It is hard to criticize Governor Ron DeSantis when the world is watching such a stellar response to Hurricane Idalia. He left the campaign trail to head back to Florida to lead the state through a mass shooting and a hurricane.
DeSantis shines in a crisis. He’s a take charge kind of guy and he goes into Energizer Bunny mode. He went into a predominantly black community, likely hostile political territory, and comforted them when a mass shooting occurred in a Jacksonville Dollar General store. He prepared the state for the hurricane coming its way. Hurricane Idalia hit the coast of Florida as a Category three storm.
The governor made sure the emergency declarations were in place, first responders were at the ready, and power companies were on stand-by. Fuel and other crucial supplies were put in place. This wasn’t his first rodeo in handling a hurricane. Last year it was Hurricane Ian, the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida since 1935. He performed admirably. Part of the Sanibel Causeway bridge was taken out, leaving residents of the barrier island city Sanibel cut off from the mainland. He had crews on it as soon as possible and now he is able to boast that it was repaired and reopened in a matter of days, not months. So, DeSantis went into Hurricane Idalia with experience.
One impressive part of the story is that DeSantis refuses to allow partisan politics into the fray. Joe Biden has been somewhat complimentary of DeSantis and his staff, who Biden says have been working with his staff to get Floridians what they need from the federal government. Normally, Biden is busy trashing DeSantis for his conservative leadership in Florida. Biden and his minions soon brought up one of their favorite topics, climate change, and said that hurricanes are proof of climate change. The problem with this trope is that science and statistics don’t bear it out.
Ron DeSantis hammers corporate media and the Left for trying to use natural disasters to “advance their agenda on the backs of people that are suffering.”
“There was a storm that went on this almost exact track in 1896. It had 125 mph winds just like [Hurricane Idalia]…The… pic.twitter.com/qUOspAocmZ
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 3, 2023
I live about 45 mile away from Galveston, Texas. In 1900 there was a hurricane that wiped out the town and took the lives of about 8.000 people. Known as the Great Storm of 1900, it is the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. Hmm. How industrialized were we in 1900? What about the amount of cars and trucks on the road running on fossil fuels? Biden cannot even point to the frequency of hurricanes rising in Florida.
Hurricanes to hit Florida:
1941-1953: 14
2005 – today: 8Source: NOAA
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) September 3, 2023
Yes, some hurricanes are monsters. I survived Hurricane Harvey. I survived Hurricane Andrew, too, though as a resident of south Louisiana when it re-entered the Gulf of Mexico and came up the Louisiana coast. Fortunately, it was no longer a Category 5 hurricane. It still did major damage in Louisiana, including uprooting very old live oak trees in my neighborhood. Those are the two biggies that come to my mind when I think of hurricanes. Local and state leadership is crucial.
DeSantis caused a kerfuffle when he decided to continue doing his job Saturday instead of losing the day to a presidential visit. Joe and Jill Biden did not meet with DeSantis on the ground in Florida. He and Casey did meet with Joe and Jill Biden after Hurricane Ian to tour damage, for the record. What did Biden do once he delivered remarks to people in Florida? He launched into his climate change propaganda. Predictable. Probably a reason DeSantis decided to skip the meeting. The true believers and Democrat hacks are blaming DeSantis for the hurricane because he rejected millions of dollars in home energy funding from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. It’s crazy but we’re talking about crazy people here. If DeSantis accepted the federal funding and the strings that come with it, are we supposed to believe the hurricane would have skipped Florida? The party of science really isn’t.
DeSantis has been all over the affected areas of Florida. He’s acknowledged companies stepping up and helping those in need. Casey DeSantis is promoting the online site she helped create after Hurricane Ian for people who want to donate to help.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, said DeSantis “is the man you can count on in a crisis.”
New Hampshire Gov. @ChrisSununu: “Governor DeSantis has actually handled both” Hurricane Ian and Idalia “very, very well.” @RonDeSantis is the man you can count on in a crisis. pic.twitter.com/rGbjtK6LKd
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 3, 2023
Wouldn’t it be nice to find out what he can do for the whole country, if he runs and wins against Biden? Competence and leadership qualities are in short supply these days. Plus, he is the only veteran running for the office this cycle. I think a lot of his leadership expertise comes from that.
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