- Said candidate for governor Andrew Gillum, a black man would “monkey- up” Florida
- He called New York candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is a Puerto Rican woman, “whatever she is.”
- He defended a supporter who said “bring back the hanging tree.”
- He attended a Muslim- bashing event with Steve Bannon
- He was the moderator of a Facebook group that was a haven for racist memes
- He proudly associated himself with Sebastian Gorka, who has ties to a Hungarian far-right group that collaborated with the Nazis.
- His career is based on immigrant-bashing, supporting Trump’s insane comments about immigrants, and ratcheting up deportations.
- He is supported by Neo- Nazi groups and does not denounce them
- He erroneously calls the teaching of black history “critical race theory” to justify banning books and courses from school curriculum
DeSantis is not the man to lead the America of 2023. His policies seek to restrict the rights of non- white, non- Christian, non- heterosexual Americans. He fuels white fear, anti-Semitism, mysogyny, homophobia in his base. He is a culture-war advocate using rhetoric that divides Americans and encourages violence. His abhorrent ideology includes:
- Signed the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” Law which targets LGBTQ+ youth and educators across the state by preventing them from having and providing a safe, inclusive classroom. It will block teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues or people, further stigmatizing LGBTQ+ people and isolating LGBTQ+ kids. (Human Rights Campaign, June 2022).
- Approved the ” Stop Woke Act” which “limits protected speech in workplaces with more than fifteen employees and classrooms by censoring honest dialogue about systemic racism, gender, and race discrimination. It also changes Florida’s employment discrimination statutes to give employees the ability to file discrimination claims against an employer engaging in trainings or discussions about Black history, LGBTQ+ issues, and other concepts of injustice and discrimination”. ( Human Rights Campaign, June 2022).
- Supported election-denying, racist, misogynist candidates JD Vance of Ohio and Doug Mastriano
- “Stripped Disney of the ability to govern itself in retaliation for the company’s opposition to the crackdown on LGBTQ+ conversations with schoolchildren”. (Guardian, Aug. 31, 2022 Robert Reich).
- Taking extreme measures to control how schools and universities function
- Seeks Trump-like revenge on those who oppose his ideology
- Supports abortion bans with no exceptions
Journalist Richard Reich of the Guardian has used the term “fascism” when referreing to DeSantis. Reich writes, “Fascism also includes hatred of “them” (people considered different by race or religion, or outside the mainstream, or who were born abroad), control over what people learn and what books they are allowed to read, control over what had been independent government units (school boards, medical boards, universities and so on), control over women and the most intimate and difficult decisions they’ll ever make, and demands that the private sector support the regime.” Republicans have attacked Reich for referencing fascism when describing DeSantis. However, the term seems to fit.
Despite DeSantis’s constant ranting about loving democracy, he consistently attacks the individual, constitutionally-protected rights of every American who does not agree with his regime’s ideology. Does that sound frighteningly familiar?