(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Gov. DeSantis preaches anti-‘woke’ sermon to suburban audiences up North [1] ['Michael Moline', 'More From Author', '- February'] Date: 2023-02-21 Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a sharply anti-“woke” message during his Presidents Day speeches to police audiences outside three Democratic-controlled northern cities, sounding for all the world like a candidate for president himself. The Florida governor, fresh off his 19-point reelection win, traveled to suburban Chicago and Philadelphia plus Staten Island, N.Y. (the only NYC borough that favored Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020) to denounce the “defund the police” movement, critical race theory, discussions of LGBTQ people in grade schools, and other Trump-base enthusiasms. For example, he pitched to a Fraternal Order of Police audience in Elmhurst, Ill., that they could receive $5,000 signing bonuses and other benefits if they join a city, county, or state law enforcement agency in Florida. That said, Florida’s average wages in fields such as police and sheriff’s patrol officers are far lower than Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Do we have any future Florida residents?” DeSantis asked the cops, who replied with applause and hoots, according to a recording of his speech published by the suburban Daily Herald. “Yes, it’s nice, but just was a signal that said, you know, as they’re defunding police and attacking police in these other jurisdictions, the state of Florida is showing them that we got your back, we support what you’re doing. So, it’s a huge boost for moral and people were real excited about that,” he said of the bonuses. In all three stops, according to reporting by The New York Times, DeSantis previewed a possible presidential campaign message. (A DeSantis book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Survival,” drops next Tuesday.) He complained that lax prosecution policies and criticism of police tactics has encouraged rising crime. He complained about the “ludicrous” move toward cashless bail in jurisdictions including New York and Illinois (where the policy is hung up in the courts). The policy is intended to ease jail overcrowding and help nonviolent defendants keep their jobs and families intact, but DeSantis painted it in Elmhurst as a turnstile for dangerous thugs (despite a lack of evidence for that assertion). DeSantis even boasted about suspending Hillsborough County State’s Attorney Andrew Warren last year for allegedly picking and choosing the laws he felt like prosecuting. A federal judge ruled on Jan. 20 that DeSantis’ accusations were pretextual and that he suspended Warren because of politics. The judge said he lacked jurisdiction to reinstate Warren but the case is now before the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. “The reason why you have crime that has spiraled out of control in these different areas is that you have politicians putting woke ideology ahead of public safety,” DeSantis told the cops. ‘Hatred for law enforcement’ Critical race theory, the said, teaches kids “to have a hatred for law enforcement. They actually have things where they will say law enforcement are gunning down racial minorities with impunity without any evidence, and that’s just a slander on the people that wear the uniform.” DeSantis concluded: “Woke education doesn’t work. Woke indoctrination about law enforcement doesn’t work. And we’re happy to be leading that charge on that in the state of Florida. “But if you look at all these different things that these states and localities are doing, it all goes back to putting ideology ahead of what’s right for you. And that needs to stop in this country. We’ve got to start doing what’s right for people.” As for “woke,” DeSantis appears to use the word as shorthand for progressive politics. Ryan Newman, DeSantis’ general counsel, defined it during testimony in Warren’s trial as “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them,” as Florida Politics has reported. In the suburban Chicago area of Elmhurst, there were dozens of protesters outside of the venue where DeSantis was speaking. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/02/21/gov-desantis-preaches-anti-woke-sermon-to-suburban-audiences-up-north/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/