Just to get this out of the way: Yes, any political debate is largely going to be a Rorschach test — most people are far more interested in having their beliefs buttressed instead of challenged.
But even given that admission, it’s hard not to walk away from the ballyhooed — and somewhat inexplicable — Thursday night Fox News debate between Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and feel like DeSantis came away the winner.
Now, it’s certainly fair to question what exactly he won given that Newsom is not a direct political rival at the moment — but it’s undeniable that the Democrat lost something in this exchange.
And given how much Newsom’s greasy, wretched brand of far-leftism has crippled the Golden State, his loss is the country’s gain. For that, DeSantis unequivocally deserves some kudos.
As to how exactly this public flogging unfolded, the Florida governor blitzed Newsom on a variety of topics, but few were as eye-catching as when he brought up the sexual material being presented by Newsom’s public school system — and that’s because he had some visual aids.
“This is a book that’s in some of the schools in California,” DeSantis posted to X. “This is pornography. It’s cartoons. It’s aimed at children — and it’s wrong.
“This should not be in schools.”
This is a book that’s in some of the schools in California.
This is pornography. It’s cartoons. It’s aimed at children — and it’s wrong.
This should not be in schools. pic.twitter.com/XjM1QMrCJQ
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 1, 2023
“The role of the school is to educate kids, not indoctrinate kids,” DeSantis said during the debate. “It’s not to impose an agenda, it’s to do the basics.”
Did Ron DeSantis win this debate with Gavin Newsom?
Yes: 99% (431 Votes)
No: 1% (3 Votes)
The governor then compared how his state was treating LGBT youth issues with Newsom’s approach — hammering that point home with imagery that you would never find in a Florida public school library but you can find in California.
DeSantis held up images from”Gender Queer: A Memoir,” a controversial book that depicts and describes various sexual acts. (The version he displayed had been censored.)
Remember: This book is aimed at kids.
(The author has argued that “Gender Queer” is not a “children’s book,” even though it is a comic book that can be found in school libraries.)
DeSantis further grilled Newsom and his state by pointing out that California isn’t just providing this kind of filth to children — it’s also providing puberty blockers and gender surgeries to minors behind their parents’ backs.
If you’re a parent in Iowa or New Hampshire or South Carolina, your minor child can go to California without your knowledge or without your consent and get hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and a sex change operation.
That is extreme. That is an assault on parents’ rights. pic.twitter.com/mEaLBAiB4n
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 1, 2023
The Republican presidential candidate invoked the somewhat horrifying fact that children can flee to California and the state would help them become hopelessly hooked on a monthly subscription to drugs as well as radically mutilate their bodies.
Even more horrific? Newsom couldn’t even deny these allegations, instead struggling to grasp for some emotional blackmail, as he tried to tell DeSantis that these kids would die without California’s help.
There’s a vocal contingency of Republicans who have branded DeSantis as some sort of “traitor” to former President Donald Trump for running against him in a democratic election process.
That’s a horrifically misplaced ire, but that’s neither here nor there.
DeSantis is a good, conservative leader who has helped turn Florida into the kind of state that California so desperately wishes it were.
Watching him eviscerate his smarmy Democratic counterpart only hammered that point home on Thursday.
