America’s Promised Land
By Caroline Downey and Chase
From the angel-soft sands and historical landmarks of St. Augustine to the eccentric cultural hub of Miami, Florida offers a geographic diversity, high quality of life, perpetual sunshine, and low cost of living that lures a thousand people per day to its peninsula. While the state is notorious for wild news stories like, “Florida man throws alligator through Wendy’s window,” and other bizarre but entertaining occurrences, Florida deserves more recognition than it often receives from outsiders. In 2020, the sunshine state attracted a record influx of disillusioned northerners and blue state evacuees searching for fewer pandemic restrictions and a more compatible home for their lifestyles and political values. As the country’s liberal cities crumble under invasive lockdowns and burn at the hands of leftist mobs, many have noticed that Florida has reopened and recovered swiftly thanks to the political prudence of Governor Ron DeSantis. To many Americans feeling forsaken by Massachusetts, California, and New York, Florida represents a kind of promised land. It’s a state where freedom is secure, attitudes are relaxed, and gorgeous natural beauty spans from the Atlantic shores to the Gulf of Mexico. Move over Texas, Florida is the new conservative paradise!
Recently, the main draw to the Sunshine state is the ability to do business. Much to the disdain of quasi-communist governors in states like New York and California, Florida has not manipulated the coronavirus into an excuse to consolidate government power and rob its citizens of their liberty. As one of the first states to terminate lockdowns, a vital move by Governor DeSantis, Florida’s phased reopening has allowed its people to reclaim their livelihoods. When blue state governors shut down nearly all business activity in the pursuit of curbing COVID-19, many companies got the wake-up call they needed. Forced to keep their shop doors closed indefinitely in their home states, proprietors and entrepreneurs fled states like California and New York in droves to more hospitable business environments like Florida and Texas. There were so many departures that U-Haul and other moving companies reportedly couldn’t keep up with the demand. While Florida residents enjoy no state income tax, steep taxation in blue states has long suffocated private enterprises and households. As more taxes are added to the menu in blue states, high earning individuals will continue to seek refuge for their wealth in Florida. For many people and companies, the crushing COVID-19 response in Democrat-dominated states was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs just announced a plan to move its Asset Management Division to Florida. As Democrats continue to tax and run their states into the ground in the name of social welfare and “science,” it’s only a matter of time before more brands make their escape to the financial safe havens of the Sunbelt.
While there are many reasons to brag about Florida, its governor is chief among them. During 2020’s many challenges and tribulations, Governor Ron DeSantis guided Florida through the storm to security, stability, and prosperity. From expanding school choice to cutting burdensome regulations to now targeting Big Tech censorship, DeSantis’ policy agenda has stayed true to conservatism and the best interest of Floridians. With his stellar policy record and appealing personality, DeSantis was catapulted to Republican party celebrity status, prompting swift speculation about a 2024 presidential run. While Florida has thrived and benefited enormously under DeSantis’ leadership, so too has the outdated platform and ways of the Grand Old Party. Now entrenched in an identity-crisis, the seemingly broken GOP requires new blood to restore its mission and motivation to fight for conservatism in the U.S. government. With similar energy to Madison Cawthorn, Dan Crenshaw, and other up-and-coming conservative firecrackers, DeSantis will play a crucial role in the GOP’s rebranding and renovation. With his love of country and the Constitution, distaste for cronyism, and appetite for freedom, DeSantis will take the Republican party to new heights just as he did Florida.
With DeSantis likely playing a prominent role in the GOP’s reorientation, so too will the increasingly diverse state he governs. While many analysts, pollsters, and pundits projected a Biden victory in the area of 5-6%, Trump’s victory came on the heels of increased support among a key Florida demographic: Hispanics. While some states flipped Democratic following the predicted blue wave, Florida actually got redder, stupefying many on the Left. In an attempt to explain away the Florida outlier case, networks like MSNBC went so far as to claim that a far-right disinformation campaign brainwashed Latinos and Hispanics in Florida into voting for Trump and Republicans. In other words, MSNBC suggested that refugees of Castro’s communism in Cuba, their descendants, and victims of other Latin American authoritarian regimes residing in Florida were too stupid not to swallow the socialist prescriptions of the Democratic party. Instead of trying to understand the lived experiences and fears of this staple Democratic voting bloc in Florida and why it defected from the Left, the media resumed its usual tactics: dismiss their concerns and keep on keepin’ on. As the Left’s policies continue their steady march to the socialist drum, Republicans will continue to draw Hispanic voters in record numbers. While Florida has earned a reputation for being a political wildcard in every election since 2000, it will remain conservative territory so long as Republicans keep winning the state’s Hispanic population.
Promising minimal government intervention in people’s finances and daily life, Florida has earned its designation as the “new Texas.” As areas of Texas like Austin and Dallas import tech jobs, they too import the predominantly liberal “tech voter.” While we hope Texas stays red, the reality of the state’s increasingly blue voter demographic could see the state flip in the next 10 to 15 years. That’s not to dissuade Republicans from blue states from moving to Texas, but it’s time Florida got more recognition. Beyond the Disney-cladden tourist mobs and behind the strange headlines and trailer park fever dreams lies a pragmatic and increasingly prosperous society. A state that values its citizens’ money in their pockets, rather than its government’s coffers. A state that offers low corporate tax rates and understands the needs of small businesses. As the United States recovers from this pandemic, Florida will be far ahead, and conservatives not far behind it. As conservatives flee expensive rents, annoying neighbors, and toxic business environments, they’ll find a home on Florida’s sandy beaches and along its beautiful waterways. While it’s always sunny in Florida, it’s clear that the Sunshine State’s future is brighter than ever before.
@ameliepichard
