Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is going after some of his fellow Republicans for not doing more to fight against so-called “wokeness.”
“If woke ideology takes over, it will destroy this country. We are not going to let that happen in the state of Florida,” DeSantis, 44, said during a speech before top GOP donors in Florida on Thursday, as reported by outlets including CNN and Fox News.
“Some of these Republicans, they just sit back like potted plants, and they let the media define the terms of the debate,” he added in his speech before the conservative group Club for Growth. “They let the left define the terms of the debate.”
DeSantis, who many believe will enter the 2024 presidential race, added that the best way to defeat said-wokeness is to attack it. “The best defense is a good offense,” he said.
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He has already fought and won some of those fights in Florida, as he notes in his new bestselling book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.” DeSantis sparked public debate over his “Stop WOKE Act,” which limits what can be taught about racism in schools and has been blocked by a judge, as well as a law prohibiting teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade, which critics have called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
And when Disney
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attacked the bill, DeSantis passed legislation that dissolved company’s 50-year-old special tax district near Orlando. This had previously allowed Disney to self-govern the land that includes its theme parks, leading to rapid expansion of parks, hotels and other attractions. But DeSantis now has control over the tax district, allowing him to appoint a five-member board to oversee government services the Disney district provides.
See also: Ron DeSantis wants to ‘Make America Florida’ in his new bestselling book
DeSantis has notably skipped the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in suburban Washington, D.C. this week — where former President Donald Trump is a headliner — to promote his new book,
Read more: DeSantis, promoting his ‘Courage’ book, will skip the CPAC conference. Trump is a headliner.
Several other possible 2024 GOP presidential candidates — including former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — are also not speaking at CPAC 2023.
Trump is slated to close the conference when he speaks on Saturday. And he is almost guaranteed to win the event’s annual unscientific presidential preference poll of attendees.
