Compliments, Criticism Pepper DeSantis' State Of The State Address

TAMPA, FL — With a solid vote of confidence from the majority following his re-election win in November, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered his State of the State Address Tuesday from the Florida House of Representatives chambers in Tallahassee to a State Legislature that is decidedly much redder.

Following the general election, the Republican majority in the Legislature increased from 76 Republicans and 42 Democrats to 85 Republicans and 35 Democrats.

If DeSantis speech is any indication, the state of the state is better than ever. Using the military term, BLUF, meaning "bottom line up front," DeSantis cited a laundry list of reasons "Florida remains the No. 1" in the country.

"Florida is the fastest-growing state in the nation."

"We rank No. 1 for net in-migration."

"We rank No. 1 in the nation for new business formations."

"We are No. 1 in economic growth among large states."

"We rank No. 1 in the nation in tourism and we just experienced yet another record-breaking year for visitors to the Sunshine State."

"We are No. 1 in law enforcement recruitment and support."

"Florida's crime rate stands at a 50-year low."

"We rank No. 1 in the nation for education freedom."

"We rank No. 1 in the nation for parental involvement in education."

"We rank No. 1 in fourth-grade reading and math amongst all large states."

"We have the No. 1 public higher education system in the country."

"We are No. 1 among large states for the quality of our roads."

"Florida has the top three cruise ports in the entire world."

"We rank No. 1 for space-related development, manufacturing and flight."

"And maybe, most famously, we rank No. 1 for protections of our citizens against the biomedical security state, from prohibiting "jab or job" mandates to banning vaccine passports to ensuring hospital visitation rights," DeSantis said.

He continued with a familiar refrain of accomplishments.

"Florida has more people employed today than before the pandemic," he said. "Our unemployment rate is one of the lowest on record and it is significantly lower than the national average. And, of course, as many of you know in this room, the last two years we've seen the largest budget surpluses in the history of the state of Florida. And we do that with having the lowest per capita state tax and lowest per capita state debt burdens among all large states."

Among the guests DeSantis invited to the House chambers for the State of the State Address were three residents who survived Hurricane Ian on Sept. 30.

He said they're representative of the strength and resilience of Floridians.

"Florida stepped up in times of crisis. In September, Hurricane Ian smashed into southwest Florida and barreled across our state. It left catastrophic damage in its wake, including the destruction of the Pine Island Bridge and the Sanibel Causeway," DeSantis said.

"Local island residents were told it would take six months or more to restore the bridges, and so they appealed to the state for help," he said. "We took up the challenge, and three days later, we opened a rebuilt Pine Island bridge. And two weeks after that, we were able to reopen the Sanibel Causeway after it had been severed in three locations."

Among the residents DeSantis introduced in the House chambers was Stephen Soloway, a Pine Island business owner.

"In the immediate aftermath of the storm, he was helping residents by boat bring supplies for people that were in need," DeSantis said. "He has said that the reopening of the bridge was a godsend for the folks on Pine Island."

Also on hand was Julie Wappes, a fourth-grade teacher at the Sanibel School.

"She lost everything in her home and in her classroom," he said. "They had to have the school take place on the mainland, but because of the rebuilt causeway, a faster recovery has been facilitated and the school is now back open on Sanibel Island."

And, finally, DeSantis introduced Lee County resident Barbara Morgan.

"She was displaced from her home, had very bad damage, and she was trying to get a temporary trailer from FEMA," DeSantis said. "Well, they weren't moving fast enough. So the state of Florida in a first-of-its-kind program in the nation stepped up to the plate, created our own program for travel trailers and we were delighted to be able to get Barbara in a trailer on her own property as she works to rehab her home."

Following the pats on the back, DeSantis' tone grew more cynical, blasting the president for his lax immigration policies.

"We believe that borders matter and we have fought against illegal immigration in the state of Florida from banning sanctuary cities to suing the Biden administration over its catch-and-release policies to transporting illegal aliens to sanctuary jurisdictions," he said.

He introduced Sarasota resident Stacy Kaszuba.

"Nearly two years ago, an illegal alien broke into her home and sexually assaulted her," he said. "He should have never been in this country in the first place and, if the federal government had done its job like it's supposed to, Stacy would never have been victimized. Enough is enough."

He also attributed inflation to the Biden administration.

"Due to the excessive spending and printing of money by the federal government, Americans are living through the worst period of sustained inflation in decades," he said. "We've worked together to reduce the pain of inflation by enacting over $1 billion in tax relief in this current year's budget and by slashing tolls by 50 percent for Florida commuters for this calendar year. That will save some families more than $1,000."

He said residents will see further relief from the $2 billion tax cut package he initiated, "the largest tax cut package in Florida history," he said.

"It will help many who need relief from inflation, especially our Florida families," DeSantis said. "By permanently eliminating sales tax on all baby supplies, diapers, wipes, closed cribs, strollers, we will be able to say that in Florida, having a child will be tax-free."

DeSantis had equally harsh words for the Chinese Communist Party, which he said "represents the greatest economic, strategic and security threat that our country faces."

"We in Florida long recognized this and have taken action such as banning the CCP's Confucius Institutes at our state colleges and universities," he said. "Now we see the CCP trying to make strategic land purchases across the U.S. and our message in Florida is very simple: We will not allow land grabs by CCP-backed businesses in our state."

And, finally, DeSantis took lambasted the legal community for creating "Florida's lawsuit-happy legal climate."

"The legal system should be centered on achieving justice, not lining the pockets of lawyers," he said. "Speaker Paul Renner is stepping up to deliver much-needed legal reform."

He ended by telling Floridians to pay no attention to the flack from liberal critics.

"Don't worry about the chattering class," he said. "Ignore all the background noise. Keep the compass set to true north. We will stand strong. We will hold the line. We won't back down."