Saturday, September 22, 2018

DeSantis accuses Washington Post of a “smear,” says “They don’t have the goods on me.” (Politico/Florida Phoenix)




Disgraced ex-Congressman RON DeSANTIS once again shows his unfitness to be Governor of the State of Florida.  

Democrats, independents and thinking Republicans will elect Andrew Gillum governor.  We're going to defeat disrespectful disgraced dopey dupey deluded demagogic dingbat dimwit RONALD DION DeSANTIS.

From Politico/Florida Phoenix:


DeSantis accuses Washington Post of a “smear,” says “They don’t have the goods on me.”

Politico Florida tried Wednesday in South Florida to get Republican candidate for governor Ron DeSantis to talk about a Sept. 9 Washington Post story (“GOP candidate spoke at racially charged events”) that reported on DeSantis’s four speaking engagements at conferences organized by conservative activist David Horowitz who, the Post reported “has said that African Americans owe their freedom to white people and that the country’s ‘only serious race war’ is against whites.”
The story of DeSantis’ speaking engagements at the conferences was reported first in April by the Miami New Times (“Top Florida GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Spoke at Event With Bannon, Yiannopoulos in 2017”) and then in June by the Naples Daily News (“DeSantis attended convention with speakers who have suggested killing Muslims, demeaned women”) before the Washington Post picked up on it.
DeSantis was doing a campaign appearance Wednesday where he rode on an airboat to highlight his support for Everglades restoration when Marc Caputo of Politico Florida asked him about speaking at the conferences.
POLITICO FLORIDA: “I wanted to clear up this David Horowitz matter and he had made some statements that …”
DeSANTIS: “So let me just address it. So, look, at the end of the day, the way the Washington Post characterized that was a smear. It was totally unacceptable. Now, granted, when I go to a conference … I’m not at everything. I wasn’t at [sic] many of these people. This Milo [Yiannopolis] guy? Not my cup of tea. But I can tell you this, when the Washington Post is trying to smear, the keynote speaker at that conference was a guy named Clint Romesha. He was a Medal of Honor recipient from Afghanistan. My speech is online. You guys can watch it. Obviously, they found nothing objectionable. I would encourage everyone to watch his speech. Read his speech. We would all be better Americans. It was probably the best speech I have ever witnessed in any political conference at any time. And so what the Washington Post is trying to do — they don’t have the goods on me. So they’re trying to do some type of smear by association. And that is just unacceptable. But I was glad I was at that speech for that Medal of Honor recipient and I’m proud for anybody in Florida and beyond. If they want to see what I’ve been up to, it’s all out there. Take a look. Judge me on my merits. But I am not going to sit here and let them [say] ‘this guy tweeted something two years later, therefore …’ No. No. No. No. That was a bad piece of journalism. Thanks guys. We’ve got to run.” [DeSantis walks quickly away from lectern toward campaign SUV]
POLITICO FLORIDA: “Congressman, I’m sorry. I do have to clarify…”
DeSANTIS: “Asked and answered.”
POLITICO FLORIDA: “… I just need you to …”
DeSANTIS: “Asked and answered.”
POLITICO FLORIDA: “… He had said a few tweets about slavery and …”
DeSANTIS: “Clearly disagree with that. Obviously. I disagree with that. Alright?”
POLITICO FLORIDA: “Knowing what you know now, would you still have gone to the conferences …”
STAFF: “Thank you Marc. Thank you, Marc. Thank you. Thanks, buddy.”
DeSANTIS: [Gets in SUV].
POLITICO FLORIDA: “I’m going to put him down for not answering.”
STAFF: “Thank you.”
POLITICO FLORIDA: “You’re welcome. Thank you.”
The Post reports that DeSantis spoke at the conferences in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
“At the group’s annual Restoration Weekend conferences, hundreds of people gather to hear right-wing provocateurs such as Stephen K. Bannon, Milo Yiannopoulos and Sebastian Gorka sound off on multiculturalism, radical Islam, free speech on college campuses and other issues,” the Post reports.
In its’ Morning Playbook political news tip sheet, Politico Florida quipped: “What’s as fast as an Everglades airboat? Ron DeSantis scuttling away from questions about speaking at “racially charged” conferences organized by right-wing provocateur David Horowitz.
Julie Hauserman
Julie Hauserman has been writing about Florida for more than 30 years. She is a former Capitol bureau reporter for the St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay) Times, and reported for The Stuart News and the Tallahassee Democrat. She was a national commentator for National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday and The Splendid Table . She has won many awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work is featured in several Florida anthologies, including The Wild Heart of Florida , The Book of the Everglades , and Between Two Rivers . Her new book - Drawn to The Deep, a University Press of Florida biography of Florida cave diver and National Geographic explorer Wes Skiles - comes out this fall.

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