Stay the course.

DeSantis detours back to Florida to tell legislators to 'stay the course' https://t.co/B6I2EFNqa2

— POLITICO (@politico) January 9, 2024

DeSantis uttered the phrase early in his 35-minute State of the State speech, delivered in a seeming rush Tuesday to launch the annual 60-day legislative session. (He had a hot date in Iowa Tuesday night). Being a Navy man, he might as well have said, “Steady as she goes,” but that would have been far too nautical, and the listless vessels probably would have taken offense.

So, “Stay the course” it is, establishing a baseline for the Republican supermajority in Tallahassee in 2024. In truth, the phrase fits — even more than it did for then-Vice President Bush — because those at the helm are essentially unchanged from those who delivered on DeSantis’ past policy pushes, especially last year, which the governor termed “monumental.”

By touting a list of governmental concerns in which some reputable source somewhere ranks Florida at the top — education, education freedom, talent development, higher education, net domestic in-migration, business formation, entrepreneurship, GDP growth among large states — the governor and GOP presidential contender more than laid the predicate for sailing on, sailor.   

We have set the standard for limited government: Florida has the fewest state employees per capita and the lowest state government cost per capita.
Florida’s crime rate is at a 50-year low.

And we have the lowest unemployment rate of all large states.

The 2023 Legislative Session was monumental, and it is incumbent upon us to build upon those accomplishments as we continue to deliver results.

My message is simple: stay the course. The state of our state is strong. Let’s keep doing what works. Let’s continue to make Florida the envy of the nation.

Legislators and their constituents eager for DeSantis to once again take the lead on ambitious new policy initiatives — on, say, onerous insurance costs — were, perhaps, disappointed they were treated instead to a greatest hits session.

The closest DeSantis came to mentioning the contentious insurance issue was this: urging lawmakers to “reduce the cost of homeowners insurance” and remarking on current reforms luring new companies to take a chance on Florida. (Sounds like an invitation for legislators with ideas on effective insurance reform to step up.)

Even as he spoke, as DeSantis himself noted, the state government was hunkered down in the only government building in town open for business; the rest were shuttered against soaking, battering squall line that raged across the state Tuesday, spinning up tornadoes and leaving wreckage in its wake.

And hurricane season is more than five months away.

Say again why property is expensive to insure in Florida?

DeSantis arrived in the chamber moments after issuing an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 49 counties (Florida has 67 total).  Because that’s how he rolls. But Democratic leadership suspected they, nor their Republican colleagues, were not the target of the speech.

Democrats blasted DeSantis, saying he has focused on the presidential campaign instead of the state’s needs. House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, called him the “absentee governor.”

“I was surprised that there was no real vision for Florida. I came away feeling, ‘OK, so where do you want to take us next?’ ” Driskell told reporters. “I felt like he said, ‘We’ve done all these great things, let’s keep doing these same great things.’ There was nothing fresh. That was surprising to me. Because it was an opportunity for him to make his case to the people of Florida as well, and I think he missed it.”

There’s a certain amount of truth in that. By using the pulpit to nail the failures created by the left-wing excesses of states such as Illinois, California and New York, plus the daily gropes-in-the-dark of the Biden administration, it’s plain DeSantis was reaching for an audience far beyond the Okefenokee Swamp. Tuesday was another opportunity to remind Republican primary voters and caucusers why, barely a year ago, they considered him America’s Governor, and also why Make America Florida resonated.

Escapees to Florida from deep blue states already know what drew them. Besides the sun, surf, sand, and easy access to stone crab claws, that is. Low taxes. Decent roads. Government responsiveness to inevitable crises. Tough-on-crime measures and support for law enforcement. Discomfort for illegal immigrants. Support for the Second Amendment. Parental freedom in education. Environmental concerns balanced against fair usage. Modesty in governmental spending.

Driskell is correct. Instead of whipping the Legislature into shape on his agenda, the governor’s stay-the-course message subtly hinted at how the Florida model could be replicated nationwide. Here’s what we’ve done, he said. It works. We should do more of it.

“Together,” DeSantis said at the close of the message, “we will keep Florida free and provide hope for a revival of the American spirit throughout these United States.”

There it was. Hello, Iowa. Knock-knock, New Hampshire. Y’all on the center-right. This is the way.

Were they listening?