Joe Henderson
If the goal of either side in the Florida Governor’s debate Sunday night between Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis was to change minds, that probably didn’t happen.
During a spirited hour-long debate on CNN in which no punches were pulled, both candidates to be Florida’s governor kept their respective cool, got in their talking points and attacks, and dodged issues they didn’t want to directly address.
DeSantis kept up the line of attack he has used throughout the campaign, namely that Gillum is a corrupted socialist who wants to ruin the state with massive tax hikes while dodging a corruption investigation by the FBI.
Gillum countered that DeSantis is a corrupted Donald Trump acolyte who is controlled by the National Rifle Association.
That’s what they have been saying about each other since the August primary, and with the election now about two weeks away they didn’t deviate. Both men were prepared, they didn’t commit a grievous blunder during the spicy back-and-forth that could have led to a disastrous headline.
Each man was well-coached to deflect attacks and ready to sprinkle in a snappy one-liner that just might appear in a TV commercial in the closing days of the campaign.
So, here’s a random sampling of things that jumped out:
Favorite zingers
From Gillum: “If the congressman is elected, which he won’t be, he will worship at the feet of Donald Trump.”
From DeSantis: “If you believe with that record that he (Gillum) ain’t gonna raise your taxes, then I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arizona I’d like to sell you.”
Monkey business
DeSantis was asked by moderator Jake Tapper, who did a good job of keeping things on track, to explain his “monkey it up” comment about Gillum and the state’s economy on the day after the primary election. It was widely panned as a racist dog whistle.
“Here’s the deal. You look at my record. When you’re down-range in Iraq, it didn’t matter your race. We all wore the same uniform. We all had that American flag patch on our arm. And that was the end of story. You look at me as a prosecutor working with law enforcement. It didn’t matter the race of the victim. We were there to support the race of the victim. So, Floridians can know that I will be a governor for all Floridians.”
Gillum’s counter: “The congressman let us know exactly where he was going to take this race the day after he won the nomination. The monkey up comment said it all. He has continued throughout the course of this campaign to draw all the attention he can to the color of my skin. … The only color the people of the state of Florida care about is the blue-green algae that is flowing out of the state.”
Was the original question answered?
Not really.
Parkland
DeSantis is loved by the NRA.
Gillum is not.
That’s an issue.
After the slaughter of 17 innocents at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the state adopted modest gun control restrictions – opposed, strongly, by the NRA. DeSantis said as governor, he would have vetoed the law.
Why?
After invoking the shooting at the congressional softball game, DeSantis dodged the question, saying the shooter who “should have been convicted of a crime” and “he should have been Baker-Acted.”
Um, Congressman? While there were warnings about the mental state of confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz, he hadn’t done anything that would have led to a conviction before entering the school. And the state’s Baker Act law would have allowed him to be held only 72 hours for observation.
Gillum’s counter: “He is wholly owned by the NRA.”
What now?
No doubt, both sides believe they won this debate, but I really think the people of Florida did.
Both men were pointed in their barbs, but it didn’t get out of control. They made their points, and it’s up to the viewer to agree or not. It was lively, and I don’t think either man got rattled by the other.
It was healthy. It was informative.
I probably would have given a slight edge to Gillum because he was less evasive on tough questions than DeSantis, like when he was asked if Trump is a good role model for the children of Florida and answered with something about moving the embassy of Israel to Jerusalem.
Huh?
But, with the finish line near, we were given a good look at both men and what they stand for. That’s what debates are for.
One comment
Barb Donaldson
October 22, 2018 at 11:04 am
Nice summary. I felt that Gillum won handily based on sheer optics. DeSantis had a forced smile and goofy expressions and looked nervous throughout. Trump would have deemed him “Nervous Ron” if he was his opponent.
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