PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA — As the first presidential candidate to speak at the 2023 Moms for Liberty Summit today in Pennsylvania, Ron DeSantis fired shots at Republicans taking the side of “woke” corporations.
“We don’t subcontract our leadership out to woke corporations,” DeSantis exclaimed. “We stand for parents and we stand for kids.”
“And there are a lot of Republicans that are taking the side of Disney and attacking me. Let me just tell you this right now – we oppose the sexualization of children – we will fight and do battle with anybody, any institution that’s seeking to rob our children of their innocence and on this principle we will never compromise,” the governor explained.
WILL FIGHTING “WOKE” WIN VOTERS?
How does DeSantis respond to those who say he can’t win an election by fighting “woke?” GOP pollster Myra Miller of The Winston Group said that while fighting woke ideology is a priority for the Republican base – and will likely influence the Republican primary election – that’s where it ends.
“These issues are not nearly as much of a focus beyond the Republican base to key groups like independents,” Miller told Newsweek.
But at breakfast this morning with close to one-thousand moms on a mission to protect the innocence of their kids, DeSantis said fighting “woke” ideology matters more than you think.
“I think what we’ve seen across this country in recent years has awakened the most powerful political force in this country,” DeSantis said, referring to men dressed as women in New York recently chanting “we’re coming for your kids.”
“Let me tell you something. You start messing with our kids, we’ve got problems,” DeSantis told the room of mama bears who’ve already made great strides in Florida on these issues.
“I see the issue not just through the lens of a governor or a presidential candidate,” DeSantis said. “I see these issues through the lens of a dad of a six, a five and a three year old, and [through] my wife.”
“2024 is the time to put up or shut up,” DeSantis asserted. “No more excuses about why we can’t win against the Left. No more excuses about why you didn’t do what you said you would do. The time to act is now and I believe if we do it right, 2024 is going to be the year when the parents across this country finally fight back.”
“IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID”
“It’s the economy, stupid.” The often quoted quip from James Carville, a strategist in Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential bid rings more true today than ever before. Many believe that to win in 2024, a candidate must focus on broader issues like inflation and the general state of the economy – matters that affect every U.S. citizen.
The governor has long touted fiscal responsibility in Florida as one of the reasons people are flocking to the Sunshine State. But today, he warned the politically-active moms – who grocery shop and manage households – that “woke” ideology will further decay our economy and threaten our American freedoms.
“Think about our economy when they do things like ESG (Environmental, Social and corporate Governance),” DeSantis warned. “It’s basically just a ruse to impose a Leftist agenda on society.”
“The average person will become poor as a result of that agenda being imposed, the average person will be less free as a result of that agenda being imposed,” DeSantis said, boasting about Florida’s decision to ban social credit scores and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
“WE WILL NEVER, EVER SURRENDER”
“When ‘woke’ ideology overtakes education, our students become dumber as a result of that,” DeSantis explained. “When ‘woke’ ideology overtakes criminal justice, the average citizen becomes less safe as a result of that.”
Florida fiercely fought the “woke agenda” across the board, according to DeSantis – who vowed to take it on in corporations, schools and the halls of the federal government as president.
“We will never, ever surrender to the ‘woke’ mob,” DeSantis said amid cheers as protestors chanted outside the Philadelphia Marriott.
“We’re called upon to preserve what the fathers of our country called the sacred fire of liberty,” DeSantis proclaimed. “This is a fire that burned right down the street here in 1776 when 56 men pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to establish a new nation conceived in liberty.”
