TAMPA -- Governor Ron DeSantis took the stage before a friendly audience at the first convention of a fast-growing organization of conservative activists.
DeSantis began by welcoming Moms for Liberty members to "the freest state" in the nation. He recalled his successful battles with local school districts over lockdowns and mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which he says motivated some families to move to Florida. He also recalled his ongoing court fight with corporations over the Stop WOKE Act which limits the way racial issues are taught in schools and workplaces. While the Stop WOKE act remains tied up in court, DeSantis insists he'll win that fight eventually. "(You're) not allowed to tell a six-year-old kid that he's an oppressor," DeSantis told the group.
DeSantis celebrated his win over a textbook publisher that used what he called "woke" ideology in a math textbook. The state department of education rejected the book and the publisher made the edit required by the state.
The governor talked about his endorsements of local school board candidates around the state, which some have called unprecedented. DeSantis says that many of his supporters wanted to know who backed their values, and that nonpartisan elections allow left-leaning candidates to sneak into power in conservative counties. "What I can't understand is how you could have a 65-35 Republican county and then have a school board that's fighting tooth and nail to mask kids against their will, fighting tooth and nail for some of the bad curriculum. How does that make any sense?"
DeSantis also took a swipe at the Hillsborough County School Board, which defied the governor over masks and in-person learning until state laws squelched the rebellion. He mentioned his endorsement for candidate Aly Legge and added, "Let me tell you, that school board... yee... needs some work... I can tell you if we left it to that school board, those kids would have been locked out of school for a long time."
Moms for Liberty started just a year and a half ago and has chapters around the nation including several in Florida, some of which are making their own endorsements in school board races.
Later, first lady Casey DeSantis took part in a roundtable entitled "Education, Not Indoctrination."
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