Ron “Contempt For The Constitution” DeSantis

Yesterday’s blog post noted that Florida man Ron DeSantis is a favorite of the New Right. A recent judicial opinion, striking down one of his many outrageous attacks on the Constitutional rights of Florida citizens explains why.

A federal judge on Thursday halted a key piece of the “Stop-WOKE” Act touted by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, blocking state officials from enforcing what he called a “positively dystopian” policy restricting how lessons on race and gender can be taught in colleges and universities.

The 138-page order from Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker is being heralded as a major win for campus free speech by the groups who challenged the state.

Among other “dystopian” provisions of DeSantis’ anti-woke law were rules about what university professors could–and could not–say in the classroom. As the Judge noted in his opinion, the law gave the state “unfettered authority to muzzle its professors in the name of ‘freedom.'”

Florida legislators passed DeSantis’ “Individual Freedom Act” earlier this year (a label reminiscent of George W. Bush’s anti-environmental “Blue Skies” Act..). The law prohibits schools and private companies from

leveling guilt or blame to students and employees based on race or sex, takes aim at lessons over issues like “white privilege” by creating new protections for students and workers, including that a person should not be instructed to “feel guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress” due to their race, color, sex or national origin.

The judge ruled that such policies violate both First Amendment free speech protections and 14th Amendment due-process rights on college campuses.

The law officially bans professors from expressing disfavored viewpoints in university classrooms while permitting unfettered expression of the opposite viewpoints,” wrote Walker. “Defendants argue that, under this Act, professors enjoy ‘academic freedom’ so long as they express only those viewpoints of which the State approves. This is positively dystopian.”

This particular lawsuit challenged the application of the anti-Woke law to colleges and universities; other pending challenges assert that the law is illegal and unconstitutional when applied to  K-12 schools and to the workplace.

In a column discussing the law and the ruling, Jennifer Rubin noted,

The law, for example, bars discussion of the concept that a person “by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment to achieve diversity, equity, or inclusion.” During oral arguments, when asked if this would bar professors from supporting affirmative action in classroom settings, attorneys for the state government answered, “Your Honor, yes.”

Walker cited that admission, finding:

Thus, Defendants assert the idea of affirmative action is so “repugnant” that instructors can no longer express approval of affirmative action as an idea worthy of merit during class instruction. … What does this mean in practical terms? Assuming the University of Florida Levin College of Law decided to invite Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to speak to a class of law students, she would be unable to offer this poignant reflection about her own lived experience, because it endorses affirmative action.

The law so blatantly violates the concept of free speech that one wonders if remedial constitutional education should be a requirement for Florida officeholders.

No wonder the so-called intellectuals of the New Right see DeSantis as one of their own. He has consistently used his position and the power of the state to suppress the expression of views he dislikes. Rubin reminds readers of DeSantis’ “don’t say gay” law, his statute banning “critical race theory” in schools and his attempt to fire an elected county prosecutor who criticized his abortion policies. To which I would add his attacks on voting rights and his (successful) gerrymandering efforts.

DeSantis has also regularly flexed his power as governor: excluding media from events, taking public proceedings behind closed doors (including the selection of the University of Florida’s president) and exacting revenge on supposedly woke corporations such as Disney.

DeSantis’s contempt for dissent and his crackdown on critics should not be discounted. This is the profile of a constitutional ignoramus, a bully and a strongman. Voters should be forewarned.

DeSantis, Trump and the New Right sure don’t look anything like the libertarian, limited-government GOP I once knew…The only part of Rubin’s critique with which I disagree is her labeling of DeSantis as a “constitutional ignoramus.” It’s much worse than that.

Unlike Trump, who is an ignoramus, DeSantis knows better. He just doesn’t care.

22 Comments

  1. It will be the courts that will have to stop DeSantis and GOP legislators from imposing their particular will on the people. Over and over. I still marvel that there are people who support these tactics to overcome the Constitution.

  2. “… one wonders if remedial constitutional education should be a requirement for Florida officeholders.”
    And many, MANY voters.

  3. “The New Right” and Ron DeSantis??? Below is the Wikipedia copied and pasted powers given to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. I see nothing “new” about DeSantis’ “New Right”. The full quote of my comments yesterday is “Hang onto your Confederate money, boys; the south gonna rise again.” Today it is Dark Money they are hanging onto and the south sure as hell is rising again. What went around is coming around again; can Trump trump DeSantis in his bid for full dictatorship? I watched interviews with Herschell Walker supporters in Georgia; one white woman said they don’t know Warnock, they know Herschell but didn’t mention they know his football hero days of yore. One white man wearing a shirt stating “I’M WITH HERSCHELL” but I saw mostly black voters standing in lines to vote early. What does it all mean?

    Jefferson Davis:
    “The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army and the Confederate Navy.[1]

    Article II of the Constitution of the Confederate States vested executive power of the Confederacy in the president. The power included execution of law, along with responsibility for appointing executive, diplomatic, regulatory and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the senate. He was further empowered to grant reprieves and pardons, and convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances.”

    PS: The latest about Walker is that his primary residence is in Texas; the home in Georgia he claims is actually owned by his ex-wife. What is it about Republicans false residency claims; remember Indiana’s Charlie White and Steve Goldsmith who lost their political positions when their lies about residency were found out. I am so sick of it all and Trump and his cronies remain above all laws at local, state and federal levels. It has been TWO YEARS since Trump lost the 2020 election (and approximately THIRTY YEARS since he stopped paying taxes) and they all roam free of full legal actions which would put all of us in prison for decades.

  4. JoAnn,

    Democrats also have residency problems. Evan Bayh has voted for decades using the address of an Indianapolis condo at which he clearly does not live. As far as I know, he still does it. On the other side of the aisle, Richard Lugar voted for 30 plus years swearing under oath that he lived at a house he sold in the 1970s. Then you have Pence swearing he lived at the Governor’s Mansion to vote in the 2020 election. I think he finally did get an Indiana residence before the 2022 election.

    By comparison to what these politicians did, the claim against Charlie White was laughable. White had a home built in Fishers for himself and his fiance. But his fiance didn’t want to live with White until they got married. White claimed he stayed at his ex-wife and her new husband’s house also in Fishers, sleeping on the couch. That’s where White claimed residency for voting…that he would spend nights there. Supposedly White had cell phone data that backed that up, but his brilliant defense counsel, Carl Brizzi, chose the strategy of not presenting a defense on the theory that the state’s case was weak.

    White claiming residency in one part of Fishers versus another part of Fishers, just meant he had a few different races listed on the ballot when he voted. That and it meant he didn’t have to resign his Fishers council seat early. (He was elected Secretary of State and would be vacating that anyway within weeks.) White voted someplace he supposedly didn’t live ONE time, an act that clearly didn’t advantage him. Yet, he was targeted with six felony charges, including some that were contradictory. White’s big offense was that, when faced with the residency challenge, he wouldn’t resign and give Gov. Daniels the right to fill his seat. I talked to Charlie White before charges would be filed against him. He said that Daniels had met with him and threatened to have him prosecuted if he didn’t resign, he would get him prosecuted. And that’s exactly what happened.

    What was done to Charlie White was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in politics.

  5. Paul K. Ogden; your defense of Charlie White’s idiocy and lying is NOT the worst thing you have posted here. We can find and compare lies from both sides on any issues before the public. What we are talking about now is SAVING THE UNITED STATES SENATE from one of Trump’s idiots who claims to be a werewolf, rather than a zombie, who lives in Texas and blames Senator Warnock for the fact that the sitcom “All In The Family” is no longer aired on TV. I regret mentioning your good buddy Charlie White because it distracted you from what is happening to this entire country in the state of Georgia which will determine much of the future of this country. It did however inform me of one positive action Mitch Daniels took which protected Indiana from it’s own Louie Gohmert for which I do thank you. It also distracted you from the dangers of Florida Governor DeSantis and EX-president Trump who is now a private citizen but remains an unindicted conspirator and co-conspirator for countless high crimes and misdemeanors, including sedition and treason. Walker, if elected, will aid the White Nationalist MAGA party sitting in Congress to secure he remain unindicted and protect DeSantis from being indicted for his crimes.

  6. Ah yes,

    Sick of it all but not really!

    How many times do folks have to smash their head with a ball peen hammer to figure out it hurts?

    Because of the defund police statements, the police now very rarely engage in traffic stops. The only thing they will respond to is an active shooter, possibly a domestic violence incident or some sort of disaster like a fire, traffic accident or a body floating in the lake…

    Several of the officers that I know in this area, the sheriff’s police and the local municipalities, tell me that their response to calls has dropped about 75%. No traffic stops, and not much patrolling. And you see the effects of it every day. The shootings in the streets are going up, robberies are off the charts, police officers are not wanting to put themselves in harm’s way!

    A lot of moving parts here! Way too much hatred and very little cooperation. Definitely lawless and loveless!

    Scripture says that the love of the greater number will cool off, that there will be no natural affection! It also talks about the rise of the men of lawlessness, those that are always mentioned on this blog forum.

    In the area where I live, very rarely was anybody even shot, now, people are being gunned down in their cars sitting in front of their houses! You can hear the shooting all night long if you have your window open. Road rage is off the charts! You dare not make eye contact with other drivers for fear you’re going to get shot through your window. There are hunting expeditions and a different communities, gang initiations require murder.

    And yet, we have the politicians complaining about such mundane moranic drivel at such high decibel level, the real rot just fester’s and grows!

    COVID is still killing thousands of Americans a month, bullets even more! Mass shootings continue to be off the charts. Serial murderers are becoming more and more numerous. It’s going from bad to worse! Soon people will not be able to leave their houses, it’ll be like the movie Purge on steroids, lol! Well, not really lol, more closer to chagrin!

    History shows the decay of society ends civilizations after a certain amount of time. It really isn’t hard to research that fact. And here we are, all of this insanity staring everybody in the face, but the cognitive blindness to it all is astounding. It’s like the frog and the pot, didn’t he jump out of the water when The heat was turned up? Well that water slowly warming made him feel comfortable, he was oblivious to what was happening, his cognitive ability did not exist he just got sleepy and then became someone’s dinner!

    The Insanity slowly increases and then starts to move quicker and exponential segments. And because there’s so much lunacy in society today, people are just trying to exist and become cognitively blind to what is actually happening. So they listen to the nonsense, and figure that these individuals running for office are going to make a difference? They never have! It’s just the morality of society is non-existent anymore.

    Successful civilizations are based on law enforcement and fair treatment by that law enforcement. In the end, that goes the way of the dodo bird! Society follows closely behind.

    Will there be an eventual declaration of martial law? Who knows? If that happens, things will change even more rapidly. But the violence won’t end, because the lunacy is all the way down to the genetic level! Be honest about it, study it, right about it! Future societies might get a benefit from it. Although that hasn’t happened in 6,000 years!

  7. “DeSantis knows better. He just doesn’t care.” Respectfully disagree – he does care, very much as his actions are deliberate/planned.

    So the judges will protect us? Not if the trend of more GOP-run states and GOP-appointed/elected judges continues. BTW – the judge in Florida was appointed by Obama…

    The work of the Right is in plain sight….poetic.

  8. John Sorg sums it up quite well today. DeSantis is insane with power. He is a pure fascist and tyrant in waiting. He is pornographic in that he has no socially redeeming qualities. So, naturally, Republicans love him.

    People can niggle all they want about “both sides” and “Democrats have problems too”, but the bottom line, the line down there in the slime of corruption, stupidity and true evil, is that Republicans kill everything they touch. They gerrymander to fulfill their power grabs and institute Constitutional defiance because that’s who they are. They are our Nazis of today without the armbands – in most cases.

    DeSantis is just one of those truly evil and bad people who managed to get elected. Well done, voters. You must be Nazis too.

  9. Let’s just call him DeSanctimonious. He signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill at a Catholic School, where they NEVER say gay. He just might be the most dangerous man in the GOP.

  10. Your comment that DeSantis “knows better” is spot on!

    Despite holding a law degree and being a member of the practicing Florida bar, he left his sacred attorney’s oath to uphold the Constitution wadded up in a paper ball in the parking lot when he entered the governor’s mansion.
    Much like Ted Cruz of Texas, he is a disgrace to those who hold dear the rule of law.

  11. Forget Florida. It gets dumber by the day.

    It’s also not Disney World. It’s a full-on Confederate state. Anyone who has done business there and dealt with the local and state governments can tell you that it’s corrupt to the core and firmly controlled by the good ol’ boys, “Florida Crackers” (which they do not consider to be a derogatory term).

    Someone needs to study the effects of strong sunlight and hot climate on human brains. Florida, Texas, Arizona? “Special.”

  12. Judge walkers decision was overdue,and the way he spelled it out. i was waiting for this decision. it was bound to happen on free speach,but his further decision was inline with the present America. though were hammering desatin and his ilk, I look at where desatin is coming from. the southern asshole of America. being ive spent many a mile in florida, and over decades of travels, next to texas and louisianna, the big three for white privlege. the others i see as followups. dealing with many diverse industries and people in those states,i find florida suppressive and in bad taste to anyone but white. its made its own lawlessness by not even enforcing driving. i find far more harrasment there than downtown NYC of L.A. combinded. that alone sets standards for citizen rage and getting away with it. seems the freeways are no more than raceways for its ilk. drive a truck there,we are singled out because the cops know wereprobably not gonna pull a gun if were pulled over,now,thats targeted enforcement. color doesnt,matter$.. cops are scared because,now go back when,,,when the speed,limit was mandated at 55mph, there were cops everywhere,and the feds supported states to enforce the 55. the big change was rightwing states and there scam of tax cuts. sounded good,but no one asked for who? they cut civil service to the bone. demamded higher education for its police,(seems most lost touch where they may have come from,and why)and gave them cop schooling that is intrenched in demand and conquour. now set them in a armoured tank and semi autos and never set foot on the ground to mingle with the citizens it suppose,to protect er,serve? this is just a small example what people dont see over time,i have watched it,lived it in humdreds of jurisdictions in America. florida cops are not the worst,try arizona. i dont even go there for any money,and florida is not ventured anymore,seems a fla hipo decided he didnt like my Bernie 2016 for pres on my flatbeds tail. $125 dollars for parking while buying something to eat/to go. KMA florida. desatin has only expanded his influence bacause its citizens,(say white) are large and in charge,armed and dangerous,by design.. the republicans over 40 years have devistated the state of our welfare to be free from harm. the woke issue is,because the minorities have spoken and taken to the vote now. the white critters are shaken and pissin their pants. thanks Judge Walker,fine job defending America..lets make sure the elementry level gets covere to. i hate seeing kids bigotry.

  13. over it:
    ive come across many there who are proud to be called crackers and relate fondly being called that.
    cracker: the white master with the whip.if ya didnt know..

  14. If you were born into an environment such that you saw that the success of others like you imposing the fulfillment of their needs on others was rewarded, or if you have exposed yourself to megadoses of modern Repubublican entertainment/advertising on “free” media, you are likely to see today’s culture as too “woke”, and favor the concepts of others ignorant of the cost to them of having to fulfill your needs. “Woke” is freedom from serving others.

  15. Nobody wants to be abused in any way, by any others, ever.

    Some feel entitled to abuse some others in both every and any way some or all of the time.

    The question of government is which to promote and which to discourage, as well as which to employ.

  16. I lived on and off on a lake near Naples, Florida, for some thirty years before departing there in early 2020 in response to the dictatorial control of Herr DeSantis to live with my elder daughter in Indiana (speaking of going from the frying pan into the fire). The court’s finding and holding are spot on; Ron the Con is a budding Adolph who is outdoing Trump in his terminal grasp for power. My house there is now up for sale; I will not be governed by a dictator.

    I think Jefferson and Madison thought of government as a referee among competing interests, that the tripartite breakdown of powers in the Constitution as well as the limitations expressed in the Bill of Rights were in limitation of what government is empowered to do – and not do. This does not fit well with Herr DeSantis’s executive unconstitutional overreach and I will have none of it.

  17. Some of you seem to be determined to ignore the fact that Judge Walker’s decision is actually GOOD news. If you just keep banging your drums of doom, you drown out the voices of people who are working to make things better. When I read some of your comments over a period of weeks or months, I get the impression that you are determined to destroy all hope for the future.
    I’m sure glad the Ukrainians aren’t thinking the way you do!

  18. “The law so blatantly violates the concept of free speech that one wonders if remedial constitutional education should be a requirement for Florida officeholders.” Love that. And not just for Florida officeholders; lots of politicians should take that class!

  19. JoAnn,

    Nothing you said contradicts in any way the facts I posted about Charlie White’s case. (I haven’t talked to White in several years so I think calling him my “good buddy” might be a stretch.) Even if White “lied,” I laid out the fact that Lugar and Bayh committed far worse offenses multiple times. When Lugar used to come back to Indiana, he had to rent hotel rooms because he, a sitting Indiana Senator, had no residence in the State of Indiana. That is inexcusable. At least with Bayh, he owns the condo, though he clearly does not live there and couldn’t remember its address when asked by a reporter.

    My point is that people need to be evenhanded on these residency issues. We can’t give popular politicians (Lugar and Bayh) a pass when they repeatedly falsely claim a residence to cast a ballot, while prosecuting the unpopular ones like Charlie White.. People need to be treated equally when it comes to enforcing the residency requirement for voting.

  20. If no-one has seen this, it is worth a read: https://apple.news/A3NPDJ1ICRCOsVYtHQUJrWw
    “…instructed to feel guilt…?” It has long been my thought that the claims, on the right, that students
    either, “do,” or “will feel” guilt over a legitimate history lesson was total propaganda. While it is a shame that
    the leaders, and the people, of this country have done numerous despicable things over the course of our
    history on this continent, I’m sorry, but I’ve never held myself accountable for those things. But, DePutz is
    very good a “Newspeak, if little else.”
    Ron went to some BIG schools? So did Cruz. The question is, did either of them learn anything about being
    a good human?
    “… one wonders if remedial constitutional education should be a requirement for Florida officeholders.”
    And many, MANY voters. AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
    “He just might be the most dangerous man in the GOP.” Absolutely!

  21. Jack Smith nails it again, typos and all.
    In other news, my wife’s sis ter has given up on Florida because it’s so harsh to the poor and sick. So she’s coming to live with us in CA, which may be many things, but harsh on the poor and sick ain’t one of ’em.
    States’ rights is pure BS. I’m a one worlder.

  22. Lester is correct that what DeSantis does is deliberate and planned. I’d add one more adjective – autocratic. DeSantis wants to be the dictator. This behavior was on display when he berated some school kids for wearing masks and told them to take them off before he would speak in front of them. He’s an autocrat, a jerk, and doesn’t care whose health he can jeopardize with his orders. For someone who passed legislation saying that schools can’t teach about things that cause student discomfort, he certainly didn’t mind his insolent orders to berate and embarrass students in front of a crowd to remove their masks. That’s typical dictatorial behavior for those who feel rules are for someone ELSE to follow.

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