As far as Republican politicians go, Ron DeSantis has the resume of champions: Yale undergraduate, Harvard Law, naval officer and SEAL Team legal adviser, Congress, and now governor of Florida.
In real life, he’s even more accomplished. DeSantis handled the pandemic with relative ease, kept Florida’s economy open and free, and consistently admonishes what he calls the “legacy media” for its bias. All of this means DeSantis should be the GOP front-runner for the party’s nomination in 2024. As the Jan. 6 committee drones on about former President Donald Trump, its findings and Trump’s childish outbursts should be proof enough that America needs the former president no more.
Still, DeSantis needs to watch his six for the Trump effect.
DeSantis suggested last Wednesday that he might involve Florida’s Child Protective Services to investigate parents who take their children to drag shows. This after a Dallas nightclub hosted drag performers and advertised it as family-friendly. It was not suitable for children who were in attendance. “We have child protective statutes on the books,” the governor told reporters. “We have laws against child endangerment.”
As a mother, I understand the frustration. I recognize the urge to protect children from inappropriate content. But the instant reaction to involve a state agency like CPS, one that’s already so fraught with problems, seems like state-sanctioned overkill.
A 2020 investigation found that Florida’s Department of Children and Families had been yanking children from their homes with little cause, sending thousands into the foster care system. Some of those children were sent to unsafe homes and abused. The DCF was forced to establish teams to investigate child abuse allegations against foster parents. Should we trust Florida’s CPS with another controversial mission?
We saw similar overreach by DeSantis with Disney this spring. After Disney idiotically criticized DeSantis’s education bill to protect children, the governor fired back. He revoked Disney’s special tax district privileges and its ability to self-govern the area where Walt Disney World Resort is located. The legislation DeSantis signed thus ended an exemption that dated back over 50 years. Still, it was arguably an overreaction to political speech, tantamount to what many on the Left do when they try to silence dissenting voices. This approach, and that of sending state agencies to barge into people’s homes, could set a bad precedent.
DeSantis could be a successful candidate for president. But he must be wary of allowing his gravitas to turn into a Trump-like strong-arm approach.
Nicole Russell is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist in Washington, D.C., who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
