Free Republic

At Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) urging, Florida Republicans are eagerly drafting a bill to expand the scope of defamation law. But not everyone in the conservative movement is a fan. During an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner, former Vice President Mike Pence made clear that he was not thrilled about challenging New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court case establishing the actual malice standard for defamation of public figures. "Well, let me just say in the broadest sense, I believe a free and independent press is a bulwark of our nation," Pence said. "From my years in Congress,...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ team is already plotting out a strategy to run against Donald Trump for the long haul. The plan focuses less on making a quick splash in places like Iowa or New Hampshire and more on outlasting the former president in a battle for Republican convention delegates. Even though it’s early and DeSantis isn’t officially a candidate yet, in talks behind the scenes, an expanded map is viewed as one of the keys to victory, three sources close to the governor said. “There have been multiple conversations about delegates and how they are picked in various states...

I had completely forgotten about this, until someone reminded me today. It is worth revisiting.If you have followed the management and branding efforts of the team around Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the protestations today by campaign official and registered foreign agent Christina Pushaw are quite bizarre.The Daily Beast wrote an article [SEE HERE] about how Ms. Pushaw organized an astroturf campaign of support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which included the recruitment of several conservative influencers. The substance of the article is generally well known.In late 2021, early 2022, Ms. Pushaw invited a group of “influencers” to spend time with...

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for president on Wednesday, becoming the second House Republican to throw their support behind the Florida governor — even though he has not launched a campaign for the White House. In a statement released by the Never Back Down super PAC, which is supporting a DeSantis presidential bid, Massie called the Florida governor “a proven energetic leader.” “America needs a leader who is decisive, respects the Constitution, understands policy, puts family first, and leads by inspiring,” Massie said. “That’s why I’m endorsing Ron DeSantis for President.” “If we make the...

Florida lawmakers reportedly filed legislation Thursday that would repeal the state’s “Resign to Run” law.Repealing the law would pave the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president without having to resign from his current position.The bill draft was filed “minutes after the announcement that President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan Grand Jury on 30 counts related to alleged business fraud,” The Floridian reports.This could pave the way for @GovRonDeSantis to run for President. Read here:https://t.co/qSrSHLCSXJ— Chris Nelson 🇺🇸 🏝 (@ReOpenChris) March 31, 2023From The Floridian:The bill, “SPB 7050: Elections” could change Florida’s “Resign to Run”...

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law a $711 million plan to make housing more affordable for working Floridians. A priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, the “Live Local Act,” will more than double funding for housing and rental programs, provide incentives for investment in affordable housing and encourage mixed-use developments in struggling commercial areas. “As demand is high to move to a place like Florida, it makes it more challenging for folks to be able to afford,” DeSantis said during a bill-signing event in Naples. “I think this is the biggest effort that's ever been done in the...

On Thursday, Florida lawmakers filed a bill that would allow Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to run for president without having to first resign from the governor’s office.Current state law mandates that if DeSantis were to run for another office, he would have to resign from his current post in order to do so, as reported by the Epoch Times.The bill, Senate Bill 7050, was filed at 6:08 p.m. just roughly thirty minutes after news broke that 45th President Donald Trump will be indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D).The filing comes after Gov. DeSantis took a stand for President...

The battle between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may not be over yet. The new board handpicked by the Republican governor to oversee Disney’s special taxing district said Wednesday it is considering legal action over a multi-decade agreement reached between the entertainment giant and the outgoing board in the days before the state’s hostile takeover last month. Under the agreement – quietly approved on February 8 as Florida lawmakers met in special session to hand DeSantis control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District – Disney would maintain control over much of its vast footprint in Central Florida for 30...

So it looks like the battle between Gov. DeSantis and Disney isn’t over yet. In January a DeSantis spokesperson announced that “The corporate kingdom has come to an end.” But the new board members weren’t actually in place until the end of February after DeSantis signed a law to put them there.Capping a year-long feud with one of the state’s largest employers, DeSantis signed into law a bill officially granting a new state-appointed board the responsibilities of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District and named a slate of conservative leaders.The newly appointed members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District include...

@paulsperry_ DEVELOPING: The Bushes are running against Trump through "proxy" candidate DeSantis, according to GOP insiders in Texas and Florida. The entire "Bush machine" is behind his campaign, even helping run it

Why would DeSantis cosponsor this bill?What was HR 6246?What the bill doesThe Puerto Rico Admission Act [H.R. 6246] would officially make the territory the 51st U.S. state, no later than 2021.The bill was introduced by the territory’s nonvoting member of Congress, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR0).The state would gain two U.S. senators, plus five House representativesaccording to their population, as well as presidential voting rights.How would the state likely vote? Unlike a potential Washington DC statehood, Puerto Rico is more up in the air. Their one nonvoting member of Congress is a Republican, though their governor is a member of...

DeSantis is not a friend to retiring workersWeakening Social SecuritySeniors First | Adam Putnam for GovernorDeSantis’ record in the House [on this topic] is very much of the Paul Ryan, privatize Social Security platform, which is just not where our voters are now.”The draconian cuts DeSantis voted for would have raised the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare to 70. It would have weakened Medicare by offering seniors “premium support” instead of comprehensive health coverage. And it would have eroded Social Security by giving recipients miserly annual adjustments for inflation. Taken together, the two measures would have cut these...

"Who is running his (Ron’s) campaign?” —Larry Kudlow “He’s (Karl) has been advising him (Ron). That’s why he’s getting better each week?” —Mark Simone ...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s donors and supporters are beginning to question if the potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate should run in the next election cycle — a bid that would put him against former President Donald Trump — or wait until 2028, according to reports.According to a report from NBC News, donors and supporters of DeSantis are having second thoughts on the prospect of the governor’s potential presidential bid. Per the report, one main issue seems to be the governor’s ability to take Trump — who has been criticizing the governor for months — head on.Per the report:At a Sunday...

March 25, 2023 | Sundance | 361 Comments Before getting to the latest developments regarding the worries of the mid-tier donor class within the republican apparatus, I want to provide some context for the overall Ron DeSantis (RdS) management agenda. I can trace the origin of the RdS 2024 scheme to an originating timeframe in late fall 2021. It may go back further than that, but it is at least in place by the late fall of 2021. That means that everything within the professional republican apparatus, those who manipulate the political events from the controlling wing of the republican...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is recalibrating his strategy and messaging amid signs that his presidential ambitions may be faltering before his campaign even gets off the ground. DeSantis began the year with clear momentum in the nascent GOP presidential primary, topping former President Trump in head-to-head polling and drawing unparalleled interest from Republican voters and operatives eager to see a fresh face at the helm of the party. But there are signs that his momentum may be stalling: he’s faced weeks of relentless attacks from Trump and his allies, fellow Republicans have criticized him for dubbing Russia’s invasion of...

With the Ron DeSantis book tour, which some people have called a ‘de facto presidential campaign,’ there has been an increase in public records requests for the governor’s travel records.In response, Florida lawmakers are pushing legislation that would shield the governor and other state officials’ travel records from the public.Members of the Florida Legislature moved this week to shield Gov. Ron DeSantis’s travel records from the public, proposing to change the state’s public information laws just as the governor ramps up what is expected to be a 2024 presidential campaign. https://t.co/lLFrsGeqA5— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 24, 2023The bill...

Florida’s bipartisan Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee has just approved a bill that seeks to shield Governor Ron DeSantis’ travel records from the general public.SB 1616 allows Florida’s Governor, the governor’s close family, visiting governors, and others state officials to be exempt from disclosing their travel records.Currently, Florida has several “sunshine laws” which permit the general public to request travel logs of state officials.The new bill attempts to amend state statute 943.68, that requires records of the Governor’s transportation and protective services to be disclosed to the public.Members of the Florida Legislature moved this week to shield Gov. Ron...

Ron DeSantis may be missing his moment. A number of the Florida governor’s donors and allies are worried his recent stumbles suggest he may not be ready for a brutal fight against Donald Trump. Some feel DeSantis needs to accelerate his timeline to run for the GOP presidential nomination and begin directly confronting Trump if he's to have any chance of thwarting the former president’s momentum. Others believe DeSantis should sidestep Trump altogether and wait until 2028 to run. “They liked him — many of them might even support him,” the person who was at the event said of DeSantis....

Erin Perrine, who was the press communications director for former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, has joined a super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Perrine will be the communications director for the "Never Back Down" PAC, a group led by Trump-era top homeland security official Ken Cuccinelli. After her stint as the 2020 Trump campaign's national spokesperson, Perrine served as communications director for GOP Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. ... Earlier this week, seasoned GOP strategist Jeff Roe was also brought on as an adviser to the super PAC, according to a Republican operative with direct knowledge of the move....