With a single exception, Red State governors either allow or ignore taxpayer-funded Marxist factories in their respective states.
These "factories" are commonly known as colleges and universities.
Each year the public institutions turn out another crop of eager leftists who will work to undermine or destroy all the positive measures the governor and legislature accomplish.
Governors can reverse this taxpayer-funded damage, but they don’t.
Instead of appointing motivated, conservatives to the board of regents or trustees overseeing each university, too many governors appoint big donors.
Moneybags whose top priority is making sure the football team has a winning record.
It amounts to a very bad trade.
A winning season and a bowl game invitation does not compensate for the damage leftist indoctrination does to the state’s youth.
Why does this continue?
We attribute it to weakness or cowardice.
Changing the ideological direction of universities will guarantee howls of "academic freedom" and waves of negative media coverage from leftist stenographers.
Neither is a reason to allow this higher education malpractice to continue.
So which governor is the exception to this gubernatorial apathy?
You probably guessed it: Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.
DeSantis just announced the appointment of six new conservative members to the Board of Trustees for Florida’s New College.
And it wasn’t a moment too soon.
As FloridaPolitics.com pointed out, the New College mission statement is a stew of leftist bromides, "We seek a balance between recognizing and celebrating difference, respectfully supporting each other’s growth, and ensuring that historically marginalized and oppressed groups are not experiencing trauma and harm.
"New College values equity and is actively working toward eliminating outcome disparities for underrepresented and underserved groups."
"Trauma" may become an ongoing event for faculty and the delicate flowers attending New College.
DeSantis Communications Director Taryn Fenske diagnosed the problem at New College, which has been "completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning."
DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin then outlined the remedy, "Starting today, the ship is turning around. New College of Florida, under the Governor’s new appointees, will be refocused on its founding mission of providing a world-class quality education with an exceptional focus on the classics."
The goal of the new board members is to "weed out concepts like diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT)."
It goes without saying the new appointees are a leftist administrator or professor’s worst nightmare, beginning with Chris Rufo.
Rufo is a nationally known conservative who has exposed the "diversity, equity and inclusion" poison that has infected higher education everywhere and has metastasized into the corporate world and government agencies.
He has also been at the forefront of exposing the evil that is "Drag Queen Story Hour" that endangers children by degrading their childhood.
He is joined by Emory University professor Mark Bauerlein, Claremont–McKenna College professor Charles Kesler, attorney Debra Jenks, Inspiration Academy Co-Founder Jason Speir and Matthew Spalding, dean of Hillsdale College D.C. campus' Graduate School of Government.
These are all conservative stalwarts with a love of our country and its history.
Republican Party of Florida Vice Chair Christian Ziegler agrees that these appointments are important, "Impossible to state just how bold and historical this action is. It sets the tone that higher education can and will be reformed if conservative leaders are willing to step up, lead and act."
Very true, but it’s important we keep some perspective.
The New College has an enrollment of only 632 students, which is miniscule when compared to the University of Florida’s over 60,000. Changing its board will hardly force the hard left state university system to make a right turn.
The question becomes, it there more to it? And the answer is, yes.
Gov. DeSantis has learned from the left. When you want to win a cultural or political victory, you attack on as many fronts as possible.
DeSantis has opened a second front on Marxist factories.
He has directed the Florida Department of Education to require all state higher education institutions to produce a list of all programs and activities that relate to DEI and CRT and attach a dollar amount to each.
Those reports are to be ready before the 2023 legislative session.
The board of trustees replacement and the report for the legislature are an unmistakable signal that DeSantis’ anti-woke policies are no joke.
Other Red State governors can do much the same in their states.
The question conservatives must demand an answer to is why haven’t they?
The New College board was a shot across the bow of leftist high education in Florida.
Let’s hope the next shot hits amidships.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.
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