While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has earned the emphatic praise of many of the nation’s principled conservatives as of late, it’s almost hard to give him credit for doing what should be completely common sense for any elected official. This from westerjournal.com.
The Republican governor has kept his state economy alive, he’s protected his citizens’ God-given rights, he’s combated radical indoctrination, and he’s told violent rioters and thugs they’re not welcome on his turf.
Now, even just five to ten years ago it wouldn’t be remarkable for a governor to publicly say you shouldn’t hurt people or damage property while protesting, but in 2021, it’s a distinctly partisan move.
Of course, this is the hard left’s problem, not DeSantis’, and any moral leader should be standing up to these ideological tyrants who claim to be fighting for “justice” yet whose tactics are far more reminiscent of the French Revolution than they are the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.
Last week at a news conference, DeSantis doubled down on his emphatic support of law enforcement, bluntly telling violent rioters to stay off his turf.
Click HERE to view a short clip of Gov. DeSantis speaking.
“Hey, if you’re in Portland, you think you can come down to Florida and do this?” DeSantis said, addressing the violent mobs that have made Oregon’s biggest city so notorious in recent years.
“Stay out of our state, we don’t want you coming down here causing problems.
“And if anyone does cause these problems, if you try to burn something down, if you try to harm anybody — but particularly a police officer — during one of these violent assemblies, there will be consequences,” the governor also warned.
Should more governors echo DeSantis’ message to antifa?
“They will be swift and they will be severe, and they will be such that people who see that happening will know, that’s not something we want to do going forward.”
Earlier in his comments, he explained the difference between his state and other states when it comes to the mob violence that has become chillingly common in certain localities, particularly places like Portland and Seattle.
“I think if you look around the country, what happens is, like in Portland, these people riot every night, they go, they get their mug shot and then they get put right back on the street to do it again,” DeSantis explained.
Last month, DeSantis signed an “anti-riot” bill that imposes harsh penalties for people who commit acts of violence during a protest, destroy a historic monument or travel from out of state to participate in a riot. The new bill will no doubt serve as a deterrent against rioting both for Florida residents bent on mischief and out-of-state agitators who mean to cause trouble.
DeSantis even noted during his news conference last week that left-wing agitators are often very well equipped, even mentioning reports of a U-Haul truck full of supplies that had apparently been unloaded at the scene of one protest.
Elected officials in the United States have a responsibility to protect the U.S Constitution against all threats foreign and domestic. In other words, domestic insurgency movements are a threat to free speech and are absolutely not, nor will they ever be, a First Amendment-protected exercise.
Every single governor in the nation should be saying exactly what DeSantis is saying about antifa, Black Lives Matter and any other violent group that too easily conflates terrorism with freedom.
It might be common sense to govern like this, but sadly common sense is no longer common. Is it any wonder that DeSantis’ state is becoming home to so many new residents as they flee disastrous, lawless blue states and who are sick of senseless governance? Floridians must now hope and pray these newcomers don’t bring with them their erroneous voting habits.
Thank you Governor DeSantis for saying what every politician in America should have said months ago. Relating details about the “U-Haul truck full of supplies” to assist violent rioters, the senseless destruction of private and public property, and the arrest then return to the streets of violent rioters needed to be accomplished directly following the first occurrence of such crime. But no. This was not done.
Lacking the testicular fortitude, democrats at all levels of government slunk into the shadows and did nothing, or in many instances encouraged the lawlessness. Now in democrat-controlled cities, businesses are destroyed, buildings are gutted, residents are fearful for their lives and their livelihood, police departments are unfunded or underfunded and undermanned, and police officers are disrespected, abused, and fleeing for Red states.
Take that Blue states. And what now for your encore? But, of course, a democrat-pushed spending package that’ll have American taxpayers paying to rebuild, repair, and replace all that was caused by your stupidity.
