'Tone of humility': Florida columnist issues dire warning to Ron DeSantis

Editor Steve Bousquet predicts that, amid Ron DeSantis’ increasing popularity among the GOP, if the Florida governor doesn’t pivot from focusing on “culture wars” issues and ideas to more pressing issues that greatly impact Floridians, his legacy could be hurt in the long run, WGCU Public Media reports

The Opinions editor and columnist at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Bousquet noted — according to WGCU — that DeSantis went from a "relatively unknown politician" four years ago, to sweeping the gubernatorial win in November by 20 points over his Democratic opponent.

He also examined the way the governor’s “tone of humility” drastically changed during his first four-year term; how he pivoted from investing in statewide water quality and appointing climate change leaders – for which he received a bipartisan nod – to shifting his focus to "culture war" issues like anti-vaccination conspiracies and anti-critical race theory policies.

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“The DeSantis of four years ago was largely a blank canvas…Ron DeSantis 2.0 has won by nearly 20 points, he’s a major national political figure, and everything he says takes on much greater weight than it did four years ago," said Bousquet.

As the Republican party continues to search for presidential candidates of “quality,” DeSantis, so far, ranks high on the list of possible contenders. But, according to WGCU, Boesquet predicts that the governor will continue to push his far-right agenda beyond state politics and into the “national spotlight.”

He says DeSantis ought to stop focusing so much on the culture wars ideas and pivot to focusing on more “pressing issues at home” like climate change, housing affordability and property insurance. These three issues, the editor argues, could hurt DeSantis if he neglects to address them.

“It’s a limited risk as long as things are going fairly smoothly in the state — of course, that’s in the eye of the beholder,” Bousquet said.

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