Not Shocking: DeSantis won't support blogger registry

So why did everyone jump on the story?

What Happened?

Last week, in advance of the Florida Legislature’s upcoming session, a bill was introduced by State Senator Jason Brodeur that proposed creating a law forcing bloggers who were paid to write about Government officials in Florida to register with the State, here’s more detail from the Tampa Bay Times

Brodeur’s Senate Bill 1316 — the bill requiring the registry of paid bloggers — defines “blog” as “a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or business content.” The bill excludes “the website of a newspaper or other similar publication.”

Those who are paid to write about elected officials in the Legislature or executive branch — the governor, lieutenant governor or Cabinet members — would have to file reports with the state offices that handle lobbying disclosures every month that they post.

The reports must include who paid the blogger for the post, and how much the blogger received, the bill says. Those that fail to report to the state can be fined $25 per day they are late, up to $2,500 per report.

According to statements from Brodeur, he considered bloggers to be lobbyists, and the purpose of his bill is to mandate the disclosure of “paid advocacy.”

Of course, this isn’t the story you saw on Twitter or from national press outlets. Almost of all of them included pictures of Ron DeSantis giving millions the false impression he proposed or supported the bill.

After reviewing the bill, DeSantis had this to say via the Floridian Press

“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,” bloggers are going to have to register with the state,” attributing it to me,” said Gov. DeSantis. “That’s not anything I’ve ever supported, I don’t support. I’ve been very clear on what we are doing.”

Why it happened

In advance of every legislative session, bills are proposed by elected representatives. Very few of these will make it to a Governor’s desk, but journalists can use the bill proposals to either generate buzz or serve their agenda. It makes total sense that local Florida outlets would cover a bill like this, and the sources I found usually included the correct information about where the bill came from. By contrast national outlets who are more concerned with narratives and less concerned with facts saw this as another opportunity to take aim at the most prominent Republican Governor in the country.

Because DeSantis has opposed the covid tyranny, and is now taking steps to protect children from genital mutilation

¹

being pushed by radical ideologues he is a target for the corporate press.

Why it matters

Really a story like this is a flash in the pan, last week it was introduced, this week DeSantis said he doesn’t like it, next week the press will move on to another vector of attack. It shouldn’t surprise you that major press outlets went after DeSantis. What is surprising is the way some personalities who allegedly oppose the left and Democratic policy would use an opportunity like this to attack DeSantis.

In politics, the moral edge goes to the person you already agree with. It is not a marketplace where you get to choose between 30 brands of similar products. In America if we’re lucky there are two choices on a ballot, but most of the time you’re choosing two versions of the same flavor. DeSantis by contrast has been willing to oppose the Biden Administration when other Republicans refused, and continues to push back against incursion from the Cult of Diversity Equity and Inclusion. This makes him an ally to liberty - which is to say those who choose to falsely libel his administration do the bidding of those they claim to fight against.

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1. what the Biden administration lyingly refers to as “gender affirming care”