Florida seems to be losing its patience (and its patients) with Ron DeSantis’s deadly policies:
We now have a quality poll — from Quinnipiac University — that seeks to probe public opinion on the great mask debate in Florida in a lot of fine-grained detail. And the conclusion is clear: Anti-mask derangement is losing the argument. Badly.
Which hints at a big opening for President Biden and Democrats.
Florida, of course, is ground zero in the mask wars, to a degree unsurpassed by any state, with the possible exception of Texas. In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has done everything he can to block local officials from implementing mask mandates, sparking a remarkable rebellion, with numerous school districts defying him.
A plurality of Florida residents believe DeSantis is hurting efforts to slow the spread of covid-19 in the state, 46 percent to 41 percent.
73 percent think the spread of covid in the state is a serious problem, 59 percent say the spread is out of control, and 61 percent say it was preventable.
60 percent support requiring students, teachers and staff to wear masks in schools, while only 36 percent oppose it. And by 54 percent to 44 percent, Floridians say schools, not parents, should make the decision on masks for kids.
59 percent support requiring mask-wearing in indoor spaces, while only 39 percent oppose it.
63 percent say the issue of wearing masks is primarily about public health, while only 33 percent say it’s about personal freedom. Meanwhile, 64 percent say they’re effective in slowing covid spread.
68 percent say local officials should generally be able to require masks in indoor public spaces.
Large majorities reject just about every aspect of DeSantis’s framing of this public debate. Those majorities not only support mask mandates; they also see them as a matter of public health and a legitimate tool for local officials to employ. They don’t see them as an infringement on freedom, and see them as effective against covid spread, which they view as a problem that is both preventable and that DeSantis has personally made worse.
DeSantis and other pro-Covid Governors are convinced that their political future is dependent upon sucking up to the Trump base regardless of how insanely nihilistic they are. They may be right. It’s a long way to 2022 and this may very well be forgotten. And the enthusiasm of the hardcore pro-COVID base could bring them over the top.
DeSantis only won in 2018 by 32,000 votes or less than 1%. But the way the press has inexplicably feted him as the one true GOP hero, he’s become a national figure and has been seen as a great success. Let’s hope that Florida voters have long memories.