that pleased many conservatives and put him the national spotlight, he seems to think that the only place to go is to the right.

Many national pundits wonder what’s in the stars for DeSantis’ political future. Recent polls show that he still lags Donald Trump among key GOP constituencies. Is he really the rising star that could give the GOP a presidential candidate who supports many of Trump’s policies but without Trump’s baggage? Or is he a shooting star that will have briefly streaked across the sky before ultimately flaming out and sinking below the horizon?

Although I wouldn’t sell DeSantis short, as many pundits did before he emerged in on the Florida scene in 2018, neither would I be shocked if his candidacy is sabotaged by his own excesses — tendencies compounded by his apparent lack of what the bishop’s prayer humbly advised: humility.