Lessons in leadership

Floridians dodged a bullet in electing DeSantis over a failed mayor

The Friday Letter / #512 / Sept. 30, 2022

To our readers: We are moving The Friday Letter a day early because of uncertainty about Internet and electrical power in Florida during Hurricane Ian

Every time a hurricane visits Florida, we Floridians should be thankful that we elect Republican governors. Strong leaders aren't strong because they are Republicans. They are Republicans because they are strong leaders. See the difference?

(This statement is not an absolute, of course. Look at Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little. His mismanagement of the Wuhan coronavirus led to the unconscionable prosecution of a mother who took her children to a public park during Little's absurd lock down. The prosecution continues, The Federalist reports.)

On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis brought his attorney general and emergency management team to Tampa Bay to explain their plan for riding out the coming Hurricane Ian. Military officer (albeit a JAG lawyer), advisor to a Navy SEAL commander, holder of the Bronze Star, former federal prosecutor and Member of Congress, DeSantis follows the path cut by predecessors Rick Scott and Jeb Bush in dealing with dangerous weather threats: in command, organized, prepared, decisive.

DeSantis and his team explained the situation in clear terms for Pinellas County residents: Be ready, leave now if you intend to flee the area. Residents of mobile and manufactured homes were warned to evacuate immediately. Bridges will close at 6. Shelters are open. Those who don't heed the warning will be on their own, as rescue workers and police won't be able to help them once the storm hits. Price gougers will be dealt with appropriately.

One shudders to think how Florida would deal with this storm if Democrat Andrew Gillum, Tallahassee's failed and corrupt former mayor, had been elected governor. DeSantis' 2018 margin was razor-thin. It won't be this year.

Like so many on the left, Gillum had only one real skill – running for office – and one goal – wielding power. The idea, as demonstrated by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, is not to govern but to rule, wielding power, ordering people around, cashing in on the largess that comes with granting favors. That is not leadership.

Democrat leadership failures have a storied history. The late Kathleen Blanco was Louisiana governor when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. Even NBC quoted stories at the time describing her as “unprepared, overwhelmed and indecisive. . . dazed and confused. . . The recovery she guided moved ploddingly.”

Kathleen Blanco knew how to run for office but had no idea what to do once she attained it.

Many decades ago an Indiana legislator, Rep. Ray Richardson, told me that many people love the idea of running for office and thrive on the attention a campaign brings. Once elected, they face the reality of having to show up at an office and do some work. That situation isn't unique to Democrats, of course, but it does point up the need for voters to question a candidate's motivation. Is it to serve and solve problems, or is it to ride the high of a power trip?

Ron's challenger is Republican-turned-Independent-turned Democrat Charlie Crist. His website has everything you need to know about how he would rule Florida. The top two: Unregulated abortion rights and automatic voter registration of anyone with a driver's license, and that would include illegal aliens savvy enough to obtain one. He also wants more gun control. Good luck with that one in Florida.

Charlie utters not a word about controlling crime and illegal immigration, reducing voter fraud, creating economic opportunity, or defending our First and Second Amendments.

If the Florida Legislature fails to enact wide-open mail balloting (a prime source of election fraud), Charlie says he will decree it by fiat. Where have we seen this before?

You can almost feel sorry for a challenger who stands by helplessly while his opponent leads. It's like a gift to the incumbent. But then remember that the same occurred on the national level in 2020, when Joe Biden's handlers kept him hibernating in his basement while President Trump led. And we all know how that turned out.

Short takes on the news

In a story published right before the 2016 election, The Hill reported an Emerson College poll predicting an electoral landslide for Hillary Clinton, 323 to 215. The final score was Trump 304, Hillary 227. Emerson predicted that Biden would win Florida in 2020. Now the left-leaning Hill wants you to believe that Democrats are likely to do well in November. We'll know soon enough. . .

Nervous Nellies on the loony left start pulling the emergency chute. A Biden adviser says MAGA's intent is to destroy the United States. “There is a MAGA Republican agenda that gives no consideration to the rule of law, that has no respect for a woman’s right to choose, that wants to defund the FBI,” Keisha Lance Bottoms said on MSNBC's Sunday propaganda show.

The original Saturday Evening Post ran anecdotes in a column called “The Perfect Squelch.” DeSantis' former press secretary and now campaign adviser Christina Pushaw drew on that idea with her response to a tweet by Democrat strategist Kurt Bardella which asked, “How long until Republicans start floating policies to impose a dress code on women?” Christina's reply came quickly: “The only people calling to mandate face coverings are Democrats.” Previously, Bardella called the GOP “a domestic terrorist cell.” Stand by for more craziness. . .

Marine veteran Lloyd Muldrow, 57, jumped in to help his friend who was being pistol-whipped by a convicted felon who is not permitted to own a gun. Muldrow has a concealed carry permit in Virginia but not in Maryland where the attack occurred. Muldrow was armed but did not use his sidearm in defending his friend, who said he would have been killed if Muldrow had not happened upon the scene. Muldrow was arrested and faces a year in jail, Fox News reports. . .

Yahoo News paints a happy face on Democrat Val Demings' uphill campaign to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida. Without naming a source, Yahoo – a prime source of information of the very young – said “recent polls show Demings pulling close to Rubio.” Meanwhile, we asked Rubio in an email for his position on McConnell as Senate leader but only got a response acknowledging its receipt. . .

During a trip to the Southern border, Home Security chief Mayorkas “secretly met with influential open-border groups including nonprofits funded by leftwing billionaire George Soros and another operated by a former Hillary Clinton and Obama advisor,” Judicial Watch reports.

Lessons from the KGB

In his piece at American Greatness, “What Does Fidelity to Our Founding Principles Require Today?” Michael Anton reveals a skill that may be necessary for his survival as a free man: the ability to tiptoe around an issue and still manage to deliver its message. The fact is that Anton's suggestion is artfully crafted but hardly subtle: Americans may be close to revolt.

As the Founders intended.

“Is the right of revolution ever justified?” he asks. “Was it justified only that one time, in 1776, but never again? If so, why was it justified then and what makes it unjustifiable ever again? Because of historicism? Because the American Revolution was somehow an irreversible leap forward?” Excerpt:

I will tell you some of what I see. A giant, unaccountable, unelected fourth branch of government that does what it wants without input or supervision from the people, and that usurps executive, legislative, and judicial power. Rights are routinely trampled. Two-track justice– one standard for friends of the regime, another for its enemies – is now the norm. Just last week a man killed with his car a teenager with the “crime” of being a Republican. He's already out on bail. Meanwhile there are still dozens of January 6 protesters in pretrial detention for ridiculous noncrimes such as “parading.”

Readers may be astonished to learn that Anton places most of the blame with self-styled conservatives. Leftist motivations and tactics are well-known, he argues, while conservatives hide behind a veneer, spewing words but not real solutions.

Anton makes his point with this 1924 quote of the British philosopher G.K. Chesterton, who wryly observed that “The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected.”

Like Chesterton, the writing of C. Bradley Thompson, executive director of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism, seems to define today's Uniparty, the Bush-McConnell-Roberts wing of the Republican Party that wants to be loved more than respected or feared.

“Academic study of the American revolution is dying on our college campuses,” says Thompson, who is executive director of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism. “The principles and institutions of the American Founding are now under assault from the nattering nabobs of both the progressive Left and the reactionary Right. These two ideological antipodes share little in common other than a mutually-assured desire to purge 21st-century American life of the founders' philosophy of classical liberalism.”

Anton notes another difference between progressives and conservatives. On the left, progressives constantly stoke fear that fascism – defined by Joe Biden as anyone who disagrees with the state – will return to American life if not extinguished right now. Conservatives dismiss the return of tyranny – what the Founders turned back – as fantasy, something that could never happen. Anton says it already has.

See related story on anti-abortion activist Mark Houck's arrest at the Washington Times.

Recommended reading

“Why Can't Republicans Whip It Good?”
Ned Ryan at American Greatness

Ryan wonders if Republicans will ever understand that their base doesn't want more of the same go along-get along spinelessness that has defined the party for eons. Anticipating that Republicans will take the House in November, he's referring to Tom Emmer, representing the McConnell-Cheney wing of the party. Emmer is running for the number 3 party position, majority whip. This is the wrangler, the guy who whips up the votes to support the Speaker's agenda.

Here's what Ryan has to say about Emmer, in this excerpt:

Just a few months ago Emmer voted to legalize gay marriage. He’s voted to block Trump’s transgender military ban and voted on four separate occasions in favor of sexual orientation and gender identity protections for government contractors. Juxtapose that with House Republicans promising to combat the far-Left’s cultural insanity and prevent girls from being forced to compete against biological males. . .

Majority Whip Emmer would have the House GOP prioritizing “marriage equality,” while standing by and watching as “female” Marines with Adam’s apples march past, and religious hospitals are forced to perform mastectomies on pre-teen girls. . .

He refused to support Liz Cheney’s opponent, Harriet Hageman, even after Cheney was censured by the extremely moderate RNC. He’s warned Republican candidates never to mention President Trump’s name, and he’s ignored issues that get Republican voters to the polls – like immigration and crime – and stuck to platitudes about reducing inflation.

Ryan predicts that Republicans will win in November, “thanks to their inept and malicious opponents. But if they choose Tom Emmer as their whip, will it really matter?”

House Republicans have a better choice, Jim Banks of Indiana.

Also recommended:

“Anti-Religious Attacks On Jews Could Come To Your House Of Worship Next”
Mitchell A. Silk at The Federalist

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