The Atlantic flies UK reporter to Florida to examine how it fell under an authoritarian governor

Why? Someone at The Atlantic thought that perhaps an outsider — say, a reporter from England — could visit Florida and figure out how such a free state fell under the leadership of an authoritarian governor like Ron DeSantis. Helen Lewis can’t get over how such a weird place, with its sunshine and hurricanes and Florida Man stories, could buckle to Republican control. Maybe ask someone who voted for DeSantis — there are a lot of them, as he defeated Charlie Crist by 19 points and turned the state red last November.

For the May issue of @TheAtlantic, I've written about two Florida Men: Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump, and how the Sunshine State became the incubator of Republican politics. https://t.co/x2Ya7V4LlK

— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) March 27, 2023

It was a journey that took me from a drag brunch in Miami to DeSantis's inauguration in Tallahassee, via Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District (RIP) and the gates of Mar-A-Lago. I even got grounded by a hurricane. pic.twitter.com/j2WL69KWTj

— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) March 27, 2023

I tried to uncover the real Ron DeSantis: culture warrior or tax-cutter. “He’s a governor that is masterful at driving these angry social-war fights that divide people, then turning around and governing like a pro-corporate Republican," @Jason_Garcia told me. pic.twitter.com/4vbR6xPwhF

— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) March 27, 2023

Who’s Jason Garcia? He says he’s an investigative reporter covering corporate influence in Florida.

DeSantis is very good at leveraging executive power. The campaign against Disney is DeSantisism distilled into its purest form, a bargain reminiscent of Viktor Orban's Hungary. It says to corporations: Don’t come for me and I won’t come for you. pic.twitter.com/BJHusCV2CR

— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) March 27, 2023

BUT. He is running in the Trump lane, when Trump is a born performer who finds his causes by sniffing the wind, then road-tests potential lines on Truth Social and live audiences. Ron DeSantis offers a synthetic, lab-grown alternative. He’s Sweet’N Low. pic.twitter.com/CJV2WpnbV1

— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) March 27, 2023

Why Florida? “The general Republican mindset now is about grievances against condescending elites,” Michael Grunwald, the Miami-based author of The Swamp, told me, “and it fits with the sense that ‘we’re Florida Man; everyone makes fun of us.’ ” pic.twitter.com/66iBDEoOQt

— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) March 27, 2023

Florida has been seen as a refuge since before it was part of America. And as Florida has become America, America has become more like Florida: older, more racially diverse but not necessarily more liberal, and more at risk from climate change. pic.twitter.com/PjVtOSqeaJ

— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) March 27, 2023

It’s too bad Lewis didn’t get to see Miami before it was submerged some two decades ago by rising ocean waters.

*King George III liked this post*

— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) March 28, 2023

Wait, aren't you a brit? And if so, why would anyone care what you have to say about Florida governance? People go to prison in UK for social media posts. Don't come here talking totalitarian bullshit then go home and watch your countrymen get jailed for speech, muppet

— Matthew S Harrison (@MatthewSHarriso) March 28, 2023

You can’t even pray silently across the street from an abortion clinic in the U.K. without being arrested.

“More at risk to climate change”

— Anacott Steel CEO (@AnacottC) March 28, 2023

Complete drivel.

— Cartoon Cat (@FEgerter) March 28, 2023

We dont care.

— Franklin Antoian (@iBodyFit) March 28, 2023

As a Floridian your opinion was voided in 1776. Pound sand..

— Kimberly Gordon (@Kimber0314) March 28, 2023

"more racially diverse but not necessarily more liberal…" Dang, sounds like a method slip – so sorry it didn't work in this case lmao

maybe consider a ton of us left leftoid countries behind and we are SO DONE with that crap?

— GVLA🐗SOVND (@gulasound) March 28, 2023

🧵 @TheAtlantic sent a reporter from Britain to FL to ogle & mock it, and then gaslight readers into the tired angle that parental rights or medical freedom are “authoritarian.” https://t.co/uCjmuUjQBI

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 28, 2023

The article is dripping with the disdain and contempt that modern media hold for average people who reject the liberal elite’s vision of society (and Florida has overwhelmingly rejected it!)

Recognize the tactics of these “journalists”:

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 28, 2023

1. Writing as if they have first-hand knowledge (she cites other articles or rumors.)

2. Quoting/interviewing activist partisans to provide "local perspective" or “expert opinion.”

3. And claiming to have reached out to "fact check" (it was not a fact-check, see below.)

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 28, 2023

Here’s part of the attempted “fact check” as emailed – false & biased premises that are plain attempts to push and legitimize the author’s political angles.

The new journalistic formula is: we've reached our conclusion (based on our politics). What do you have to say about that? pic.twitter.com/8Kdp5UpuiC

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 28, 2023

They could have just interviewed any of the THOUSANDS of people that have recently moved to Florida and I'm guessing that "We wanted to be ruled by an authoritarian" wasn't going to be their answer….oh, now I get why they didn't.

— John (@ITVPod) March 28, 2023

Liberal journalist talked to other liberal “journalists.”

You could have saved your fingers and thumbs some work by just stopping at @TheAtlantic. No need to expound. We know their game.

— Camelot Returns '24 🐊 (@CamelotReturns) March 28, 2023

As a British guy living and working in Florida, I would like to apologize on behalf of Britain and state unequivocally that Helen Lewis does not speak for us!

— JG (@JackGFla) March 28, 2023

She is the same activist that was put in her place by @jordanbpeterson https://t.co/v0eQDkv83P

— The Conservative Immigrant (@theconimmigrant) March 28, 2023

“As part of our 30th-anniversary dissection of masculinity.” What a joke.

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