Florida Governor Ron Desantis was in Hoover on Thursday to address the Alabama Republican Party. Over 1,400 attended the GOP’s winter dinner fundraiser to hear the likely presidential candidate denounce the “woke” movement.
Desantis was welcomed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who introduced DeSantis, as well as other top state elected leaders. Attorney General Steve Marshall, Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, Secretary of State Wes Allen, State Auditor Andrew Sorrell, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate, Chief Justice Tom Parker, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, and many more were on hand at the Finley Center to welcome DeSantis to Alabama.
“Tonight, I was proud to welcome @GovRonDeSantis to our Sweet Home Alabama!” Gov. Ivey said on Twitter.
“I was honored to welcome “America’s Governor” @GovRonDeSantis to Alabama and lead the ALGOP dinner in the Pledge of Allegiance,” Lieutenant Gov. Ainsworth said on Twitter.
Gov. DeSantis’s speech was heavy on social conservatism.
DeSantis spoke about his feud with Disney, his opposition to books that preach alternate sexual lifestyles to children even in elementary school being in school libraries, his opposition to the COVID-19 economic shutdowns mask mandates, his anti-riot measures in Florida following the George Floyd riots, his shipping illegal aliens to Martha’s Vineyard, his opposition to the transgender agenda, and the migration of people from blue states like New York, Michigan, and California to red states like Florida.
DeSantis said that Hispanics in Florida support his efforts to reduce illegal immigration to Florida.
He also compared and contrasted his state of Florida with the state of New York. They have similar populations, but New York has twice the state budget.
“What do they get for all that money?” DeSantis said.
“We have no state income tax. Alabama should try that,” DeSantis said.
While Florida has no income tax, their property taxes are far higher than Alabama’s, and as anyone who has driven around Florida knows, there are toll roads and toll collections all over the state outside of the federal interstate system, which are very rare in Alabama. Florida residents, on average, have a 9.1% state and local tax burden (#11 in the country), while Alabama residents pay 9.8% (#20 in the country.) Tennessee has the lowest tax burden in the southeast at 7.6% (#3 in the country).
DeSantis spoke about his hurricane response and how fast his team built back a bridge to connect the residents of an island to the mainland. Desantis said that if he was President, his team could get the border wall built quickly and at reduced cost.
DeSantis has not yet announced his presidential campaign. At this point, the only announced presidential candidates are former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. DeSantis and President Joe Biden are, at this point, presumed to be presidential candidates.
DeSantis’s speech was the speech of a governor, touting his accomplishments as a governor. The most pressing issues facing the next President are Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, balancing the federal budget without crashing the economy, the possibility of war with China, the high likelihood of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, the prospect of that triggering a war in the Middle East, as well as energy policy and its perceived connection to climate change. Desantis will have to discuss these larger issues in a presidential campaign.
The Alabama Republican presidential primary is scheduled for March 5, 2024.
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