DeSantis’ ‘too online’ mistake, Dems’ surging Asian problem and other commentary

Libertarian: DeSantis’ ‘Too Online’ Mistake

Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis‘ launch of “Mamas for Desantis” with an ad signaling that “the left is coming for your children, and Ron DeSantis is the only person who can save them” is more proof Ron is “the candidate of the too online,” writes Reason’s Emma Camp. The ad “approaches subjects that should be relative slam-dunks for DeSantis — school choice and opposition to COVID school closures and mask mandates — with an off-puttingly conspiratorial edge,” and “it’s not exactly clear how the messaging is supposed to attract voters who aren’t glued to the right-wing internet.” Hmm: “A calmer, more effective ad would focus on DeSantis’ consistent opposition to COVID-19 school closures and his solid record advancing school choice in Florida. But that wouldn’t feel quite as nice as owning the libs.”

Ed desk: Fight for Gender Truth!

“I have been a professor for 34 years, and a researcher for 40,” notes J. Michael Bailey at The Free Press. “But I have never had an article retracted. Until now.” Why? Because of trans activists’ “dislike of certain ideas and the people responsible for them,” namely: Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria, which “ample evidence” suggests may spread “through social contagion.” Yes, “debate is essential to good science.” But these activists “seek surrender” and “that is what they got” from Springer, the research giant that published then retracted the article. “Censors have tried to stop scientific progress before. Now, as then, the pursuit of truth requires scientists and researchers” who won’t bow “to puritans, ideologues and activists.”

Liberal: Dems’ Surging Asian Problem

Asian-American voters “lurched” seven percentage points toward the GOP between 2020 and ’22, “more than any other major ethnic category,” observes Seth Moskowitz at The Liberal Patriot. That’s “a break from the decades-long trend toward Democrats,” and it’s “clear that two issues in particular are responsible”: “public safety and education.” In 2020-1, “for many Asian Americans who live in urban areas, the visible erosion of public safety was unacceptable—and they blamed Democrats for letting it happen.” Meanwhile, “Democratic attempts to meddle with education in the name of equity and social justice at the expense of equality and fairness are driving away Asian American voters.” So: “If Democrats continue to try and paper over the cracks that are forming in this increasingly important voting bloc,” the 2022 midterms may prove “the start of an Asian American retreat back towards the GOP.”

Gadfly: Release Facebook Files, Zuck

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg vows “kindness” and “sanity” at his new Twitter rival, Thread — but if he wants to prove he’s “committed to free speech,” argues Jonathan Turley at The Hill, he should “release the Facebook Files.” “Much of what we know today” about government-driven social-media censorship comes from the Twitter Files, “but surely there is more to learn.” Yet Facebook refuses “to offer the transparency of Twitter. If Zuckerberg is truly proud of his ‘sane’ approach,” he shouldn’t “fear the release of information” on Facebook’s “past coordination” with government officials. He makes his appeals to consumers with the promise of a censored platform; if he’s “so proud of his ‘content moderation,’ he should take a victory lap and release the Facebook Files.”

Conservative: Dems Aim To Destroy SCOTUS

Progressives calling to “expand the [Supreme] Court” beyond nine justices really aim to pack it “with cronies who are deferential to the government they’re supposed to be a check on,” warns Brad Polumbo at the Washington Examiner. But “in the long term, it would mean the end of the Supreme Court as we know it,” since it would soon trigger a righty counter-packing, “leading to a vicious cycle” of rival expansions that would render the court “a complete joke.” We’d soon “no longer have a third branch of government in any meaningful sense,” stuck “simply hoping that presidents and Congress follow the Constitution, and be left without recourse when they don’t.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board