Guest Post by John Stossel
Recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis sat down with me for a one-hour interview.
I started by praising him for keeping Florida largely open during Covid.
“I just had to make the decision as a leader,” says DeSantis. “Are you gonna worry about the daily news cycle? Worry about your personal popularity? … I did not know how it was going to work out politically. I was going to do what I thought was right.”
That worked well for Floridians. “If you look at excess mortality, we were the lowest in the Sunbelt and (had) lower excess mortality than California and New York.”
In addition, since the pandemic started, Florida gained more than 500,000 jobs. My state, New York, lost more than 200,000. Florida opened schools quickly. As a result, kids suffered less learning loss. Good for DeSantis.
DeSantis also banned mask mandates.
“Some local police departments were going to fine people … We kneecap them with our clemency power … no penalties for wearing a mask or not. It’s your choice.”
“Your choice” is a great thing. But DeSantis’ laws and executive orders often limit choice. Today no Florida business may require its customers wear masks or show proof of vaccination.
I push back. “If it’s my business and I’m scared … why can’t I?”
“You do have freedom to choose, but so do individuals,” answers DeSantis. “In Florida, we’ve just consistently sided with the individual.”
But people who own businesses or who want to be surrounded by masks are individuals, too.
Florida does give parents a choice when it comes to picking a school. In fact, thanks to DeSantis, Florida leads the nation in school choice, offering parents $8,000 scholarships they can take to a better school. So why can’t parents choose a school with a mask mandate?
“Because it’s irrational,” replies DeSantis. “Hysteria took over evidence-based analysis … the policy shouldn’t be based on fear.”
No, it shouldn’t be. But while mask mandates were often irrational, and possibly harmful to children, one-size-fits-all rules are harmful, too.
I change the topic to immigration.
Last summer, DeSantis flew 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard — a stunt meant to expose the hypocrisy of places declaring themselves “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
“Liberal elites … don’t ever face any of the consequences,” complains DeSantis. “Towns in Texas are getting overrun.”
Media called his stunt “cruel.” A lawyer for migrants criticized DeSantis for not phoning “Martha’s Vineyard so that even the most basic human needs arrangements could be made.”
I read that to DeSantis. He replies, “Do you think these Texas border towns are having people call ahead?!”
“Most of those people that went to the vineyard,” he adds, “were thankful to be in that area … They were not treated well by Biden.”
Today’s favorite media “hate-DeSantis” topic is his Parental Rights in Education law. Critics smear it by calling it the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The law bans “classroom instruction … on sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“Transgender or probing some student’s sexuality, that is not appropriate for the schools. We’re going to leave that to parents to discuss.”
But “it can come up,” I say. How far does the ban go? “A gay teacher could say he’s gay?”
“Our law doesn’t affect that,” DeSantis answers. Also, the decision to teach sex education is made at the district level.
Good.
I ask, “Doesn’t school choice solve this? Parents who want kids taught about gender changes could have that.”
Some private schools do teach that, says DeSantis. But “when you’re talking about what the taxpayers are funding, you just have to make a choice.”
For 44 minutes, DeSantis and I talk about: how America will go broke, whether he’d cut social security or raise retirement age, what departments he’d cut if he were president, the drug war, his opposition to Barack Obama’s plan to send Americans to Syria, Donald Trump and whether DeSantis is a “slob who eats pudding with his fingers.”
I don’t think his staff liked some of my questions. They cut our interview short, saying the governor had to go.
You can watch it all at JohnStossel.com
I like some things DeSantis says and does.
I also worry that he’s an authoritarian.
In any case, he’s definitely smarter and better than both Trump and Biden.
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Please Clap.
Backed by Boooshes
I’m just waiting for his mysterious black eye to suddenly appear and explained with a totally ridiculous reason..
Doesn’t stand a chance, just trying to divide the base up as many way’s as possible to get with in
Cheating Range .
https://dfreality.substack.com/p/a-case-study-in-controlled-opposition
DeScamtis’ Orwellian rewriting of history continues. This wall kisser locked Florida down for months. 70% of the children are jabbed full of DARPA’s mystery serum.
This guy is just as guilty as Newsome or Cuomo.
He will have to join the club to get elected. Even then I don’t see it.
Stossel is a typical limp-wristed pansy who is incapable of understanding that we are at war in this country. Some asshole wants to require masks in his “private business”? Screw him. Some degenerate parents wants perverts teaching their kids about queer sex practices? Great. Do it on their own dime, anbd the kids should be taken away from them.
We are well past time when we can afford to play games with the Wokesters and Leftists traitors and lunatics. Authoritarian, Stossel? Hell yes. Francisco Franco would know exactly how to deal with this scum.
I do not intend to lose my country just to avoid offending or hurting the feelings of a colection of freaks and subversives. Go DeSantis.
One of dozens of fake ass ‘journalists’ that claim to be on your side while ignoring the real state of things.
Distraction , as Huxley said , is key.
Easy urinalism when you just play contrarian
He is just a shill. A whore.
We certainly at war, but I wonder if you recognize the players.
He is owned by the Israel lobby. He isn’t going to put the woke crowd in camps, he’s going to put people jews don’t like in camps.
He’s a mini-Stalin, but entirely under Bolshevik control.
There is no meaningful difference between the jew-owned Republican establishment and the jew-owned Democrat establishment.
anon,
assuming that you are correct,are there factions of differing ideologies among the israel lobby?
Sure, but those internal conflicts are based on tactical preferences – they share the same goal, they just fight over how best to accomplish it.
I suppose we should be doing what we can to intensify their internal conflicts.
I disagree with your assessment of Stossel. I think he tries to, when interviewing people, rather than playing gotcha like the lamestream media does, kind of opens the door for the interviewee to state their position in the way they want to. I don’t think that’s bad. When I used to be a not-so-valuable employee a hundred or so years ago, if I’d done something not positive, it was about the dumbest thing ever to be asked a leading question that actually gave me the out. I’d just take that on occasion and say yep that’s exactly what happened. So when interviewing which seems to be the majority of what he does these days, I like the way he does that.
I disagree with your assessment of Stossel. I think he tries to, when interviewing people, rather than playing gotcha like the lamestream media does, kind of opens the door for the interviewee to state their position in the way they want to. I don’t think that’s bad. When I used to be a not-so-valuable employee a hundred or so years ago, if I’d done something not positive, it was about the dumbest thing ever to be asked a leading question that actually gave me the out. I’d just take that on occasion and say yep that’s exactly what happened. So when interviewing which seems to be the majority of what he does these days, I like the way he does that. As to your calling him limp-wristed, I honestly think he’s not physically well in some way. I don’t think he is or was the pansy type. He used to have a stronger voice and presence back in his earlier days at Fox.
it looks like the trump lovers are 1st off the mark on this article —
What Trump lovers Tred?? There are only two left and you are one of the two.
bl,
i believe that trump or desantis is the best that we can hope for at the current time —
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/05/18/democrats_beware_victory_would_endow_trump_with_a_strength_only_adversity_can_create_149247.html
bl,
this one is 4 you & your fellow trump haters –remember,david stockman,bill krystol,jeb bush,they were trump haters also —
is stockman ever not full of crap?
https://davidstockman.substack.com/p/the-mountebank-who-enthralled-the?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Evil never sleeps.
This will work
Lmao, that’s funny !
He’s too short to become president.
That’s actually a thing, believe it or not.
I stand @6’2″ in me bare feet,can I count on your vote?
I will say I do not believe I have any skeletons in me closet.
James
How many tons of cat food and liter have you stockpiled?
You have my vote James. 🙂
I will donate all the OSB for your platform 😉 , James.
james,
don’t worry about the coke,people are over it–
however,you might want to put those chocolate dildos in a locked box in the barn —
Always gotta bring Hillary into these things, right?
Zel is really short and a fag.
He’s still taller than Roosevelt in a wheelchair.
I will bet any amount of money that DeSantis will be president. Why? Because DeSantis is actually a woman and his wife is actually a man. All of the presidents and their wives are inverted. It was obvious with Obama and Michael. Don’t believe that the rest are too? Go back and look at some photos. Don’t see it? Its all in the open now, think LGBTQ. Any money…
Anderson Cooper
Mark Twain: “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
Stephanie Shepard: “But if you’re still falling for this bullshit after all this time you’re not just stupid. You’re fucking evil.”
Many Americans have the memory of a gnat. Ron did the initial lockdowns and pushed the masks. He also was a huge pusher of the clot shots. He’s just another pro war globalist whore.
HELL NO.
Rhonda is Trump Light. If you like Trump, you’ll like Rhonda. And you’re a sucker.
Ron has pissed off the queers and will never be selected.
Desantis bows to the small hats. Spoiled goods like all the rest. Pandering controlled opposition.
twist the ka lied o scope this way or that … politicians … & their fanbois ….
Revolution/Genocide 2024.
I like Stossel, a reasonable man. But Earth calling Stossel. When you are FOR individuals, by definition you are Anti-Authoritarian.
I truly doubt that he’s smarter or better than Trump. He’s just in the way looking for attention.
Speaking of politics…..this is what happens when you are focused on electing a fake president instead of paying attention to local elections. Sure it’s NY so who cares right? Well it’s a global plan dummies. It’s coming to your neck of the woods.
https://wethepundit.com/new-york-democrats-vote-to-give-the-state-free-rein-over-minor-children-nys-assembly-so-called-health-committee-votes-yes-to-allow-minors-to-take-drugs-with-no-parental-consent-must-see-video-of-f/
Trump. Can. Not. Win.
This election will be decided in 7 swing states: GA, AZ, NV, VA, NH, WI & MI.
Trump has exactly ZERO chance of winning any of those states. ZERO.
DeSantis could win ALL of them.
s🏴☠️win🏴☠️dle
Funny. Yet, I do like Stossel.
Anyone can make a mistake once. Twice can be interpreted as intentional:
“In 2019, I had the opportunity here in Israel to sign into law groundbreaking legislation to root out antisemitism from our public education system, establishing Florida as a leader in protecting religious liberty,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Four years later, the threats faced by religious Americans of all faiths have evolved. Through this legislation, we are ensuring that perpetrators who commit acts of antisemitism and target religious groups or individuals will be punished.”