| | | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Hello and welcome to Thursday. The gospel of Ron — Gov. Ron DeSantis summed up his latest ideological/culture war crusade as this: "Nobody wants this crap." The show — DeSantis held what was billed as a "press conference" Wednesday, but in reality it functioned more as a campaign-styled rally that included signs and hats thrown to a pro-DeSantis crowd by the governor. He bashed "elites," corporations such as Verizon and Bank of America, and anyone else who has pushed what conservatives are inserting into their definition of critical race theory or some apparent variant of it. Targeted again — The Republican governor had already targeted critical race theory earlier in the year when he got the Board of Education to pass a rule banning its teaching as well as the use of 1619 Project from The New York Times Magazine, an effort to reframe the country's history by looking at the consequences of slavery. Now DeSantis wants a law passed (the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act — or Stop W.O.K.E. Act) that codifies that decision and — more importantly — would give parents the right to sue school districts as well as employees the right to sue employers to "fight back." The road ahead — Let's put aside the split-screen of a state where someone can sue over critical race theory and not over Covid-19 liability. The point is that DeSantis' continued embrace of populism and attacking the elites — coming from someone who attended Harvard and Yale — shows that as he heads into a re-election campaign he's not moving anywhere close to the middle. That shows extreme confidence in his electoral prospects. Response — Democrats say this is more of the governor's continued pandering to a GOP base in advance of a 2024 bid for president. Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat from South Florida who is Black, lambasted DeSantis and said no one is even being taught critical race theory in a Florida public school. "Let's deal with the real issues facing Floridians and not this dangerous attempt to whitewash history for political gain," he said on Twitter. Game plan — But the strategy of targeting education issues with catch-all definitions of critical race theory that covered how slavery is taught and how districts have sought to improve equity in schools worked in Virginia. And GOP consultants contend that last year's "defund the police" and Black Lives Matter push alienated some Hispanic voters in South Florida. (One speaker at DeSantis' press conference went so far as to call last year's protests against police brutality after the killing of George Floyd "race wars.") Final outcome — Now it may very well be that the final bill actually passed by the Florida Legislature won't do what DeSantis says he wants. (Remember GOP leaders quietly rejected some of his ideas for the recent Covid-19 special session.) But the flood of national coverage from his press conference — including by left-leaning outlets — means DeSantis got the headlines he wanted. Several of his culture wars fights of the past year have gotten bogged down in the courts and amounted to nothing. That hasn't stopped him from talking about them or using it to drum up campaign donations. — WHERE'S RON? — Gov. DeSantis is holding a press conference in Yulee with Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault and Department of Economic Opportunity Secretary Dane Eagle. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Florida Playbook won't publish from Monday, Dec. 20-Friday, Dec. 31. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Monday, Jan. 3. Please continue to follow POLITICO Florida. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch:gfineout@politico.com | | | | JOIN TODAY FOR A WOMEN RULE 2021 REWIND AND A LOOK AHEAD AT 2022: Congress is sprinting to get through a lengthy and challenging legislative to-do list before the end of the year that has major implications for women's rights. Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph and POLITICO journalists Laura Barrón-López, Eleanor Mueller, Elena Schneider and Elana Schor for a virtual roundtable that will explore the biggest legislative and policy shifts in 2021 affecting women and what lies ahead in 2022. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
|  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | THE AGENDA — "DeSantis pushes bill that allows parents to sue schools over critical race theory," by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday escalated his ongoing crusade against "wokeness" and "elites" by pushing a bill that would allow parents to sue school districts if they teach "critical race theory" in classrooms. The state's Republican governor — who gained a national following amid his battles over Covid restrictions — also wants the GOP-controlled Legislature to help employees at private corporations that are subjected to what he called "harassment" by being forced to undergo sensitivity and racial awareness training. FRIED'S $100K ALLEGATION — "Nikki Fried accuses DeSantis of pay-for-play appointments, but offers no proof," by Tampa Bay Times' Romy Ellenbogen: "It's been widely reported that those who sit on boards of trustees for universities give campaign donations to those who appoint them. In November, the Times reported that four members of the University of Florida's board of trustees have contributed a total of $661,800 over the last few years to DeSantis' campaign. But Fried's allegations went further. She charged that contributions like these were required by DeSantis as a condition for remaining on the board. When asked by the Times for specifics, Fried's campaign spokesman Andrew Godinich issued a statement that failed to provide any proof." | 
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried attends the "2022 Taste of Florida Agriculture Reception" held in the Capitol Courtyard on Nov. 30, 2021 | Gary Fineout/POLITICO | PAGING THE LG — "Space Florida's incredible shrinking Rivian stake," by TechCrunch's Mark Harris: "Until last year, Space Florida, the state's economic development agency for aerospace, believed that it owned 3% of Rivian as a result of a canny lease-back agreement made a decade earlier. Following Rivian's blockbuster IPO in November, that stake would have been worth nearly $3 billion based on Rivian's current market capitalization — a more than 1,000-fold return on Space Florida's investment. That investment, which totaled nearly $2 million, included buying prototypes from Rivian in exchange for warrants in the company as well as the cost of buying the stock." Hmm — "Instead — and through a mechanism that neither the agency nor Rivian can explain — Space Florida has ended up holding just 60,000 shares in the company, worth less than $7 million, public records from the agency show." TIME TO GET OUT OF TOWN? — " Candidates for Orlando airport chief executive officer include Florida's transportation secretary," by Orlando Sentinel's Kevin Spear: "The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority disclosed names Wednesday afternoon of six finalists for the job of managing Orlando International Airport, a staff of more than 800 and an annual budget of nearly $600 million. One of the candidates for the position of GOAA's chief executive officer is Florida's top transportation official, Kevin Thibault, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation." — "Bill would build on reforms to program for Florida kids with birth-related brain injuries," by Miami Herald's Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang — "Sarasota lawmaker's bill requires Florida's pro sports teams to play national anthem ," by Sarasota Herald-Tribune's Zac Anderson | | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | The daily rundown — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were 4,127 Covid-19 infections on Tuesday. CDC records show that the last time Florida had more than 4,000 daily cases was Oct. 1. REINSTATED — " As omicron variant spreads, Miami-Dade hospitals ordered to report bed availability," by Miami Herald's Douglas Hanks: "In November, as Miami-Dade County's COVID-19 pandemic seemed to ease, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava lifted a July emergency order requiring daily bed inventories and COVID patient counts from hospitals across the county. This week, as the omicron variant sweeps across the world, Levine Cava reinstated the order, with the first COVID patient counts due on Friday. 'We're doing everything possible to make sure we're responding to this,' she said Wednesday." LEGAL ADVICE — "Gainesville says Florida law doesn't allow $250 vaccine incentive payments for workers," by The Gainesville Sun's John Henderson: "The city of Gainesville has rescinded its offer to pay a $250 incentive payment to employees who get their COVID-19 vaccinations after the city's legal staff concluded that state law prevents them from making the payments. However, other counties in Florida have continued to make incentive payments to employees after the state law that Gainesville officials say prevents them from paying employees here was in effect. A different viewpoint — "City commissioners say they trust the city attorney's legal advice. But a spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that she doesn't understand Gainesville's logic in saying that the state is prohibiting the incentive payments. 'It is unclear why the city of Gainesville believes that these (state law) provisions, which prohibit vaccination requirements or mandates, would prohibit incentive payments,' said spokeswoman Christina Pushaw in an emailed statement." STUDY — " Florida's choice to run vaccine distribution through Publix left behind people of color, poor," by Orlando Weekly's Justin Garcia: "A new study from Florida Atlantic University shows that distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Florida reached the intended senior population, but failed to ensure equal access for people of color and lower-income communities. The study, published in the Health Affairs Journal, explored the vaccine rollout at Publix Super Markets across Florida. During the rollout, state officials cited the Lakeland-based grocery giant's large Florida footprint and said the chain was better prepared for the assignment than other retailers." — " Omicron has become the predominant variant found in Orange County's wastewater testing," by Orlando Sentinel's Ryan Gillespie — "Spokesman files whistleblower lawsuit against Sheriff Gregory Tony over COVID pandemic," by Sun Sentinel's Rafael Olmeda — "Gainesville officials say state laws limit ability to fight potential Omicron surge," by The Gainesville Sun's John Henderson | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | |
| | DATELINE D.C. | | AT THE 11TH HOUR — "Bipartisan deal to crack down on China's treatment of Muslims stalls in Senate," by POLITICO's Andrew Desiderio: Senators were on the cusp of an agreement to send a House-passed bill cracking down on the Chinese government's genocide of Uyghur Muslims to Biden's desk, while achieving a breakthrough on stalled foreign policy nominees. But Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) objected to the deal as he sought to extend the expanded child tax credit for one year. Response — But Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who led the Uyghur bill, countered that the child tax credit was unrelated to the underlying agreement he had struck with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on scheduling votes on critical national-security positions in the Biden administration. COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN — Florida Sen. Rick Scott — or probably his staff — took to Twitter on Wednesday to complain that the White House had hung up on Scott when he called to talk to someone in the administration about the imprisonment of Cuban activist José Daniel Ferrer in the island nation. He said he made the move after talking to Ferrer's family and said the U.S. needed to do more to demand humanitarian medical visits to Ferrer. Scott lashed out at what he called the "cowardice" of the Biden administration. Call me — But then … after Scott's complaint he wound up talking to a senior White House security adviser for the Western Hemisphere as well United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro. "I truly hope that following these calls, the Biden administration and our partners in the fight to protect human rights will take action and unapologetically stand with José Daniel Ferrer and the brave Cuban people fighting for their freedom," Scott said. — " Marco Rubio introduces bill targeting online fentanyl sales," by Orlando Sentinel's Kate Santich | | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | ANOTHER ONE — "Florida man arrested, charged in Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol," by The Associated Press: "A Florida man has been arrested on charges related to storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and attacking a police officer, officials said. Mason Joel Courson, 26, of Tamarac, was arrested Tuesday and charged with eight federal offenses that include assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and inflicting bodily injury, civil disorder, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, according to court records." | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | AFTERMATH — "Grand jury: After Surfside collapse, require frequent inspections, stricter association rules," by Miami Herald's David Ovalle: "In the wake of the deadly Surfside condo collapse, Miami-Dade County should institute more frequent building recertification inspections, and condo associations should be required to annually certify routine maintenance and building repairs, a grand jury recommended on Wednesday. Those were among the many recommendations issued Wednesday by a grand jury tasked with exploring condo safety following the June collapse of Champlain Towers South that killed 98 people in one of the nation's deadliest building failures." | 
This aerial photo shows part of the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South Condo that collapsed early Thursday, June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) | Amy Beth Bennett /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP | GENTLE GIANTS — "Manatee feeding program ready as winter tests survival," by The Associated Press' Curt Anderson: "As winter approaches Florida, a pilot feeding plan could save many manatees from starvation — but they will still face the long-term threat of manmade water pollution stifling their food supply, wildlife officials said Wednesday. The slow-moving marine mammals will soon begin to congregate at warm-water sites such as power plants as the ocean temperatures cool, and there may not be enough seagrass to sustain them, officials told the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission." HMM — "FL School Boards Association withdrew from national affiliate; Was it a partisan move or not?" by Florida Phoenix's Danielle J. Brown: "Some affiliates, including the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA), felt that the letter did not represent them and quickly distanced themselves from it. However, Andrea Messina, executive director of the FSBA, told the Phoenix that the statewide association has had concerns about the national group long before the Biden letter about violence against school board members. The concerns related to governance, leadership, transparency, and failure to embrace non-partisanship with the [National School Boards Association], according to Messina." — "Carvalho: Next school superintendent should stand up to political influence," by Miami Herald's Sommer Brugal | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Carole Baskin drops suit against Netflix and 'Tiger King' producers," by Tampa Bay Times' Christopher Spata: "Carole and Howard Baskin have dropped their lawsuit against Netflix and the producers of Tiger King, according to a Wednesday filing in federal court in Tampa. Carole Baskin, founder of the nonprofit Big Cat Rescue, and her husband Howard Baskin, who helps run the animal sanctuary in Tampa, were subjects of the 2020 Netflix documentary series, Tiger King. They sued ahead of Netflix's Nov. 17 release of Tiger King 2, alleging producers did not have the right to use footage of the couple in the sequel." BIRTHDAYS : Monroe County Commissioner and former State Rep. Holly Raschein
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