Fla. Lawmaker Gets Schooled on What it Means to Be a Republican

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pulled the rug out from under a GOP state senator, and set to rest claims that he's a dictator at the same time during a press conference Tuesday.

"Every person in the Legislature can file bills. I see these people filing bills and there are these articles with my face on the article, saying 'Bloggers are going to have to register with the state,' attributing it to me," said DeSantis.

"That's not anything I've ever supported, I don't support. I've been very clear on what we are doing."

At issue was a bill filed by state Sen. Jason Brodeur last month. Although Brodeur is a fellow Florida Republican, the legislation he proposed was the most un-Florida, un-Republican bill imaginable.

It would require any blogger writing about any state official, including a lawmaker or the governor, to register with the state.

"If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office ... within 5 days after the first post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer," the bill said, according to Florida Jolt.

The bill would also require bloggers to file monthly reports with the state after registering, and if they fail to comply, they can be fined up to $2,500 per report.

The proposal even caught the attention of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"The idea that bloggers criticizing a politician should register with the government is insane," he tweeted. "it is an embarrassment that it is a Republican state legislator in Florida who introduced a bill to that effect. He should withdraw it immediately."

Brodeur attempted to put a happy face on it by claiming it was an electioneering bill and had nothing to do with freedom of expression.

"Do you want to know the truth about the so-called 'blogger' bill?" he asked on Twitter.

"It brings the current pay-to-play scheme to light and gives voters clarity as to who is influencing their elected officials, JUST LIKE how we treat lobbyists. It's an electioneering issue, not a free speech issue."

Nope, what it is, is unconstitutional, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which unloaded both barrels on it.

"This bill is an affront to the First Amendment and our national commitment to freedom of the press," FIRE stated. "It is difficult to imagine a legislative proposal more fundamentally at odds with our nation's founding spirit than requiring citizens and journalists to register their publications with the government under pain of fines."

But it didn't matter; DeSantis made it clear that even had it been approved by the Legislature — unlikely — he would have vetoed it.

Legacy media, however, made it sound as though the bill had the blessing of the governor.

NBC News featured a photo of DeSantis and said, "Florida bill would require bloggers who write about the governor and legislators to register with the state."

After describing the blogger registration bill, MSNBC attempted to tie the bill to the governor in its story.

"As regular readers know, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allied legislators have been quite relentless of late, targeting voting rights, reproductive rights, the right to peaceably protest, LGBTQ rights, as well as libraries and higher education in the Sunshine State," the outlet wrote.

A Business Insider headline announced, "A proposed law that would require people blogging about Ron DeSantis to register with the state is a 'clear violation of the First Amendment:' ACLU." The story featured a photo of DeSantis.

A headline from The Hill announced, "Florida bill would require bloggers to register before writing about DeSantis."

NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss even compared the governor to the late Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, although he got the governor's first name wrong.

"Look at what Rick DeSantis has done in Florida," he said. "Suddenly, he really has tried to turn himself into a local Mussolini in Florida with the book banning and the brutal tactics and even this week this suggestion that bloggers have to register with the state for the honor of writing about the governor and other political leaders."

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made."

DeSantis fares pretty well using that standard. His enemies are the same people who lied to us about COVID's origins, lied to us about Jan. 6, lied to us about Hunter Biden's laptop, the Russian collusion hoax, and a thousand other things.

And just as important, a state senator learned what it means to be a Republican in the free state of Florida.

Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.