Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and Republican Ron DeSantis, governors of state on contrasting ends of both the country and the political sphere, held up their ruling style this week as a framework for the nation before the presidential election of 2024 as they hurried to use their powerful midterm victories to tie up an assertion on the nation’s most lasting political promise that is Freedom.
Gavin said, “We affirmed clearly with conviction that we are a true freedom state” after securing a place in the second term with good scores.
On the contrary, Ron DeSantis, a Republican in Florida, said, “We stood as a citadel of freedom for people across this country, and indeed across the world” to a strident crowd of backers after cruising to his second term. The two explained “freedom” in a different ways.
For Newsom, Freedom means you have the right to say yes to an abortion, to government health care collection for immigrants, and to gender-affirming care for the young.
For Ron DeSantis, Freedom means that you possess the right to say no to COVID vaccines, to illicit immigration, and to what he calls “indoctrination” on sexual assimilation and gender identity in public schools. Both messages haven’t worked on a larger scale, congealing each governor’s hold on one of the nation’s most famous states and moving them to leaders of their own political parties. Currently, Newsom and DeSantis emerge poised to take their message across the country, and it is a competition that could collide in a presidential campaign.
Gavin Newsom has hunted the conflict, running a TV advertisement in Florida over the summer to inform the people of Florida that Freedom was under attack in their state and requesting them to shift to California. Newsom doesn’t let any opportunity go to condemn Florida or Texas and often mentions Ron DeSantis by name and cites him as a bully.
Newsom said, “That zest for demonization coming from the other side, these red states where, you know, there’s a cruelty, talking down to people, bullying people, making them feel lesser.”
Ron always cites Florida as “The free state of Florida” and imputes the current population increase in the state to people “voting with their feet” against coronavirus limitations and liberal policies.
Ron DeSantis said that the woke plan had caused millions of Americans to leave these authorities for greener pastures. Florida has been apportioned as the promised land for many Floridians.
Newsom has said that he would not run for the Presidential election and promised to complete his full four-year term, but many politicians didn’t keep their promise. As of now, Ron DeSantis hasn’t made any comments regarding it. He grinned on Tuesday as his supporters loudly shouted, “two more years.” It is probably his early exit as Florida’s governor and a signal of his probably becoming president in 2024.
Newsom and DeSantis’ policies have clearly figured out different futures for the country.
Newsom enforced some of the nation’s most serious coronavirus limitations and the compulsory vaccine for government employees and healthcare workers. He also signed laws to help women so they could travel from California to get an abortion and to safeguard children who come to California from other states for transgender surgeries and other gender-affirming care. Besides, he used public money, so low-income immigrants could also get free health care without any legitimate permission.
Ron also signed a law allowing workers to choose their employers’ COVID vaccine order. He completely restricted abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and passed a measure restricting instruction and gender identity in fundamental school to third grade; a rule attacker labeled the “don’t say gay” law. Ron also nudged his competitor by using public money to bus migrants residing in the country illegally from Florida to Democratic-led states.
The word “Freedom” has been very popular among the Republicans for many years, and it is mostly followed by words like “faith” and “family.” And currently, Gavin and DeSantis assert Freedom for their respective countries. Newsom uses it wittingly as a strive to reassert the word for the Democrats; it is a part of his policy to mend the party’s messaging.
Nathan Click, Newsom campaign spokesman, said they were the freedom party, and his view was what they should say it.
A former executive director of the Florida Republican Party, Jamie Miller, said that DeSantis had acquired broad appeal via analytical governance and his will to stand his ground on spiky affairs.
“DeSantis has been certainly tough, certainly ready for the moment. He’s not afraid to fight for his convictions of what he thinks is best for Floridians and what’s best for the American people.”
Also read: Trump hits on Ron DeSantis in a Statement
