The COVID pandemic of 2020-21 illustrated the Founding Fathers’ brilliance in establishing federalism as an antidote to tyranny.
In other words, when tyrants gain control of one state government, citizens may flee to a freer state.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida reminded us of these facts as he blasted Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota for COVID-era authoritarianism, including Walz’s establishment of a “snitch hotline” that called forth the worst instincts in human beings by encouraging them to report on fellow citizens who refused to comply with the governor’s COVID-related edicts.
On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, named Walz her running mate. To say the least, things have not gone smoothly for the Minnesota governor.
In recent days, Walz has found himself embroiled in a “stolen valor” scandal of his own making. He has come under fire chiefly for his repeated public claims to a rank he never earned while serving in the Minnesota National Guard before reportedly bailing on his troops and running for Congress rather than deploying to Iraq.
DeSantis chose a different but equally valid line of attack.
In fact, the Florida governor framed his criticism of Walz in the context of in-migration, i.e. citizens fleeing Democrat-controlled states.
“You look at, since 2020, we have the most net in-migration of any state,” DeSantis said. “And it’s coming from states, you know, like Minnesota quite frankly, with Walz.”
Is Ron DeSantis the best governor in the country?
Later in the briefing, DeSantis explained why so many people voted with their feet and fled Walz’s state.
“As Florida governor, I learn a lot about other states because when people leave those states, they tell me why they left those states,” he said.
“And, I remember during COVID the absolute frustration that people had moving from Minnesota because of how they were being treated,” he added.
DeSantis then took aim at Walz’s blend of tyranny and hypocrisy.
“He’s got this line in the stump speech saying, you know, ‘Our neighbors can do what they want. Mind your own damn business.’ Fine. Then why did you set up a snitch hotline for neighbors to report on their neighbors for violating your draconian COVID restrictions?” an increasingly animated DeSantis said.
Moments later, after a round of applause, DeSantis built on the themes of tyranny and hypocrisy.
“He’ll say, ‘We should make health care choices, that’s your choice.’ Fine. Great. Then why did you impose a mandate to take an experimental mRNA COVID shot on your people? He did that for all state employees,” DeSantis said. “This is just absolutely ridiculous.”
Note that the Florida governor even refused to use the word “vaccine.”
With comments like these, he reminded us why conservatives have admired him for so long.
Readers may view a 5-minute clip of the press briefing below. The relevant comments on Walz’s COVID policies began around the 2:15 mark.
Former President Donald Trump, of course, has commanded the gratitude and even the love of millions. After all, when the deep state tries to frame you for Russian collusion, impeaches you, entraps you and your supporters so as to build a false “insurrection” narrative, raids your home, indicts you four times, tries to bankrupt and imprison you — and potentially worse — millions of citizens see through the fog of establishment propaganda and recognize that the deep state must regard you as an existential threat.
When enough citizens have reached that conclusion, no other contender stands a chance.
Nonetheless, DeSantis’ failure to defeat Trump in the 2024 Republican primary does not obscure the fact that many Trump supporters still regard DeSantis as America’s best governor, and they undoubtedly think that in large part because of DeSantis’ COVID-related policies.
Thus, DeSantis’ criticism of Walz almost certainly landed with voters already inclined to reject the Minnesota governor.
Time will tell, however, if that angle of attack will land with voters as a whole.
After all, the COVID era exposed two groups of tyrants. It exposed elected officials like Walz, who set up Soviet-style snitch hotlines and encouraged people to report on their neighbors. But it also exposed the would-be tyrants among us who called those hotlines and did the reporting.
In short, DeSantis had it right when he criticized Walz and celebrated those Minnesota citizens who fled to Florida.
But how many of the would-be tyrants next door stayed behind? How many have shown no remorse for their role in COVID-era tyranny? And how many plan to vote for Harris-Walz in November remains to be seen?
