Assessing DeSantis’ political positions, from economics to awakening

The Post’s panel of experts takes a look at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ entry into the presidential race and what he promises — or needs to do — on a variety of issues:

DRAINING THE MARSH

Andrew C. McCarthy is a former federal prosecutor

The most impressive part of Governor Ron DeSantis’ deployment was his discussion of the administrative state and the need to push back against governance by abusive and irresponsible bureaucrats.

DeSantis has demonstrated an impressive grasp of the structure of the Constitution: law is supposed to be made by Congress, which answers to voters, but legislative power has been routinely usurped by executive agencies, resulting in regulatory drift that has eroded property rights and freedom in general.

In Florida, DeSantis was a model of suffocating bureaucrats, even when then-President Donald Trump deferred to them during the COVID crisis.

We desperately need it in Washington.

DeSantis also had a good understanding of the trajectory of Supreme Court jurisprudence in this area — predicting that justices would curtail legal doctrines that give too much power to administrative agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sure enough, the morning after the governor announced his candidacy, the court issued a critical ruling that bailed out the EPA’s regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act — just as it had done the year latest on the Clean Air Act.

Finally, DeSantis didn’t mince words about the imperative to tackle the dizzying array of FBI abuses in recent years.

Personally, although many will disagree, I don’t believe that FBI Director Christopher Wray is one of the most culpable actors in this saga; but it’s Wray’s job to fix the problems and the problems persist – he failed in that sense.

DeSantis has made it clear that as president he will appoint a new director who will hopefully have eight years under DeSantis and a strong attorney general to make big changes needed.

GREAT OPENING ON THE ECONOMY

Ike Brannon is a senior fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation and has worked on several Republican presidential campaigns

There is little benefit for a candidate to deliver much specific economic policy, and with today’s GOP growing numbers of populists who have little respect for the party’s traditional position of limited government, a lack details is even more cautious.

Where DeSantis talked about a hot button policy, he largely avoided saying anything controversial.

For example, while he voted to raise the Social Security retirement age from 67 to 70 as a congressman, he rejected any changes to benefits as a governor, which is in line with statements by Donald Trump on the matter.

DeSantis voted to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, which cut corporate tax rates and individual rates.

As governor, he planned a two-year reduction in Florida’s corporate tax rate, but today the rate is at its previous level of 5.5%.

He recently signed into law a bill that would provide what would be $1.3 billion in tax relief via a series of sales tax exemptions and spent several other holidays earlier in his term.

However, economists find that these offer little savings to consumers, as retailers invariably react to the large increases in demand they generate by keeping prices higher during these holidays.

He said little about trade, monetary policy or a variety of other economic issues that are likely to arise during a campaign.

That’s fine for now, but DeSantis should think of a cohesive plan to show how he would get through years of high inflation, high spending and high Biden regulation.

SCHOOL CHOICE CHAMPION

Corey DeAngelis is a senior researcher at the American Federation for Children. Nathan Cunneen is a communications strategist at AFC and a former recipient of Florida School Choice Programs.

DeSantis is a strong supporter of school choice.

He signed into law HB1 this year, cementing Florida as a national leader in educational freedom by expanding college savings accounts to all families in the state.

For the first time in history, every Florida student will have access to approximately $8,700 that they can use for non-public school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, or transportation costs.

Freedom of education was a major political priority for the representative at the time. DeSantis during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign.

In fact, a widely circulated article cites “School Choice Moms,” black women who crossed party lines to vote for DeSantis, as the main reason for his narrow victory.

Since his first election as Governor, he has delivered on those promises and expanded opportunities for Florida students.

During the same period, the state expanded school choice, Florida Republicans won supermajorities in every legislative chamber, and DeSantis won re-election in 2022 by nearly 20 points.

DeSantis’ support for school choice is well reasoned. Since enacting school choice and other reforms, Florida’s scores on the national report card have fallen from 47th in 2000 to 4th in the nation today.

Studies show that Florida students using school choice programs are up to 99% more likely to go to college.

And historical research on Florida programs shows that increasing school choice also benefits public school students, especially low-income students.

DeSantis included school choice Wednesday among his top three priorities if elected: “We need a national school choice.”

Expect school choice tax credits to be a major political focus of the DeSantis campaign

RESEARCH ABROAD

Dalibor Rohac is a senior researcher at the American Enterprise Institute

While foreign policy issues weren’t central to Ron DeSantis’ campaign launch, the presidential hopeful was right to criticize the Biden administration’s “lax” policy on China and warn against efforts to involve Beijing and Xi Jinping in a negotiated settlement of the war in Ukraine. .

Likewise, most Americans share his hope that the war will end before January 2025 – and will not involve US troops “entangled” in Ukraine or Russia.

Yet hope is no substitute for strategy, nor for articulating what it means to “bring the conflict to a landing” in practical terms.

Last April, DeSantis rightly warned of a Verdun-style standoff in Ukraine.

What he needs to do as a presidential candidate is to demonstrate convincingly that the only way to prevent such an outcome, and indeed end the war in a lasting way, is to go beyond the timid and half-hearted administration of the Biden administration. approach.

The Europeans must also step in, but the United States is ultimately the only country able to provide Kiev with what it needs to finish the job.

Facing an increasingly Ukraine-weary Republican electorate, DeSantis must explain why defeating Russia is a necessary precondition for America’s success in our strategic competition with China as well as the strongest deterrent. effective against Beijing’s excesses in Taiwan.

BATTLE ON ‘WOKE’

Bethany Mandel is co-author of “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation”.

As he did during his tenure, DeSantis aimed for awakening from his first day as a candidate, defining it as “essentially a form of cultural Marxism.”

He said: “This is an attack on the truth. We have no choice but to wage a war against revival. So how does that work for a president? Some of them can be the bully’s pulpit.

He continued, “There are probably ways to make a difference. When you look at ESG and some of the things that are happening with major financial institutions and corporate America.

Some have criticized DeSantis’ activism, saying free-market conservatives shouldn’t fight the corporations.

But I think DeSantis has shown that there is a clear ideological argument.

He took credit (where due) for reopening the Disney park in Florida long before his Californian counterpart was allowed to do so.

He bragged, “Probably no one made more money at Disney than me because they were open during COVID.”

This is DeSantis’ playbook: he will fight for the right of corporations to operate freely, but he will use his power to stop them from using their influence to indoctrinate children.

DeSantis’ message on awakening is clear: corporate rights don’t extend to our children.