DeSantis’ Blueprint for America: Return to Courage – The American Spectator

On Jul 11, 2023

The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival
By Ron DeSantis
(Broadside Books, 288 pages, $35)

While courage may seem a fading virtue in America’s political discourse, at least one man has taken it to the next level: Ron DeSantis, current Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate.

Winston Churchill reminds us of a fundamental truth: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal — it’s the courage to continue that counts.” True success stems from you mustering the courage to overcome your greatest challenges in spite of your personal fear.

It’s this mindset that guided the actions of the men and women who, throughout this nation’s history, have sacrificed everything, even their lives, to win America’s independence, end the stain of slavery, and save the free world from the forces of fascism and communism. From our nation’s founding, it is courage that has defined the American identity and inspired those seeking to achieve the American Dream. (READ MORE: DeSantis’ Plan to Tear Down the DOJ Is What All the Candidates Need)

DeSantis recognizes this truth. He believes that courage holds the key to the renewal of America, and, in his latest book — The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival — the governor describes Florida’s success as the “blueprint” for how we can restore a constitutional America.

DeSantis’ Foundations and Fight in the House

DeSantis stresses that having a solid foundation is “essential for exercising executive leadership and navigating turbulent political seas.” Consequently, he describes his own foundation, allowing the reader to gain a personal understanding of the proud Florida native.

During his early childhood, DeSantis’ family moved frequently due to his father’s employment with Nielsen Holdings, a television ratings company. They bounced from Jacksonville to Orlando before finally settling in Dunedin. Young DeSantis joined the local Little League baseball team and learned the value of hard work: “Baseball was the engine that expanded my horizons,” he writes, describing his experience traveling for high school games.

DeSantis explains that his appreciation of hard work and a commonsense lifestyle came not only from baseball but also from his family and their blue-collar roots in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He developed an appreciation for traditional values, working-class principles, and patriotism from his parents. His working-class background would help distinguish him from his leftist counterparts during his time at Yale University and, later, Harvard Law School. (READ MORE: It’s Too Late for Judge Michael Luttig)

DeSantis began a new chapter of his life following his years at Yale and Harvard in joining the U.S. Navy. After completing his training as a naval officer and graduating from the Naval Justice School, he served as a judge advocate and was later deployed to Iraq. During a game of golf, he met a young anchor named Casey Black — who soon became the love of his life. The two married in 2009.

After being honorably discharged from active service in 2010, DeSantis answered his country’s call again, this time by running for Congress. DeSantis writes that his journey to the House was something he “stumbled into, not something I had planned out in advance.”

Before running, DeSantis released his first book, Dreams From Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama. Local conservative grassroots — including a new group, the Tea Party —took an interest in the book, and those connections helped propel him into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. In The Courage to Be Free, DeSantis describes those years in the House, including his efforts to repeal the disastrous Obamacare, his fight against Barack Obama and the Gang of Eight’s efforts to institute DACA, and his decision to help found the Freedom Caucus.

DeSantis’ Successful Florida Governorship

DeSantis’ journey to the Florida governorship — begun after he decided not to run for reelection to the House — was, according to him, one of the most challenging undertakings of his life. Despite the Republican establishment’s efforts to keep DeSantis out of the governor’s mansion, he managed to overcome the odds, winning the primary in an unexpected landslide. He went on to defeat Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum in 2018.

While the book focuses heavily on DeSantis’ humble beginnings and rise to the governorship, he also reveals some secrets to his administration’s success, one of which is good and effective leadership. He cites Hamilton’s description of the executive from Federalist No. 70 — “Energy in the executive is the leading character in the definition of good government” — writing that he “had Hamilton’s vision for effective leadership in mind” on the day when he was sworn into office.

DeSantis lays out his bold 2018 agenda for Florida in 10 points:

Promoting a fiscally responsible government that taxes lightly and regulates reasonably

Enacting education policy that would expand School Choice, emphasize civics education, and support technical education

Fortifying the integrity of Florida elections once and for all

Ushering in a new era of conservation for Florida’s waterways and Everglades

Ensuring accountability in government

Combating illegal immigration, including banning sanctuary cities

Reforming health care

Appointing conservative judges who would end judicial activism in Florida

Assisting the victims of Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm

Standing for law and order.

DeSantis’ success highlights that with effective leadership, anything is possible — from appointing conservative judges in Florida and scrapping Common Core in public education to enhancing efforts to secure Florida’s elections.

He has distinguished himself from other politicians by diverging from the established course: Do what you promised, even if it means losing your position in government. DeSantis makes the case that much of the failure of today’s policy decisions is due to the establishment mindset.

“In an essay in The American Spectator in 2010,” he writes, “Angelo Codevilla identified the source of America’s political divisions and policy failures as the ideological, incompetent, and self-interested ‘ruling class’ that has consolidated power over American society in the past fifty years.” (READ THE ARTICLE: America’s Ruling Class)

By rejecting establishment practices, DeSantis garnered strong opposition not just from the far Left but also from fellow Republicans. As he details, the governor faced opposition when he tried to keep Florida open during COVID and fought against Disney’s woke agenda.

Florida as the ‘Blueprint for America’

DeSantis asserts that the same strategies used to make Florida a success can be replicated and used to restore America’s constitutional order:

The Florida Blueprint is a simple formula: be willing to lead, have the courage of your convictions, deliver for your constituents, and reap the political rewards. This is a blueprint for America’s Revival.

The “Florida Blueprint,” DeSantis tells his readers, will address the consequences of a lack of effective leadership, especially in executive offices, and the establishment’s rejection of the Madisonian constitutional design. According to the governor, the states still have a great deal of authority in matters that affect us directly — including in public safety and education — despite federal overreach. DeSantis believes that this authority needs to be both preserved and strengthened, and he calls for a restoration of the Madisonian view of the Constitution by limiting federal power through principled leadership. The American people, DeSantis writers, must stand up with conviction in defense of our freedoms.

In The Courage to Be Free, DeSantis enables the reader to sit with him as he tells his life story. His personal approach engages the audience, allowing them to go beyond the mainstream media’s portrayal of him and listen instead to the man himself.

The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the man who came from humble beginnings and has turned one of the most competitive states in America into a bastion for freedom. Readers will realize that the road to restoring America’s constitutional order begins with “the courage to be free.”