(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement for any political party or candidate on the part of Newsmax.)
We've often wondered why red state governors and legislatures regularly vote to send taxpayer dollars to leftist patronage programs that provide jobs for people who are opposed to everything red state legislatures do.
Everything other than sending them money.
You certainly don’t find blue state governors or legislatures making this mistake.
Our theory is weak-kneed bgovernors and legislators are fearful of negative media coverage if they wake up and refuse to send money to left-adherent jobs organizations the media avidly supports.
We’ve often wondered what might happen if wise voters elected a governor who’s not paralyzed by the thought of regime media stenographers writing negative "news" stories.
Now we know.
"[Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis is taking his war on culture to a new level," Katie Blankenship, director of PEN America’s Florida office, told the Associated Press.
"This decision will not only devastate the arts but add to his legacy of censorship and disregard for art, literature, and knowledge."
The Sun Sentinel reports, "The GableStage Theatre Company told supporters of the Miami-Dade County theater that 'we fell victim to the heartless power of a veto pen,' and The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival told its patrons that it was 'still reeling from the devastating news.'"
Sounds pretty negative to us.
What did DeSantis do?
In his original budget for the 2024 legislative session the governor didn’t include a single dime for "arts and culture."
Florida’s legislature, filled with the weak, put $32 million dollars in the budget for 600 arts and cultural programs and 33 community theaters — every single one hotbeds of left-adherents and leftism.
These grants by Republicans are so stupid and so pointless.
The giveaways don’t even buy votes. Ninety-five percent of the permanent staff — in Florida numbering 91,000! — are left-adherent voters!
DeSantis, bless his heart, proceeded to veto every single dollar.
USA Today said DeSantis explained his veto thusly, "DeSantis said the budget line was condemned because a handful of fringe festivals — which he said are 'like a sexual festival' — could draw financing.
"We didn't have control over how it was being given," Florida's 46th governor said of the individual grant awards, during a Thursday appearance in Polk County.
"So, you're having your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sexual festival where they're doing all this stuff.
"How many of you think your tax dollars should go to fund that? Not very many people would do that."
This causes us to wonder how the 'arts community's' counter-cultural, sexual libertinism and thumb-in-the-eye of Middle America is working out now?
Based on news coverage, the funding vetoed by DeSantis did not amount to even 10% of any of the organization’s budgets and was usually much less, but it’s still Armageddon for those expecting a government check.
AP found Robert Kesten, executive director of the Stonewall National Museum Archives & Library in Fort Lauderdale — an organization that celebrates and promotes the gay lifestyle and all its variations — who wailed, "It hurts us dramatically in our ability to pay rent and pay salaries."
DeSantis has already shipped illegal immigrants north to Martha’s Vineyard, we don’t see anything stopping him from offering bus rides to unemployed "arts" professionals who would be happier in a blue state anyway.
DeSantis’ answer to the outcry is simple, "These roads are important. I can sell that. Education is important. I can sell that. Preserving our natural resources is important. I can sell that. I can't sell the Fringe Festival to taxpayers, nor would I want to sell the fringe festival to taxpayers."
The governor’s decision to stop funding his political opponents came as quite a shock to those who had grown comfortable cashing the checks sent by timid Republicans.
"I don’t think anybody thought it was going to happen," Jennifer Jones, president and CEO of the Florida Cultural Alliance, said. "[DeSantis] recommended nothing, and by golly, he delivered."
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.