Decline Is A Choice

Check out monorail.com, America's affordable investment app made for conservatives who want to keep their hard-earned money with companies that share their values. Download the Monorail app today. Join Monorail. Hello, my friends. I'm Dennis Prager. January 4th, the New Year. I listened to and watched Ron DeSantis's inaugural address. He was inaugurated governor again in Florida, and I watched it and listened to every word. I will actually play it for you, as he is a significant hope for this country, this man. I like everything about him. Including the fact that he's not particularly emotional. He must be the left's nightmare, considerably more than Donald Trump at this time, at any rate. He describes Florida as the free state of Florida. My son lives in Florida, my older son. And he was there, he was at the inauguration, and he told me how many signs read the Free State of Florida. That is exactly correct. I said this in 2020 when I visited Florida. I'll never forget. I don't remember what month it was. I can figure it out somehow. I, I was at a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, and I got up to take pictures of people eating, not masked, an open restaurant. Everything the opposite of the sick, sick state of California in which I live. Sick is a mild term. Rotten is actually not wrong to use. I live in a rotten state with a lot of good people in it. I know it sounds mutually contradictory, but it shouldn't be. It is a rotten state. Yesterday I, I spoke to you of the bill that went into force, that if a child is taken by one parent or even just flees to California, a girl wants her breasts removed, she has a sanctuary state to have her breasts removed. The vile, despicable left runs California. Okay, got that out of my system. Whenever you say left, think vile, despicable, and you will be accurate. There is no exception. The exceptions are liberals. I don't consider liberals the same as leftists. What liberals do is vote for leftists, as I always point out, and that will be their everlasting sin. To vote for the left is to enable evil to win. And it is winning in California and losing in Florida. And the people of Florida are happier, and the children are doing better, and the economy is doing better, and tourism is doing better, and people are moving in, not out, like they are from New York and California. Why is that not dispositive? People leave rotten states and go to good states. Why is that not dispositive that Florida is a finer, more humane, more decent place, for example, to raise a family, than is California with its sick perverse schools, with sick perverse people teaching it and running it in teachers unions? Why is that not obvious? That's not a rhetorical question. Why isn't it obvious? Well, it is to many people. California's delegation to the House based on population declined for the first time in California history. Florida is the fastest growing state in the country, or by, by, uh, by percentage, or just fastest growing. I guess that means percentage. When I play for you the DeSantis speech, I will 'Have you heard my favorite line? Florida is where woke comes to die.' Wow, the people went nuts. That's right. So I was telling you, in 2020, while Newsom, who would dine in restaurants while shutting down restaurants, and get away with it, because who's going to call him on it? The, uh, the Soviet-type Los Angeles Times? Who's going to call him on it? The Sacramento Bee? The San Francisco Chronicle? You shut down restaurants and then go to one unmasked? Didn't have any effect. I wonder if he lost 5 votes because of the lie that he lived. It's not hypocrisy, it's infinitely worse than hypocrisy. Anyway, while he was ruining restaurants and ruining freedom in California, they were open in Florida. So I got up to take a picture at a restaurant that I was dining at, or at which I was dining. And somebody looked at me, did not know who I was, and said, are you from California? They immediately inferred why I was taking a picture. There's nothing to photograph, people eating. The person immediately put two and two together. You must come from California, that sick state, and here you are in a healthy state. And you wanted photographic proof when you go back home to California. California was once identified with freedom. This was the place you went to be free. Now, thanks to the Democratic Party and the rest of the left, this is the place you flee to be free. Talking about fleeing, This nothing who is the governor of New York, Hochul. Governor Hochul said she wants all these conservatives to leave New York State. Go, go, leave! And now she's made an announcement: we have to figure out a way to keep all these people in New York State. What does it tell you, dear friends? That people flee New York and California and flee to Florida and Texas? Is it just one of these inconvenient truths, to use the term Al Gore made popular? Anyway, I will be playing the DeSantis speech. He's a formidable formidable person. And I, I do pray for his welfare because everyone on the left is frightened by this man. He is honorable, cogent, unemotional leader. His instincts are superb. You realize what a landslide he won by in Florida? You realize that? That is incredible. This was considered a purple state just a few years ago, meaning it could go in either direction, Republican or Democrat, and he won by 19 points. 19. It's now virtually reliably Republican. I'll tell you, you, you Democrats, you people who voted Democrat in Florida, I have a real challenge for you. Just as I am challenged, why don't I leave California? Completely legitimate question. I have a legitimate question for Democrats in Florida. Since you are so opposed to Governor DeSantis and the freedoms that he has initiated and the power that he has given to parents over the education of their children, wouldn't you be happier in California? If you know somebody who votes Democrat in Florida, ask them a question: wouldn't you be happier Don't even say, why don't you move? Just propose it in the way I just did. Wouldn't you be happier in California? Better weather, everything you believe in— lockdowns, mandates, just compulsory vaccinations, the drag queen story hours in for 5-year-olds. Everything you believe in is on steroids in California. Oh, that is such an interesting question to pose to any Democrat in Florida. Wouldn't you be happier in California? Now, I've explained regularly, because the question is completely legit— wouldn't I be happier in Florida?— that there are too many people I love here, and I have founded a synagogue here to which I have moral commitment, and there are a lot of wonderful people here. 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It only takes 5 minutes to download the app and set up. Join the pro-America money movement. Join Monorail. Well, hello y'all, good to be with you. Federal and state giveaways expands— actually expand as the national debt this year hit an all-time high of more than $31 trillion. Who's going to pay this? If we judge people by their behavior rather than their motives, and it is the only way to judge because very few people wake up thinking they have bad motives, there has never been a more child-hating ideology in American history and perhaps Western history. I'm not talking about anti-Western things like communism and Nazism. In Western history, I don't think there has been a more child-hating ideology than contemporary leftism. No wonder so many kids are on psychiatric drugs. Record number of depressed children. Your future is death, your past is despicable. Your country is vile. We will leave you $31 trillion in debt for no good reason. Yeah, you'll have to pay it. We will teach you that you're not a boy or a girl. We will confuse you. Another sick magazine, Cosmopolitan. Had a list of 100 names you can give your child that is neither male nor female. That's so past. We have, we have progressed. I told you, the left loves change because they're bored. It's a very powerful factor in human affairs, boredom. And Cosmopolitan magazine is bored. Why give kids boys' names or girls' names? You can give them names that do not tell us whether they're a boy or a girl. It's a featured article in the latest Cosmopolitan.

Wow.

This is a— this war on children which is being waged by the left has no precedent. I don't believe the left hates children, but they act as if they do. They don't want them. They think it's foolish to have them. They think that they are a blight on the— on Mother Earth. And what prompted this observation is that we are leaving them $31 trillion in debt. Either that's a recipe for economic collapse, staggering inflation or a debt burden. I don't know how it will be resolved. I do not know. But the left everywhere promises, like in Brazil now, everywhere the left promises people free things and people vote for them. That is the terrible inherent flaw of democracy. There's no alternative, but that is the flaw. People get to vote for goodies, and leftists give them goodies. But there's no such thing as a free lunch, said Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winner in economics, when asked to summarize economics in a sentence. Yep, $31 trillion. At least a dozen states are considering implementing or already have free student meal programs. Why? Why are there free student meal programs? Years ago, I objected to this, this free breakfast, and I asked, why, why don't parents have the responsibility of feeding their children? And And I made the claim, which I repeat, and the left hates this because the thought that parents have duties to their children is alien to the left. The state takes care of your children. All you do is give birth to them. But I said, if you can't feed your child breakfast, then in the vast majority of cases, you're an unfit parent. Isn't feeding and clothing your child like part of the curriculum vitae of being a parent? Isn't that the resume? But why do the Democrats want to feed your children? Because then you have less responsibility for them. Your role in their lives is diminished. It's why they hate the idea And it's what got Governor Youngkin elected in Virginia, is when the Democrat spoke about how teachers should raise your children, not parents. That's what they believe. Yes, free student meal programs to continue the federal government. This is from Just the News. The federal government's COVID-19 giveaways. While some activists are demanding for more things to be made free, Congress allowed a pandemic-era free student meal waiver to expire on September 30th, returning to the pre-COVID posture where only students at some schools or those whose families met specific income requirements were given free or reduced-price meals. I raised at the time the issue for which I was excoriated by the left, which only reinforces my conviction that I was right, that how much does it cost to feed your child a breakfast at a place like McDonald's where you can, if you're judicious, you can give them a healthy food? We're talking a very small amount of money. This is not a fancy restaurant. Picking up where the federal government left off, California and Maine began using budget surpluses, which I think has ended, at least in California, to create universal school meal programs. Universal. And Minnesota lawmakers hope to do the same this legislative session. Politico reported on Saturday. Minnesota, you're in the same position I am— a lot of nice people in a really low-life state. It was just enough for me to see the University of Minnesota Medical School pledge, the cult-like pledge of incoming medical students. I should play it periodically. If that doesn't tell you about Minnesota and the state of American medicine, nothing will. We continue. I'm Dennis Prager. There's a lot of talk about the Great Reset and digital currencies. The U.S. government has been floating the idea of a digital dollar for quite some time, opening up the door to the government controlling your bank account, or worse yet, freezing your money. They did that in Canada, remember? This is Dennis Prager for AmFed Coin and Bullion, and for my friend Nick Grovich. Now more than ever in this woke world, it's important to own tangible stable assets like gold and silver. Owning physical gold and silver gives you control over your wealth. They're proven stable commodities that have held their value over time beyond the overarching reach of government. And it's so important you do business with a trustworthy and transparent company like Ampfed Coin and Bullion. Ampfed's owner Nick and his experienced team will always provide you with honest, sound advice. No pressure sales. Moving a portion of your wealth into precious metals is a prudent decision. Call Ampfed Coin and Bullion, 800-222- 800-821-7694, americanfederal.com, americanfederal.com. Hi everybody, I'm Dennis Prager. Many of you are familiar with Andrew McCarthy of the National Review, former prosecutor, one of the most judicious voices in the conservative world. He is not what we would call a flamethrower. As I said, he's quite judicious, so if he calls for the impeachment of the President of the United States, it is worth paying attention to. And that is what he does in National Review. Andy McCarthy, happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Dennis Prager.

To talk to you, that's very kind. So I will let you steal the thunder since it's your thunder, and therefore there's no stealing involved. Why should this president be impeached in your view?

Well, because we have a catastrophe on the border, and if we don't have a border, we don't have a country. Uh, regrettably, a very high percentage of people in the country are unaware of just how profound the problems— I hate using the word problems because that really seems to overstate it, but the profound threat that we're dealing with on, because of the number of people who are at this point rushing the border to get into the country, which is now in the millions per year, the millions per year. I, the framers believed, I wrote a book about impeachment in 2014, so there was some, I did a lot of research into this at the time. The framers believed that impeachment was indispensable to the constitutional framework that they were designing because without at least the credible threat of it, you were sure to get bad behavior out of the executive at some point. And the bad behavior they were most concerned about was a president who would act in a manner that was for the benefit of foreign interests and the detriment of the American people. And what we've seen from President Biden, sadly, from the beginning of his administration, is an obsessive dismantling of the things that Trump, President Trump, did to give us a modicum of border security under circumstances where we're dealing in this country with a political system in which one of the major parties is captive to a transnational progressive ideology that does not believe the United States should have borders. And it's destroying the country. So I can't think of anything that would be more impeachable than what Biden is doing. And I can't think of anything that would be more appropriate and have a better chance of trying to get better behavior out of him than a credible, determined impeachment investigation.

I think it's a terrific idea. It's certainly— and I'm, I'm curious to get your take on this. Is there anything— and I don't know what your answer will be Is there anything that Donald Trump did that you feel rose to the level of impeachability comparable to this?

Uh, not, not comparable to this. I, I think, you know, the, uh, the behavior between Election Day and, uh, and the Capitol riot I thought was impeachable and abysmal. But it didn't threaten the United States. I think all of this, um, you know, I always feel like it's ridiculous that you have to say, um, that the Capitol riot was bad, as if, you know, as if describing it as a riot were not bad enough. But this whole narrative that our democracy was hanged by a thread is ludicrous. The, you know, the, uh, The things that were done in the 2 months between Election Day and the riot had no prospect of changing the result of the election. And I'm always taken aback by particularly people who— well, people on the January 6th Committee, for example, for all their highfalutin talk about our wonderful Constitution, they certainly seem to think it's a brittle thing. Um, whereas I actually think that the one lesson we ought to take away from January 6th is how strong our constitutional system is and the fact that it would— it was never in any danger at all. Whereas I think if we don't have a border, Dennis, then, you know, we won't be talking about a Constitution anymore because we won't have an America anymore.

I want to continue with you. This is, uh, This is very, very important. You must understand, folks, Andrew McCarthy does not throw out things like this on emotional grounds. He is rationally worried about the survival of this country, or any country, if it has no borders. I will ask him when we come back why the Democrats are doing this, in his view. Well, hello everybody. It's the first male-female hour of the year. Every Wednesday for well over a decade, I have been having the most honest talk of which I am aware about men and women. And I always note to you that one of the reasons is, A, I'm pretty uninhibited with regard to any subject. In general and any subject about men and women in particular. And B, I'm not a man fan or a woman fan. There are awful men and awful women and terrific men and terrific women, and that is the way it is. So I have been wanting to raise this subject for so long, and I have no idea why I haven't. It is one of those times where I will simply learn from you. Most of my shows, I offer my thoughts on any given issue, macro or micro, and you react. And that is a— it has been immeasurably important in my life, my talk show. As I'm writing my fourth volume of my Bible commentary, the most difficult intellectual project of my life and most challenging— as a result of it being difficult, you would think it is challenging— and I realize I have a great advantage, not that I know biblical Hebrew well, that, that's obviously a big advantage, but a lot of people who've written commentaries on the Bible know Hebrew. But none of them had a talk show where they get to talk with, not to, I talk to obviously, but with tens of thousands of people over 40 years. I learned a lot. So here's my question, and I don't know the answer. It'll help me, however, when you call in. So if your marriage has evolved into— especially if you have children— if your family has evolved into the following, where the primary breadwinner is the wife and the primary caretaker of the home and children— it's redundant, home means children, but anyway— is the man, is the husband. I'd like to hear from you. How, how is that working out? How has that worked out? I have no agenda here. I hope it's worked out. 1-800-PRAGER-776-877-243-7776. I do know, uh, instances where that has generally been the trend, and I don't know the inner dynamics of any marriage other than my own. But from an outsider standpoint, I can say this: they seem to be doing well. Which, by the way, I don't have an agenda here. My, my own instinct is that the man be the breadwinner and the woman be the caretaker of the home. I admit it. But I, I try to respond to reality, not, not wishful thinking. So it is a question because, for example, in one case that I know, the children have turned out magnificently and were primarily raised by the dad. So there you go, 1-800-PRAGER-776. And so the obvious questions, they're, they're very delicate ones, I admit. Does the man feel in any way compromised as a man? Does the woman feel in any way disappointed that he is not the primary breadwinner? Is this a vestige of, of tradition that simply cannot compete with the reality wherein in many instances the— it is the woman who simply has a higher paying job, and they both believe that children need full-time care, certainly when they're young. So I am open to anything. My, my only agenda is that you have a good marriage and raise good kids. That's my primary agenda. So that is the, uh, that is the question I am posing to you. If that has— what has evolved is— I have a secondary question. When you were younger or better, before you were married, had somebody told you this is what will be in your family, the wife will be the primary breadwinner and the husband will be the primary homemaker, would— how would that have struck you? So this is This is an important question, needless to say. Okay, good, perfect. Uh, Caleb in Phoenix, Arizona. Hi there, thanks for calling. Uh, how are our phones doing, guys? Caleb, can— are you on?

Yes.

Okay, I hear you now. Hey, yep, please go ahead.

Yeah, how can I help? Well, I'm 40 and my wife works regular hours, been doing it for 15 years, and I work as a locksmith on the side, and I take my kids around with me.

So she, she brings in more money than you do?

Yes.

And how has that worked out? That's, that's the question of the hour.

Worked out real well. She likes it and I like it. I'm flexible and can take care of the kids to and from school, and she's reliable.

And what is her, what is her work?

Uh, works in a grocery store full-time.

Yes, right. So you— this has been true since the kids were born?

Yes. Yep.

And how do the kids like it?

Uh, they don't know any different.

Yeah, that's true. I guess the question is pointless. They don't— how old are they now?

Uh, buried at 16 and 2. Got 4 kids.

So you have children from the ages of 16 to 2?

Uh-huh.

Oh, okay. Well, yeah, that keeps you busy. By the way, I'm interested as well. Do you enjoy it?

Yes. Oh yeah.

And, and, oh yeah. So you, do you, do you make the meals as well?

Uh, she is a wonderful wife. And she preps on the weekends and she's really gotten into that. Uh, and, uh, I couldn't do it without her. We'd be eating a lot of, uh, instant stuff without her. I'm not very good at that.

So does she cook for the week?

Uh, she, she tries to plan for the month and, uh, we vary from that sometimes. And the plan helps a lot. And she has a lot— we have a deep freezer And she preps as much as she can.

She's good at it.

It doesn't take her all day.

I'm sorry?

She's very, very good at it.

She's very, very good at it? Is that what you said?

Yes.

Yeah. Well, it sounds— so is there any downside, or you would simply say you're very blessed and it's really worked out?

Oh, I'm very blessed, and of course things to work on, but, um, Like, if I can make more money, she's always happy with that, and, and I'd be happy too.

Right.

I want to write.

Well, all right. Thank you for calling. All right. That was an enthusiastic vote for that arrangement. We'll be back in a moment. Male-Female Hour. I'm Dennis Prager. MyPillow is excited to bring you their biggest bedding sale ever, and just in time for Christmas. For a limited time, get the Giza Dream bedsheets for as low as $29.98. A set of pillowcases for only $9.98, and rejuvenate your bed with a MyPillow mattress topper for as low as $99.99. They also have blankets in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles. They even have blankets for your pets. Get duvets, quilts, down comforters, body pillows, bolster pillows, and so much more, all with the biggest discounts of the year happening now. They're also extending their money-back guarantee for Christmas until March 1st, 2023. Making them the perfect gifts for your friends, your family, and everyone you know. So go to mypillow.com and use the promo code Prager, or call 800-761-6302. You'll get huge discounts on all MyPillow bedding products, including the Giza Dream bedsheets, for as low as $29.98. And get all your shopping done now while quantities last.

Fire and the flood.

And all right, very interesting subject. And I have only to learn on this one. If the wife in your home is the primary breadwinner and you are the primary homemaker, including children, you the male, then I want to hear from you. And by the way, I want to hear from the women. I— most of the people calling in are men. I want to hear from women who have this arrangement where they are the primary breadwinner. I have— this is not dedicated to men alone, this is dedicated to both. So I want to hear from either of you, how has it worked out? I have no agenda other than the hope that it does work out, to be honest. All right, Daniel, also in Arizona, in Goodyear, Arizona. Arizona has a lot of funny names for for places like Surprise. What else? There are a lot of funny names. Okay. Hello, Goodyear. Daniel.

Hello, Dennis. It's an honor to speak with you.

Thank you.

Goodyear is actually named after the Goodyear Tire Factory.

I assumed it wasn't the have a good year.

Yeah, it's been, it's been here quite a while.

Right.

Um, so I've been a stay-at-home dad a little bit off and on when my daughter was very young. And, um, she, uh, I became a full-time stay-at-home dad when she was 2 years old. She had in-home childcare, um, until she was 2. And then my wife and I made the decision that I would come home and spend a couple of years with her until she got into a more structured environment. She did get into that structured environment, but my wife and I felt that we were missing each other, that the priority was raising our daughter. We didn't want to pay, you know, minimum wagers or, you know, we didn't want to pay anybody to look after our daughter and install the values that my wife and I both, you know, hold true to ourselves. You know, there's nobody better to raise my daughter than me. And my wife supports us financially. I contribute. I've spoke to you before. I DoorDash. Um, I, uh, I drop my daughter off at school and then I DoorDash about 30 hours a week. until it's time to pick her up. Um, we're on a really good schedule. My, my daughter's really active.

Um, she'll—

how old is she now?

She's, uh, 11. She plays golf, she plays chess, she's going to be a black belt in Tang Soo Do. Well, she'll be testing for her black belt in Tang Soo Do, um, come March. Um, she does gymnastics, she does American Ninja Warrior training. Man, I cannot Imagine that there's been a father who spent more time with his child—

excuse me—

and I've spent with mine. And I take my job so seriously. I'm raising— I am raising a warrior, not a princess. And I had— I had to learn a lot on my own, you know. And everything I didn't have, I'm installing into her. And my wife is a pediatric specialist, and she treats the, the most vulnerable that this society has to offer. An example would be the— all the children that were in DCS custody in, in Maricopa County, um, for, for sex trafficking. My wife had seen all those victims. She, she treats children that are physically abused, emotionally vulnerable, and my wife and I talk about behavioral science every day. It's something that we're so passionate about. And my wife has given me the opportunity to, to raise my daughter, to help have her be a contributing member to this society. And I got to— I spent 3 years on campus. She goes to a charter school. I've heard you talk about pull them out of school. And while I can agree for the most part with that, we do have some really good charter schools in Arizona. And, and I'm very thankful that she's in the school that she's in now. It's not the same school that I volunteered at for 3 years, but I ran the lunch program for 3 years at my daughter's previous school, another charter school, and I got to be a fly on the wall and, and, and observe and monitor and collect data points.

Has the— has the reversal of the traditional role, which sounds like it's really worked, thank God, but has the reversal in any way affected your marriage?

No, no, it gives my, my, it gives my wife peace of mind in order to remain more focused on her stressful job. I'm my wife's therapist, you know. I've seen so many things, ugly things. My wife and I took two different paths to arrive at the same conclusions.

So is it fair to say that you, the two of you, do believe there should be a full-time parent, but it doesn't matter which sex?

That's correct.

That's okay. Perfect. Thank you. You, you've touched all of us. Wow. I'd love to meet his daughter. She certainly sounds busy. Busy. And that I was when I was 11. Now that was an interesting one. I've raised her to be a warrior, not a princess. I, I assume he meant princess in being spoiled, but that was it. It was a pregnant comment. All right, this is just absolutely fascinating to me. Let's go to a woman, Deidra, in Atlanta. Hello.

Hello, Dennis.

Hi.

Um, our relationship is that, uh, throughout our 30 years of marriage, we've had job interruptions and we're, you know, we have a marriage that takes care of one another. So right now, and in the past, I'm the breadwinner and I take care of the family. And he takes care of the kids and takes care of, you know, what you would say a traditional role of the homemaker is. And it works. And I think in today's day and age with Uh, with the economy and everything like that, there's probably a lot of people in these situations. Um, and, and my husband, he started his own business a couple of years ago and, um, we, he, he takes care of everybody on top of doing that so that I can focus on work.

What is your work? Um, I, I do, uh, marketing, so, um, it's a So do you go into an office every day or are you at home? Yeah, yeah, you go into an office, right? And how many children do you have?

4. Wow.

And, and it's— so it's working out for you too, is that correct?

Right, right.

And then I think it works because, you know, so I'll ask you, I'll ask you what might be a tough question only because I, I'm— I want to learn. I have no agenda in asking this question. If you, if you could with a magic wand reverse the roles, would you?

Um, would I? I think we have in, in cases. There's been times where I've chosen to, to leave the workforce and he was working. So we—

so you've alternated? That's fascinating.

We've alternated. Well, because you have to. You have to.

I hear you. Well, thank you. This is great. We'll be back in a moment. This is a very important hour to me. We return. Well, hello y'all, Dennis Prager here. Want you to hear the inaugural address yesterday of Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida. I think it's that important that I will play the entire inaugural address for you. It's not a particularly long one. But it is a particularly important one. I would argue that he's somewhat of a phenomenon, very— or what would be understated— an understated fighter. He contrasts the free state of Florida with many other states. He is right to do so. I said to you in 2020, when I went to Florida, I said that when I returned to California, I felt as I had when I was in my 20s and I would regularly visit East European communist countries and then return to Vienna in the middle of Eastern Europe on my way up or down Eastern Europe from Poland to Bulgaria or Bulgaria to Poland. And I would stop in Austria to get a breather of liberty. And that is how I felt. I went to, I went to Austria when I went to Florida in the— in 2020. So here, uh, here it is. Periodically I will offer a thought, but otherwise it is straight Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday, his inaugural address in Tallahassee, Florida.

Mr. Chief Justice, members of the cabinet, and Fellow citizens, from the Space Coast to the Sun Coast, from St. Johns to St. Lucie, from the streets of Hialeah to the speedway in Daytona, from the Okeechobee all the way up to Micanopy, freedom lives here in our great Sunshine State of Florida.

I have the chills. All right, hold it there. Tell you, uh, I really— I'm chilled. That was the primary theme, and that's why I have come to adore this man. He knows the battle is over liberty. Freedom lives here in our great Sunshine State of Florida. That's exactly right. There was so much more freedom there than in New York or California. It might as well be a different country. He ought to start a radio station in Florida called Radio Free New York, like we had Radio Free Europe broadcasting from Western Europe into Eastern Europe when Eastern Europe was communist. Continue, please. You hear the prolonged applause? They know what's important. They live in a free state.

And the courage of those who patrol the streets and who keep our community keep you safe. It lives in the industry of those who work long hours to earn a living and raise their families. It lives in the dedication of those who teach our children. It lives in the determination of those who grow our food. It lives in the wisdom of our senior citizens. It lives in the dreams of the historic number of families who have moved from states across this country because they saw Florida as the land of liberty and the land of sanity.

I'm telling you, I love it. I love it. Land of liberty and land of sanity.

Over the past few years, as so many states in our country grinded their citizens down, we in Florida lifted our people up. When other states consign their people's freedom to the dustbin, Florida stood strongly as freedom's linchpin. When the world lost its mind, when common sense suddenly became an uncommon virtue, Florida was a refuge of sanity, a citadel of freedom for our fellow Americans and even for people around the world.

All right, let's take a pause here. What he has said is so worthy of comment. First of all, I want to note a very interesting— it sounds like a throwaway line, but I thought it was worthy of note. He's talking about where freedom lives among the various groups in Florida, and he mentioned— I don't know if you picked up on it— It lives in the wisdom of our senior citizens. First, you know how much I love the word wisdom, that he does that. Second, who speaks of senior citizens in terms of offering wisdom? Even he may not be aware of how— it's not unique, but how rare that is. It used to be the most common thing in the world. We have so much to learn from those who have lived longer than us. That was the assumption. I grew up with that assumption. That's why I had such contempt for my generation saying, 'Never trust anyone over 30.' I thought it was, it was, it was so stupid as to border on moronic. So I just wanted to note that, but the Uh, his description of Florida as the land of liberty and the land of sanity. Wow, that's what I mean. You know, he, he doesn't say it yelling or even italicizing it, but it's worth italicizing. He's exactly right. Florida is the land of liberty and the land of sanity. Right. So many states have in our country grinded their citizens down. We in Florida lifted our people up. Exactly. When other states consigned their people's freedom to the dustbin, Florida stood strongly as freedom's linchpin See, again, when you— when I read this to you, you realize what extraordinary claims, and all of which are true, he is making. When the world lost its mind, when common sense suddenly became an uncommon virtue, Florida was a refuge of sanity, a citadel of freedom for our fellow Americans and even for people around the world. That's true. I've been around the world in the last couple of years, and they, they do. They refer to Florida as, as a free, free state. That's, that's right. As if it were not part of the United States of America, which in some ways it isn't. That's why I'm playing you the speech. This is a very big deal. These— he, he has it so right. The world lost its mind. April 2020, I tweeted, and I don't tweet much, then I wrote an article, then I did a fireside chat, that the lockdowns were the greatest international mistake in international history. I was right, and Florida was right. DeSantis was right. Continue, please.

In captaining the ship of state, we choose to navigate the boisterous sea of liberty rather than cower in the calm docks of despotism.

You hear that? I mean, do you realize what it's delivered, you know, in, in this sort of monophonic, monochromatic way, but Wow. We choose to navigate the boisterous sea of liberty rather than cower in the calm docks of despotism. This is a very important speech, and he's a very important man. Continue. All right, we'll continue when we come back. I don't want to interrupt him again without my saying, having something to say. He gets it. That's the bottom line for me. He gets it. I would say 90% of the Republicans do not. I'm Dennis Prager, and I'm saying Ron DeSantis. I am playing for you his inaugural address as governor, his landslide victory. This is— this man gets it. It's so exciting. He gets it. The issue is freedom. The issue is common sense. The issue is rationality. I mean, his, uh, his lines which without my emphasizing them would just sail by everybody. It's just he delivers it in a, you know, monotone way, not a bad way at all. He speaks fine. He's not charismatic as such. Who cares? He's just He gets it. I can't give a higher compliment than he gets it. And I said 90% of the Republicans don't. Maybe I overstated it. Maybe it's 80%. Republicans— this is not a knock. I emphatically prefer any Republican to any Democrat at this time in American life. It wasn't true when I grew up with Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Henry Jackson, and other giant Democrats. That is long gone. The left has destroyed the Democratic Party like it has destroyed the public school and the American Medical Association, the bar. I mean, it's everything the left touches, it destroys. It's just the most important thing you need to know about life and— or about political life, social life, macro life. He understands and most Republicans don't. This is an existential battle for liberty on Earth, obviously in America. By the way, Sean, let's play for the first time— I interviewed Andy McCarthy. We're going to get back to the, uh, the DeSantis inaugural address in a moment, but apropos of what I just said, I spoke to Andrew McCarthy, former federal prosecutor in New York, Dennis Prager, now with National Review, one of the most sober thinkers in the United States. I, in the first hour I spoke to him, he believes that Joe Biden should be impeached over the border issue. He's entirely right. That is exactly what the Republicans should do in the House. The man is destroying the United States, and I asked him, does he want to destroy the United States? I had no idea what Andrew McCarthy, who was not a flamethrower, would answer. Here is what I asked and here his answer. So is it unfair to summarize your take that as it stands now, the left, which is the governing element of the Democratic Party, is okay with and may in fact even embrace the idea of the end of the United States of America as an independent distinguishable entity?

Yes.

Wow, I did not know. I thought he'd say, well, I don't know if that's what they seek, uh, you know, it's maybe overstating it a little, Dennis. Yes, Ron DeSantis understands that. Andy McCarthy does. I do. Many of you do. The Democratic Party, as the tool of the left, wishes to see the end of the United States as a distinct entity. It loathes American values and it loathes American sovereignty. And until you understand that, you do not understand Life Today. We continue with Governor DeSantis.

We take hits, but we weather the storms. We stand our ground and we do what's right. As the Book of Psalms reminds us, I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. We have refused to use polls and to put our finger in the wind. Leaders do not follow, they lead.

Worthy applause. And that's what he does— he leads. I am a public figure. I get applause, I get standing ovations. I know exactly what the inner chemistry of what he is experiencing is. And I, I read him very accurately. He is not there to be loved, by the way. I know it because neither am I. He, he— most politicians want to be loved. They love the power, they love the glamour, they love the fame, they love the, the perks. In the case of Biden, they love the money. As well. He doesn't. He is there because he wants to lead, not be loved. And while he didn't put it that way, that's what it's about. I see his body language. He does, he does the pro forma waving at the crowd, which he has to do, obviously, but that's not why he's there. Continue.

We have articulated a vision for a free and prosperous state. We have, through persistence and hard work, executed on that vision. We have produced favorable results. And now we are here today because the people of Florida have validated our efforts in record in record fashion.

Yeah, in record fashion. It was, it was a, it was a landslide. Continue.

Florida shows that results matter. We lead not by mere words, but by deeds. 4 years ago, we promised to pursue a bold agenda. We did just that, and we have produced results. We said we would ensure that Florida taxed lightly, regulated reasonably, and spent conservatively, and we delivered. We promised we would enact big education reforms, and we delivered.

All right, we'll continue in a moment. That's right, he delivered. This is a serious man. Back in a moment. You're listening to The Dennis Prager Show. The Dennis Prager Show. Hi everybody, Dennis Prager playing for you the entire Ron DeSantis inaugural address given yesterday in Tallahassee, Florida. Because he is so important, Florida is so important, and the address is so important. If I had to summarize it in 3 words, I can: he gets it. The battle is whether America survives and whether you believe in liberty. It's as simple as that. The left has no interest in liberty. There was never an example in history of the left embracing liberty. The press— the left embraces autocracy. They want to tell you what to do in every single way of life. As I wrote in 2020, the lockdowns were a dress rehearsal for a police state. They've already begun a police state with all— the first time in my life, maybe in American history, we have political prisoners. People from January 6th, for example, who aren't even given a trial. Massive looting, burning, smashing, destroying in 2020— almost nobody gets arrested. And then the overwhelmingly peaceful Enterers of the, uh, of the Capitol, some of whom did nothing except enter illegally. And I, I don't defend it. I didn't defend it that day, but they shouldn't be in prison in solitary confinement like people I've had on my show. Anyway, he gets it. If you don't fight the left, America dies. It's as simple as that. If you don't want to recognize it, you're fooling yourself, which people have done all through history. You wouldn't be the first. We continue.

We said we would end judicial activism by appointing jurists who understand the proper role of a judge is to apply the law as written, not legislate from the bench, and we delivered. We promised to usher in a new era of stewardship for Florida's natural resources by promoting water quality and Everglades restoration efforts, and we delivered. We said we would stand for law and order and support the men and women of law enforcement, and we delivered. We promised to remedy deficiencies in Florida's election administration and to hold wayward officials accountable.

How's that?

And we delivered.

Yep. Good. Go ahead.

We said we would support the areas in Northwest Florida stricken by Hurricane Michael, and we delivered. And when Hurricane Ian came last year, the state coordinated a massive mobilization of response personnel, facilitated the fastest power restoration on record, and even quickly rebuilt key bridges that had been wiped out by the storm. We have stood by the people of Southwest Florida, and we will continue to do so in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

Now listen to this.

Because of these efforts and others, Florida is leading the nation. We are number one in these United States in net in-migration. We are the nation's fastest growing state. We are number one in new business formations. We are number one in tourism. We are number one in economic freedom. We rank number one in education freedom. And we rank number one in parental involvement in education.

Listen to the response on that one. People resonate.

Florida also ranks number one in public higher education. This is a record we can all be proud of. But we're far from done. Florida's accumulated a record budget surplus, and we need to enact record tax relief, particularly for Florida families who are grappling with inflation. We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups.

All right, we'll stop there. And it gets even better, but the— again, I emphasize, he understands the point. Is about rationality and freedom. All right, everybody, Dennis Prager here. Ron DeSantis's inaugural address, we continue.

And we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideologies.

You know, it's really sad when you think about it that a governor of a major state has to say that we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth. Almost none of them are. I repeat, almost none of them are. Continue, please.

Florida must always be a great place to raise a family. We will enact more family-friendly policies to make it easier to raise children, and we will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence.

Listen now. No, replay. Listen to how long the ovation is. We will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence. It's the longest ovation of any line in his speech. You who support the left, please understand, we know what you're doing. You don't know what you're doing in corrupting our children.

We will always—

in suppressing their spirit, in robbing them of their innocence. You, you do not know what you do. Some, many do, but not all. The foolish liberals who vote left don't know it. If you told them it is systematic wiping out of children's innocence taking place in American schools, they wouldn't even know what you're talking about. 99% of liberals never heard of drag queen story hour because they read the left-wing media. But these people did. It's got a standing ovation, that line. Continue, please.

Remain a law and order state. We will always support law enforcement, and we will always reject soft-on-crime policies that put our communities at risk. Florida is now in a golden era for conservation of our treasured natural resources. Our momentum is strong, and we will finish what we started. We will leave Florida to God better than we found it. This much we pledge, and so much more. Now, it's often said that our Federalist constitutional system, with 50 states able to pursue their own unique policies, represents a laboratory of democracy. Well, these last few years have witnessed a great test of governing philosophies. As many jurisdictions pursued a much different path than we have pursued here in the state of Florida. The policies pursued by these states have sparked a mass exodus of productive Americans from these jurisdictions, with Florida serving as the most desired destination, a promised land of sanity.

That's right.

Many of these cities and states have embraced faddish ideology at the expense of enduring principles. They've harmed public safety by coddling criminals and attacking law enforcement. They've imposed unreasonable burdens on taxpayers to finance unfathomable levels of public spending. They have harmed education by subordinating the interests of students and parents to partisan interest groups. They have imposed medical authoritarianism in the guise of pandemic mandates and restrictions that lack a scientific basis.

God, is that powerful. Wow. Go on.

This bizarre but prevalent ideology that permeates these policy measures purports to act in the name of justice for the marginalized, but it frowns upon American institutions. It rejects merit and achievement, and it advocates identity essentialism. We reject this woke ideology.

Another big, big— that's— what other governor in his or her inaugural address this year will have said, we reject this woke ideology? I, I don't, I don't know if any other one has. That's why I say he gets it. The existential threat is not melting glaciers, it is the left. Continue, please.

Normalcy, not philosophical lunacy. We will not allow reality, facts, and truth to become We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die.

Standing ovation. Keep on, keep on going. I think they should put that on the Florida license plate. Florida is where woke goes to die. Oh God, the left is going out of its mind. It's not enough they own virtually every state, they own virtually every mainstream medium, they own liberal Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, but they don't own Florida. And this is driving them crazy, just like Sweden drove the crackpots, the idiots, the fools who run epidemiology on planet Earth, and the sheep that listen to them, like that fool who is the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Prager, who precisely because she is such a fool was invited to address the Harvard graduation this year. "If you do not hear it from the government, it is not true." My favorite line— was it of 2021? I don't even think she made it in 2022. I don't remember. He gets it. We continue. Yeah, he gets it. This is really reason for hope. Ron DeSantis inaugural address. Continue, please.

Now, Florida's success has been made more difficult by the floundering federal establishment in Washington, D.C. Federal government has gone on an inflationary spending binge that has left our nation weaker and our citizens poor. It has enacted pandemic restrictions and mandates based more on ideology and politics than on sound science, and this has eroded freedom and stunted commerce.

For that, for that, for those lines alone, this man must be recorded. As hope for this country, eroded freedom and stunted commerce because it's not based on sound science, right? Continue.

Facilitated open borders, making a mockery of the rule of law, allowing massive amounts of narcotics to infect our states, importing criminal aliens, and greenlighting the flow of millions of illegal aliens into our country, burdening communities and taxpayers throughout the land. It has imposed an energy policy that has crippled our nation's domestic production, causing energy to cost more for our citizens and eroding our nation's energy security and, in the process, our national security. It wields its authority through a sprawling, unaccountable, and out-of-touch bureaucracy that does not act on behalf of us, but instead looms over us and imposes its will upon us. The results of this have been predictably dismal. This has caused many to be pessimistic about the country's future. Some even say that failure is inevitable. Florida is proof positive that we the people are not destined for failure.

That's right, that's exactly right. Play the next line and we'll have to do— the next line is key.

Decline is a choice. Success is attainable. And freedom is worth fighting for.

Stop there. Decline is a choice. There are so many gems in this talk, and it's easy to miss them, so I have played it. God bless Ron DeSantis and his state. See you tomorrow. The Dennis Prager Show. Dennis Prager here. Thanks for listening to the Daily Dennis Prager Podcast. To hear the entire 3 hours of my radio show commercial-free every single day, become a member of PragerTopia. You'll also get access to 15 years' worth of archives, as well as the Daily Show prep. Subscribe at pragertopia.com.