Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave a speech in Newton, Massachusetts, last Friday night, attracting 100 angry protestors. They came to demonstrate against the Massachusetts Family Institute, a Judeo-Christian values organization that held its annual fundraising banquet that night. I attended and knew of the surprise DeSantis appearance beforehand. The Republican presidential candidate gave an 11-minute speech to a crowd far more socially conservative than what presidential candidates face when they visit New England (mostly New Hampshire).
It was the first time DeSantis spoke at an MFI event, but he knew his audience well and gave a good speech. He voiced his support for Israel, a wise move as that conflict likely had near-universal support in the room that night. He spoke about education, transgenderism, and religious freedom—three items that belong on a Christian Right greatest hits album.
DeSantis supports school choice, parental rights, and opposition to overly sexual books in school libraries. He reminded the audience that he once hosted an "Exposing the Book Ban Hoax"; local news stations covering his book ban hoax event had to cut their feeds because the DeSantis administration played a two-minute video featuring the sexually explicit content parents found objectionable, DeSantis said. Since the legacy media refuses to cover the content of such books, that’s clever. No liberal news station will tell its viewers that parents dislike Gender Queer because it shows graphics of someone fellating a penis and a strap-on; the MSM will merely sell the narrative that everyone who doesn’t want their tax dollars propping up the content is a bigot.
He also praised those fighting for socially conservative values in Massachusetts, acknowledged they have a far more difficult task than people in other parts of the country, and said we live in a state that refuses to allow Catholics to perform foster care services because of their faith. This case is particularly troubling because kids going through tough times need stable homes, so this policy benefits nobody. This state has foster kids staying in hospitals because it lacks foster parents to care for them. Let compassionate Catholics help.
Noticeably absent from the DeSantis speech was any mention of abortion. I know most Americans support abortion rights, but in that room, nearly everyone, including me, was pro-life. In some Republican primary states, the pro-life stance provides an opening for DeSantis. Donald Trump called the heartbeat bill DeSantis signed into law "terrible"—and not because it allows for abortions for six weeks too many. Trump, who claims he can negotiate the abortion issue in a way that’ll make everyone happy (bullshit), thinks six weeks is too strict. DeSantis refrained from attacking people in his speech, but why not reference that pro-life victory and allude to how some other prominent politicians have no interest in protecting life?
I was surprised DeSantis is opposed to socially-conscious ESG investing. It dovetailed adequately with the section where he explained how Florida rejects wokeness, but most have no idea what ESG means or why some conservatives oppose it. They may not know what that is, but they know abortion kills a baby.
I pay far less attention to the 2024 Republican primary than the previous two primary cycles, so this was the first non-Trump candidate I watched give a speech this year. Barring some crazy unforeseen circumstance, I can’t imagine anyone other than Trump winning the nomination. People send me speeches and interviews from various politicians, like Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, and tell me I must check them out. Maybe these people have something interesting to say. Like most, my time’s limited, and many political issues are local, so forgive me for favoring other priorities. Living in Massachusetts, I take a similar approach to many candidates and races, as the more GOP candidate in any given race typically has no realistic path to victory.