Florida | Messaging Matters

Ron DeSantis is crashing: does that help or hurt Democrats?

Written on April 21, 2023 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Ron DeSantis (center), riding higher in 2021

Florida Governor and would-be 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has had a very bad week. First, on Monday, DeSantis continued his war against The Walt Disney Company, threatening to build a state prison or competing theme park next to Walt Disney World. Thus far, DeSantis has been on the losing end of his fight against the very well-lawyered Disney, which began when the gay-friendly Disney criticized DeSantis’ new “Don’t Say Gay” law. And this latest statement by DeSantis seems petty, as well as possibly unconstitutional.

Then, on Tuesday, DeSantis traveled to Washington, D.C. to gain support from Republican members of Congress for his all-but-announced presidential campaign. But instead, three Florida Congressmen took the opportunity to endorse DeSantis’ main rival, Donald Trump. Moreover, in one especially embarrassing instance, Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas literally walked out of a meeting with DeSantis and announced that he is endorsing Trump for President.

Given that DeSantis and Trump are the two clear front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination (with Trump ahead and gaining in the polls), there is little doubt that DeSantis’ troubles benefit Trump. Indeed, Trump piled on DeSantis on Tuesday by attacking his incompetence in the Disney matter, writing, with either typical name-calling or a typical Trump spelling mistake, “DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney.”

The question is, do these DeSantis failures help or hurt the Democrats for the 2024 presidential election?

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Tags: 1976 election, 1980 election, 2024 Election, Democratic Party, Democrats, Disney, Disney World, Donald Trump, Florida, GOP, Republican Party, Republicans, Ron DeSantis

Trump criminal arraignment will be test for news media today

Written on April 4, 2023 by Messaging Matters in Media Watch, Republican Messaging

New York tabloid coverage of Donald Trump

Donald Trump is being arraigned today on numerous criminal charges at the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Thus far, much of the news media coverage of this process has focused on what Trump is saying and doing, e.g. his reaction to his indictment, his travel plans, and his plan to fly back from New York to Florida later today to give a speech, no doubt full of whining and complaining about being subject to the legal system. But today is really about what is being done to Trump, and what he faces, i.e. hopefully some modicum of justice. It’s also a teachable moment for many Americans, to find out this country was founded upon the principle that no one is above the law.

Therefore, the news media have a choice today: will they correctly focus on what is happening to Trump, including booking, fingerprinting, reading of the charges against him, analysis of the legal process going forward, the potential for prison time, etc.? Or will the media continue to base their coverage on Trump’s own statements and travels? In particular, will the news media fully cover the rather meaningless Republican circus of Trump’s Florida speech tonight, letting him once again set the agenda? If so, then we will know that the media will cover the 2024 presidential elections, like the 2020 elections, in the most superficial and damaging way.

Latest twist in the Disney-DeSantis Florida saga

Written on March 24, 2023 by Messaging Matters in Republican Messaging, Republican Myths

Will the Mouse outlast the Governor in Florida?

If you follow LGBTQ issues, presidential election politics and/or Florida stories, you will know that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is having an unusual feud with The Walt Disney Company. The feud started when DeSantis, who is running Florida like a fascist dictator, signed the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” law, which restricts freedom of speech and education in Florida schools. After initially saying nothing, and under pressure as a supposedly LGBTQ-friendly company, Disney belatedly spoke out against the law. That led to a series of Disney-bashing actions by DeSantis, culminating in his state takeover of Disney’s self-governing zone (which contains Walt Disney World) near Orlando. So much for the Republican myth of “smaller government.”

Now, however, Disney has struck back, or at least thumbed its nose, at DeSantis. Specifically, WDW News Today reported this week that Disney plans to host “[t]he annual Out and Equal Workplace Summit, which boasts itself as the ‘largest LGBTQ+ conference in the world,’ this year at Walt Disney World Resort.” No doubt this will make heads explode in the Florida Governor’s office.

Disney may have gained some confidence for its announcement given that its repeated price increases at Walt Disney World have not cut down on crowds, to the point where the park is now extending its hours to try to spread out those crowds. Thus, while we fully expect a new round of tit-for-tat retaliation by Governor DeSantis, it may well be that Disney maintains the upper hand in the state of Florida.

Photo by Blake Handley, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/2a7Dm7

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Tags: 2024 Election, Disney, Disney World, Don't Say Gay, Donald Trump, Florida, Republicans, Ron DeSantis

Florida and the myth of Republican “smaller government”

Written on March 16, 2023 by Messaging Matters in Good Government, Republican Messaging, Republican Myths

Republican idea of smaller government

At least since the days of Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party has tried to brand itself as the party of “smaller government.” Sometimes they add “and lower taxes.” Indeed, Republican anti-tax activist and Reagan ally Grover Norquist once famously stated that:

I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.

Presumably, such an identification tests well among GOP faithful, including today’s MAGA base, who sadly vote against their own self-interests based on race-baiting and other cultural hot-buttons such as abortion and guns. As an initial matter, however, plenty of polls indicate that most Americans don’t want small government. Rather, they like a full-size, robust “good government,” as we like to call it. That includes, for example, Social Security, Medicare, good highways, public schools, the U.S. Postal Service, a competent FEMA to assist with major emergencies such as hurricanes, universal background checks for gun sales, and more. Likewise, most Americans oppose federal government shutdowns, and correctly blame Republicans when they occur.

But even if most Americans wanted smaller government, the Republican myth that they are the ones who deliver that is false. A perfect case in point is Florida, which is almost entirely Republican-run under Governor (and likely 2024 GOP presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis, along with a state Senate that is 70 percent Republican and a state House that is similarly 71 percent GOP. In Florida, far from the Republican myth of “smaller government,” the GOP state government is huge and extremely intrusive. Here are some examples:

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Tags: 2024 Election, abortion, books, Disney, education, Florida, GOP, Grover Norquist, LGBTQ, libraries, racism, Republican Party, Republicans, Ron DeSantis, Ronald Reagan, schools

Trump-DeSantis 2024 battle: dream scenario for Democrats?

Written on March 2, 2023 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Donald Trump has already announced that he is running for president in the 2024 elections. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis seems hot on Trump’s heels, scheduling trips to early primary states Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire, and otherwise looking like he will announce his presidential candidacy any day now. The possibility of a messy primary battle between them (and announced candidate Nimrata Randhawa a/k/a Nikki Haley, as well as other likely candidates, such as Mike Pence and Richard Pompeo) has some in the political press salivating over the potential for big ratings and readership. Democrats should also celebrate the possibility of a destructive Republican primary campaign.

As we’ve mentioned many times, the Republican Party is in a state of civil war. Sometimes the war is more hidden, and and other times it spills out into the open. In this case, Trump and DeSantis might have a few ideological differences, as can be expected. However, both Trump and DeSantis specialize in a fascist, dictatorial approach. For example, while Trump was in the White House, his press conferences were full of attacks on the (non-right wing) press. And in the ultimate wannabe dictator move, when Trump lost the 2020 election, he concocted the “Big Lie” that the election was stolen from him, and incited an insurrection against the U.S. Capitol to stop and reverse the counting of electoral votes that would certify Joe Biden as president.

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Tags: 2020 Eleciton, 2024 Election, 2024 Republican presidential primary, Democrats, Donald Trump, Florida, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Republicans, Richard Pompeo, Ron DeSantis

Democratic Congressional candidate flips the script on Republican opponent

Written on September 30, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging

A most unusual TV campaign ad is airing in Florida, by Democratic State Senator and Congressional candidate Annette Taddeo. Here is the ad (which can also be accessed at the previous link):

Taddeo’s ad, which attacks her Republican opponent María Salazar, the incumbent Representative in Florida’s 27th Congressional District in the Miami area, is unusual in a number of ways, and may be quite effective as a result:

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Tags: 2022 midterm elections, abortion, Annette Taddeo, Congress, Florida, Miami

With midterm elections coming up fast, do Democrats finally have a theme?

Written on July 6, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

“Freedom” is just potatoes to Republicans

The 2022 midterm elections are just 124 days away, and the results will likely make or break Joe Biden‘s presidency and the Democratic Party’s agenda. All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as approximately one-third of U.S. Senate seats, are up for grabs. If the Republicans gain a majority in either house of Congress, at minimum, the Biden/Democratic agenda will be stymied as they won’t be able to pass any meaningful legislation. Additionally, either house under Republican control will bog the government down in senseless hearings involving laptops and other shiny object distractions, in order for the GOP to try to score political points. Moreover, many state and local offices are up for election, which could determine how crucial matters ranging from abortion to elections themselves are handled. Suffice it to say that, if any Democrats claim “this is one of the most important elections of your lifetime,” they are not exaggerating.

Republicans, predictably, are bashing President Biden and Democrats over inflation and gasoline prices as their 2022 election theme. Fair enough, as the party out of power generally attacks on any economic front that it can, even though in this case, Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, as well as leftover COVID-based supply chain problems, both of which can be laid at the feet of Donald Trump, are largely to blame. Indeed, inflation is a problem worldwide, and the United States is on the lower side of gasoline prices around the world.

Therefore, it would be really helpful if the Democratic Party would express a unifying and galvanizing theme for the upcoming elections, to counter the Republicans and drive all-important voter turnout. This has worked in the past, e.g., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi‘s healthcare message for the 2018 midterms, which led to a Democratic takeover of the U.S. House, catapulting Pelosi to House Speaker.

As it turns out, President Biden and Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California, among others, seem to be leading the way with a theme that can succeed for the Democrats in this year’s elections. That theme can be seen in recent tweets from Biden and Rep. Swalwell:

A tale of two headlines

Written on March 30, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Mickey Mouse, caught in another controversy

On Monday, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill dubbed “Don’t Say ‘Gay.'” The bill earned this moniker because, according to the Tampa Bay Times, “it prohibits instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade and potentially restricts such instruction for older kids.” During the discussion leading up to the bill’s passage, many workers at The Walt Disney Company, a huge presence in Florida with its Walt Disney World theme park and nearby hotels, a shopping mall and other properties, protested Disney’s lack of opposition to the bill, even to the point of walking off the job. Disney has a reputation as a LBGTQ-friendly company, both as to its many employees and to customers, including so-called “Gay Days” at its theme parks. These employees were quite upset, therefore, when Disney did not officially oppose the “Don’t Say Gay” bill as it was being drafted and discussed.

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Tags: China, Disney, Donald Trump, Florida, Fox Business, Gay, LGBTQ, Ron DeSantis, Vladimir Putin, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance

In Florida, “freedom” means “free to be dumb”

Written on October 15, 2021 by Messaging Matters in Good Government, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Latest Florida postcard

Republicans have a strange and cynical view of “freedom,” that word they use so often. For them, it means opposing anything a Democratic official does, no matter how helpful. Case in point: the 2009 “Tea Party” protests against President Barack Obama‘s proposed Affordable Care Act, wherein Republican base voters, many of them who desperately needed but could not afford health insurance, took orders from rich insured Republicans and protested against something very beneficial to them.

One of the most vivid demonstrations of this Republican “free dumb” attitude today is the GOP-run state of Florida, where residents take many unnecessary risks and make many poor decisions, apparently in the name of “freedom.” This includes, for example, motorcycle riders wearing tank tops, shorts, flip-flops, and no helmet or protective gear, because such riders over the age of 21 can choose whether to wear or helmet or purchase insurance — they don’t need both. Similarly, Florida automobile drivers regularly can be seen pulling off roads into emergency lanes and grass medians to do casual things like make phone calls and send texts (don’t worry, they do that while driving too), wait for flights to land, or even go fishing by the side of the road. It is, sadly, no coincidence that the terms “Floriduh,” “Floridiot,” and bizarre news stories under the category “Florida Man” proliferate in the media.

But perhaps the best example of Florida “free dumb” is its response to the COVID pandemic. As we have noted previously, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has taken the almost insane position of fighting against COVID protections, such as vaccination or mask mandates. DeSantis has even taken to fining counties, school districts and other entities for establishing such mandates. Not surprisingly, Florida has been at or near the top among U.S. states in COVID cases (total and per capita) and deaths for many months as a result. In one Florida school district alone (Polk County), 17 employees have died of Coronavirus just since the beginning of this school year.

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Tags: 2024 Election, Affordable Care Act, Anthony Fauci, Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, Democrats, Florida, Florida Man, Floridiot, Floriduh, health care, President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, Republicans, Ron DeSantis, Tea Party

Finally, a news article that blames COVID deaths on the unvaccinated

Written on October 5, 2021 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch

National Guard administering COVID vaccination in Arizona

One of the saddest elements of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States is the elevation of false and erroneous information in the media, including but not limited to social media such as Facebook. Much of this “fake news” is critical of COVID vaccination and precautions such as mask wearing. Some of it is politically motivated, for example, by people who don’t trust any government, or by right wingers who want to hurt Democratic leaders such as President Joe Biden and various Democratic state governors, who are largely proactive in fighting the pandemic.

As a result, the media information on COVID that many people access and then discuss with their friends, family and colleagues becomes “he said/she said,” featuring falsehoods on an even level with scientific evidence and truths. In such an environment, therefore, few things are more welcome than this news article from a few days ago (and since updated) in The Miami Herald:

Not just a number.’ COVID deaths pass 700,000 in U.S. amid vaccine refusal, delta variant

What distinguishes this article is that it’s an actual news article, not an opinion or editorial piece or comment, which places the blame for the recent 700,000 U.S. COVID death milestone squarely on the folks who refuse to get a COVID vaccine. After the jump are some choice excerpts and quotes from the article:

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Tags: Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, Facebook, Florida, Miami, Miami Herald, President Joe Biden, social media, vaccination, vaccine

Tag Archive: Florida