If Ron DeSantis buys into a theory long associated with Donald Trump, that there is no such thing as bad publicity – i.e. any publicity is a good thing – he will now be provided with a chance to test it out. The Florida governor has come under heavy fire from his growing list of enemies on the left – a list now challenging Trump’s in size, scope, and intensity – in the aftermath of a particularly sickening triple murder in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, January 26. The fact that the gunman was a professed Nazi sympathizer was predictably and instantly laid at the feet of DeSantis – as if he were either sympathetic to the cause or, at best, undisturbed by the murderous racism of the perpetrator.
Is It Really About Jacksonville – or Just Politics as Usual?
The left has been spooked – horrified even – by the success DeSantis has enjoyed, legislatively and electorally, in his war on wokeness. They are intent on “Trump-ing” their new best enemy who has had the audacity to reject the teaching of American history through the lens of left-wing, deconstructionist critical race theory (CRT), the indoctrination of innocent children into gender fluidity and queer theory, and George Soros-funded prosecutors deliberately allowing the national urban crime wave to go unchecked. It is an open secret that, at least until recently, the Democrats have believed DeSantis to be a greater threat than Trump to their hold on the White House. And so, as usual, the left immediately politicized a tragedy, as always blaming any politician who believes the Second Amendment means what it says and is focused more on the rights of law-abiding gun owners than those of criminals.
Of course, for the increasingly distant runner-up to Donald Trump needing a heavy post-debate dose of oxygen any way he can get it, well, Gov. DeSantis certainly has the media’s attention now – and with it comes both peril and opportunity. The peril is obvious from the race-obsessed left attempting to position DeSantis as just as bad or – God forbid – maybe even worse than Trump. The Ron-haters were out on X, formerly Twitter, in full force following the tragedy in Jacksonville. A small sample: One wrote that “the war Ron and Florida initiated against Black history and people is working … They are grooming FL residents to oppress Black folks.” A second proclaimed that DeSantis “has blood on his hands and his way and laws makes him an accomplice,” while a third likened DeSantis’ videotaped statement to “the murderer returning to the crime scene vowing to find the killer.” And it led a fourth to state, “Guess CRT is true.”
Indeed, it’s ugly out there, made worse with posted images of “Republican hands” soaked in blood, placards touting “The Gunshine State,” and sanctimonious Trump-hating CNN “journalist” Jim Acosta tearfully lecturing us, “We should make this a better country. This has to stop.”
At the same time, opportunity knocks in providing the governor a chance to correct the record and re-state for the nation writ large the case that led to his stunning landslide re-election victory in the Sunshine State. Despite trailing badly in the early stage of the presidential race, he still has time to reverse his trajectory, but no time to lose.
What If the Left Were Measured by the Same Yardstick?
Ron DeSantis (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
DeSantis might be well advised to pose the most significant single question regarding racial animus in the recent history of this country that has, just like in the Hunter Biden affair, not been asked by the left and the step-and-fetch-it media looking to protect the ruling elite. Here it is: Since you are blaming Gov. DeSantis, Donald Trump, and anyone who supports either of them for the acts of the pro-Nazi “scumbag” (DeSantis’s word) in Jacksonville, are leftists to blame for the hundreds of lives taken or tattered in the violent post-George Floyd hysteria they whipped up during our 2020 summer of shame? Will you admit your culpability in forcing Americans to bend the knee to cultural Marxists, even as they were effectively preaching the overthrow of law enforcement, and ultimately, constitutional government?
Even as the left pounces on DeSantis, those who study media bias, most prominently Brent Bozell and the Media Research Center, are quick to point out that the Fourth Estate’s documented one-sidedness occurs through both commission: disseminating stories they suspect or even know to be false such as Trump-Russia collusion, and omission: deciding simply not to cover news or angles that could possibly elevate their enemies on the right or wound their friends on the left. This is most obviously demonstrated in the treasure trove of shocking, entirely newsworthy hard information emanating from the Hunter Biden laptop – ignored by media hiding behind the “Russian disinformation” lie spoon-fed to them by their allies on the left, and thus protecting Joe Biden from revelations which could very possibly have lost him the 2020 presidential election.
The Florida governor is now experiencing both the bias of commission, with the left drawing a direct link between the popular governor and a murderous Nazi sympathizer, and of omission through their refusal to acknowledge the actual and obvious direct link between DeSantis’ policies and his high approval. Horrific events reflecting the worst of the human species have taken place under presidents and governors of both parties. No amount of “ain’t it awful,” wishful thinking, or virtue-signaling will alter human nature, just as the legitimate policy position of a government official will hardly convince or dissuade an individual twisted by hatred and bent on violence. Normal people understand this. So do politicians and journalists – but Heaven forbid they ever admit it.
