On Balance | As Republicans target primary schools and Disney in America’s culture wars, where’s the Democrats’ fight?
- Republicans are going to new extremes to silence anyone standing in the way of their political power
- Democrats have largely failed muster a defence – with the exception of a viral speech that showed the kind of backbone the party needs
America’s culture wars came to a head last week when Republican firebrand Rick DeSantis signed into law a bill revoking the Walt Disney Company’s special district status in his state and a Democrat landed on a message that finally sparked signs of life within the party.
The legislation restricts public primary school instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in a way that will surely stigmatise the LGBT community, a prospect so tantalising to the Republican Party that at least 20 other states controlled by the party have introduced similar legislation.
The Sunshine state’s legislature also approved DeSantis’s plan to redraw Florida’s 28 congressional districts in a way that would slash the number of black-majority districts from four to two and change the boundaries of one represented by a black Democrat – Al Lawson – to give Republicans an edge.
Republicans are also boycotting debates, with the Republican National Committee voting this month to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates. Why? Much like insular mediascapes controlled by the Kremlin and Beijing, they need full control of the messaging to make their positions seem rational.