DeSantis Twitter 'Win' Sets Back Deregulation

Regulars here already know of my disappointment with Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, and my apprehension about his apparently very healthy presidential prospects, and it's easy enough to find out for the rest. (Oh, and to be clear, this post is not about his property- and speech- rights-violating, unconstitutional requirement that Twitter give politicians a forum. That alone disqualifies him from holding political office.)

So let's set that aside for now and consider something even more alarming: The hare-brained enthusiasm we can find for DeSantis from the right. Exhibit A is a recent piece at Red State titled, "Media Gets Stomped Into Next Week When They Go After DeSantis Yet Again on Building Collapse."

I detest the media as much as anyone else who wants actual news delivered without an agenda. Absent that, I am not above a laugh at the expense of some pompous ass having his head served to him on a platter by someone he despises for the wrong reasons.

I am sorry to have to advise against wasting your popcorn on this exchange between one of these bottom-feeders and the governor's Press Secretary, Christina Pushaw:

Common misconceptions about government allow charletans to lead us by the nose further and further away from liberty. (Image by Cgoodwin, via Wikimedia Commons, license.)

Ken Klippenstein of The Intercept [tried] to suggest there's a relation to DeSantis talking about deregulation in 2019 and the building collapse now.

...

[Quoting Pushaw's reply:] Disgusting. First responders are risking their lives in fiery rubble to find missing people, & Ken attempts a political dunk.

DeSantis wasn't Governor when the building was built or when concerns were raised -- & NO past Gov would have been informed of this building inspection.

The 2019 ["Deregathon"] event was about occupational licensing not buildings. Stop lying media vultures.

Pushaw should have quit while she was ahead.

The first part of this was fine and the reply should have stopped there, or maybe after the second paragraph. By the third, we have a snatching of defeat from the jaws of (a small) victory.

The second paragraph is ... okay. The government runs everything, so it's arguably appropriate to point out that the governor doesn't review building inspections, or that this didn' happen on his watch. It's gilding the lily a bit, though, since no reasonable person is going to blame this on DeSantis. That said, it verges on conceding the premise that building inspections are a legitimate function of the government and, arguably, that DeSantis perhaps should be in charge of them. Needless to say, Klippenstein would probably smell blood (or pretend to) and go after after Pushaw.

But he didn't have to because in her third paragraph, she finishes the job for him!

Instead of having called out a tawdry leftist for despicably (but predictably) using a tragic event to make a political point, Pushaw has conceded his premise that government regulation is the way to achieve building safety -- current evidence to the contrary notwithstanding -- and will have any half-sentient reader wondering: If the government should tell architects and engineers how to build safely, why shouldn't it license those occupations and many others besides?

Twitter isn't the forum to make or win such an argument, but it can certainly make it harder to do so.

"Showing" some obdurate ass in the press is hardly worth inflicting harm, however slight, to the cause of liberty. We all wish someone would fight the left; let's not allow that wish cloud our judgement.

-- CAV