Joe Henderson: Yes, Joe Rogan should have apologized and so should Ron DeSantis

Remember these words from Gov. Ron DeSantis after winning the 2018 election by 32,463 votes out of the 8.2 million cast?

“We were elected to serve all Floridians, and that is a charge we will keep,” he wrote in the Tallahassee Democrat. “Following a very competitive election, I know there are political divides in our state, but the election is over, and it is time for our state to come together.”

I wonder what happened to that guy?

All Floridians? Come together?

What a joke.

I bring this up because of what our feisty (that’s one word for it) Governor said recently on Fox News. The topic was the apology by podcaster Joe Rogan over his repeated use of the N-word on his shows.

“No, he shouldn’t have apologized,” DeSantis said. “I mean, you see what happens? The mob will come after people, and they’re targeting Rogan because he’s threatening to upset the apple cart on some of the things that they’re holding dear.”

Yes, he should have apologized, and so should the Governor.

Criticizing someone for using “that” word isn’t woke, politically correct, or any of the other clichés DeSantis loves to invoke. It’s about common decency. It’s never OK to use that word, especially on a popular show like Rogan’s.

My goodness.

What’s worse, though, is that I believe this wasn’t a slip of the tongue by the Governor. I believe he made a political calculation that those who think only snowflakes get upset by words will see swagger in DeSantis’ swill.

He believes — probably with justification — those people are more likely to vote than those who find him offensive and divisive.

Yes, Charlie Crist, Nikki Fried and Annette Taddeo may believe this will send minorities stampeding to polls to vote against DeSantis. I imagine they will bring this up once or twice or a thousand times between now and the August Primary Election.

There’s a pattern when you add voting restrictions aimed at minorities, the imaginary critical race theory boogeyman and the anti-riot bill. It’s the opposite of DeSantis’ promise to “serve all Floridians.”

But they’re fighting an uphill battle against DeSantis’ bulging campaign bank account. Crist, who leads in most polls for the Democratic nomination, entered January with $3.8 million in cash while the Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee has $77.8 million in cash on hand.

That uphill battle includes DeSantis’ boast that Florida is the freest state in the union. I suppose he lumps in defiance in the face of a horrible slur with the freedom to trample on decency and respect.

Hey, the polls say that message seems to resonate with the Governor’s supporters.

All I know is that DeSantis promised he would be the Governor for all Floridians.

How’s that working out?