The Courage to be Free
Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival
Gov. Ron DeSantis


(Click for Amazon book review)

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

This book is Ron DeSantis' case for support in the presidential primary, published at the very beginning of the primary season (in February 2023). At that time, DeSantis was seen as the "alternative to Trump"--the pundits often portrayed the Republican primary as a binary choice between Trump and DeSantis. That binary choice has changed significantly since then (in September 2023), which means this book has failed to insert DeSantis as the only alternative to Trump, which DeSantis would very much prefer.

DeSantis portrays himself in this book as a competent Governor who focuses differently than Trump on several policy issues. Some of the chapter titles indicate the themes that DeSantis would like the GOP primary to be about:

• "Chapter 11: The COVID-19 Pandemic": DeSantis re-opened businesses in Florida before Trump did the same federally. DeSantis would like America to compare his Florida model as better than the federal model, both in terms of business outcome and individual freedom.
• "Chapter 12: The Magic Kingdom of Woke Corporatism": DeSantis took on LGBT rights by forcing DisneyWorld to comply with state restrictions like "Don't Say Gay". Trump is much more willing to compromise on LGBT rights than DeSantis, and DeSantis would like to come across as the "anti-Woke warrior" on those grounds.
• "Chapter 13: The Liberal Elite's Praetorian Guard": DeSantis opens this chapter quoting Trump: "The Fake News media is the enemy of the American People!" But DeSantis would like America to believe that DeSantis will take on the "legacy media" better than Trump.

It remains to be seen whether DeSantis can recover from falling from second place in the large field of candidates. He might--because he succeeded at defining the playing field with those three issues, and because he's the governor of a large state. DeSantis can change Florida laws as needed by the campaign--and hence make headlines whenever he feels they're needed. Tim Scott can't do that because he's just one of 100 Senators; Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley can't do that because they're out of office. Doug Burgum is also a sitting governor who could change laws to suit his campaign, but does anyone really care what happens in North Dakota?

DeSantis hasn't REALLY fallen from second place either--because "second place' is only about poll results, and it's so early in the race, still, that poll results hardly matter. The Iowa caucuses in mid-January, and the primaries in February--those are REALLY matter. Even with the news media reporting continuously how DeSantis is "falling," i.e. some other candidates might matter too--DeSantis is still solidly in second place behind Trump, which is exactly where DeSantis wants to be. Here's the trend as of September--showing DeSantis "falling" but still in second place behind Trump--we can compare when we get to the Iowa caucuses:

Source: https://pro.morningconsult.com/trackers/2024-gop-primary-election-tracker with OTI modifications for clarity.

-- Jesse Gordon, Sept. 2023

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Corporations     Republican Party: Corporations focus immigration on facilitating cheap labor.

Foreign Policy     Bill Clinton: Promised to move US Embassy to Jerusalem, but did not.     George W. Bush: Support the growth of democratic movements in every nation .     Ron DeSantis: Too much blood and treasure to impose democracy abroad.     Ron DeSantis: Pushed successfully to move US Embassy to Jerusalem.

Free Trade     Donald Trump: Listen to voters: fight outsourcing manufacturing to China.

Government Reform     Ron DeSantis: I withstood the Ivy League, so I can withstand DC.

Homeland Security     Ron DeSantis: K-9s for Warriors: treat PTSD in post-9/11 veterans.     Ron DeSantis: Military draft would make public oppose nation-building.

Immigration     Ron DeSantis: Hispanics support robust border and immigration enforcement.

Jobs     Ron DeSantis: OSHA regulations make workers poorer but not safer.

Principles & Values     Ron DeSantis: Endorsed for Governor by President Trump in 2017.     Steve Scalise: Assassination attempt at annual charity baseball game.

Technology     Ron DeSantis: DC media outlets are a smear machine against Republicans.

War & Peace     Ron DeSantis: We destroyed Al Qaeda in Iraq but can't establish democracy.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Bill Clinton Democrat Donald Trump Republican Presidential incumbent George W. Bush Republican Republican Party Ron DeSantis Florida Republican presidential contender; FL governor Steve Scalise Republican challenger Louisiana

2024 primary contenders' book excerpts:
• The Vanishing American Adult, by Sen. Ben Sasse
• The Faith of Mike Pence, by Leslie Montgomery
• The Courage to Be Free, by Gov. Ron DeSantis
• The Contender, by Michael Shnayerson (biography of Gov. Andrew Cuomo)
• Stronger Together: A Blueprint for America's Future, by the Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine campaign
• A Most Disorderly Court: Scandal and Reform in the Florida Judiciary, by Martin A. Dyckman
• The Faith of Mike Pence, by Leslie Montgomery
• Where You Go: Life Lessons from My Father, by Charlotte Pence
• The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis, by Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse
• The Diversity Myth: Multiculturism and Political Intolerance, by David O. Sacks & Peter Thiel
• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, by Peter Thiel and Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters