The Republican 'clown show' in Washington vs. the 'sanity' in 'free' Florida
Intentional or not, Ron DeSantis' second inaugural address in Tallahassee suggested an obvious contrast with most 2024 comers.
The New Year in Washington dawned on Tuesday with the kind of chaos and disorder that’s becoming synonymous with a Republican Party that should be flexing its newfound power.
Instead, after six hours and three rounds of sluggardly roll call votes, the G.O.P. failed to unite and elevate a House Speaker, leaving the fate of a maltreated Kevin McCarthy and a bare-thin Republican majority suspended in a cloud of uncertainty.
At the same time McCarthy was enduring a once-in-a-century embarrassment at the hands of his own party in The Swamp, Ron DeSantis was basking in the “freedom” and “sanity” of Florida, as he delivered his inaugural address for a Sunshine State second term that will be dissected as a presidential campaign-in-waiting.
“When the world lost its mind – when common sense suddenly became an uncommon virtue – Florida was a refuge of sanity, a citadel of freedom for our fellow Americans and even for people around the world,” DeSantis bellowed from the Capitol in Tallahassee in a speech that was summarily scanned for any vibes of a presidential candidate.
“We face attacks, we take hits, but we weather the storms, we stand our ground,” he continued.
And then: “We seek normalcy, not philosophical lunacy!”
Common sense and sanity.
Winning fights.
Seeking normalcy.
Can you see the split screen with Washington?
Of course, DeSantis’ team couldn’t have predicted the havoc that would envelop McCarthy on the same Tuesday. But nonetheless they were well aware of the scrutiny the governor’s second inaugural appearance would earn, so nothing in it should be read as pure coincidence.
DeSantis’ speech played to his core conservative strengths by leaning into Florida’s freedom-driven policies, his crusade against “woke” ideology and his ability to win big. “The people of Florida have validated our efforts in record fashion,” he boasted.
DeSantis 2023 Inaugural Speech Word Cloud (sans the actual cloud) >
12: Freedom
8: #1
7: Law
6: Delivered
5: Ideology
4: Liberty
3: Sanity
3: Woke
But what he also did is take a step towards framing his conservative bonafides as sane in addition to being successful. And when compared with McCarthy’s mess, it makes for an extra enticing layer to pitch to a national audience.