Ron DeSantis was once the GOP’s great, very white hope. He would finally rid the party of Donald Trump, even if it was by just being his younger, more disciplined doppelganger. Not anymore. The Florida governor’s presidential campaign has been such a disaster that he had to reboot it only six months in — partially by gutting his staff. He’s already alienated voters in New Hampshire. Now this actions are pissing off another group of possible voters.
As per The Hill, DeSantis is facing criticism from Black conservatives over his state’s new educational guidelines. Among them is the way teachers are now supposed to whitewash the way slavery worked in America, claiming that enslaved Black people gained some benefits by becoming property.
DeSantis has defended the changes, which prompted Senator Tim Scott, who’s running against him, to point out that ““there is no silver lining in slavery.” He added, “Slavery was really about separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating.”
Defending those guidelines puts DeSantis at risk, Whitely Yates, director of diversity and engagement for the Indiana Republican State Committee, told The Hill.
“If the only way Gov. DeSantis is able to garner attention from the masses is when he enrages the Black community, I don’t see that as a winning strategy for his presidential campaign,” Yates said. “There are prominent Republicans, both Black and white, that see and take issue with the wording of this section and I think that they are well within their rights.”
She added. “No one looks at other marginalized groups and genocides and attempts to pick out the silver lining in the genocide, the silver lining of the atrocity.”
Representative Byron Donalds said Florida’s new guidelines are mostly “good, robust, & accurate.” However, he took issue with its presentation of slavery, saying its “attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted.” Still, he has faith that they will be changed.
DeSantis’ team have been predictably pugilistic, telling their GOP critics to pick a team.
“At the end of the day, you got to choose: Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets or are you going to side with the state of Florida?” DeSantis said to reporters. “I think it’s very clear that these guys did a good job on those standards. It wasn’t anything that was politically motivated.”
Republicans rarely back down when they’re torn apart for controversial positions, so don’t expect DeSantis to order any changes. If he continues on that path, his reward may be losing even more to Donald Trump.
(Via The Hill)