By: Matt Rosenberg and Ted Dabrowski
Cancel culture is alive and well in Chicago’s mayoral race. This time, it’s Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who’s the target of a “de-platforming” attempt.
Mayoral challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is trying to cancel a meeting Monday in Elmhurst between Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, which endorsed another challenger, Paul Vallas, and DeSantis. Garcia has demanded that Vallas “condemn” the FOP for hosting DeSantis, whom Garcia calls “a dangerous and xenophobic authoritarian.”
Governor J.B. Pritzker has joined in, stating of the FOP-DeSantis meet-up, “Every candidate hoping to hold public office in the Land of Lincoln should condemn this event.” That’s a rather hypocritical position for Pritzker who just two weeks ago, in a spat over school curriculums with DeSantis, appointed himself a champion of free speech.
Even worse, Vallas succumbed to the pressure and issued a press release condemning the looming meeting and parroting hard-left distortions of DeSantis’ socially-conservative positions. He added, “I wholeheartedly agree with Governor Pritzker that there is simply no place in Chicago for a right-wing extremist like Ron DeSantis, and I am disappointed in FOP leadership for inviting him to speak to officers.” It turns out the DeSantis campaign contacted the FOP about the event and asked the union to promote it to its members, which it did.
No matter. Vallas’ condemnation of the gathering isn’t enough for Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson. He’s called for Vallas to go even further and reject the FOP’s endorsement.
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has also piled on. “Ron DeSantis has perfected being a bigoted, racist demagogue. But Paul Vallas is fast on his heels.”
All this as Chicago continues its descent into chaos and misrule. Rather than focus fully on the city’s Wild West streets and its failing schools, contenders for mayor want to play the de-platforming game.
Czar of permissible meetings
Here’s how it all unfolded. Make sure to follow the odd twists and turns.
Chicago’s FOP has endorsed Vallas, who stands out with a voluble law-and-order message at a time when Chicagoans must increasingly resort to armed self-defense because of a complete breakdown in public safety. Garcia’s “logic” is that, because of FOP’s Vallas endorsement, Vallas owns their words and actions. And the scheduled meeting between FOP members and DeSantis constitutes a forbidden act because DeSantis has angered progressives with his policies towards what he and many others in Florida see as overly racialized and overly sexualized curricula in public schools.
There’s one problem here. What exactly does any of this have to do with Chicago’s most urgent needs and priorities? Like black family disintegration, rising crime, and wearing the national murder crown for the 11th straight year?
Garcia’s fake outrage amounts to a declaration that, “As Mayor I will be Czar of Permissible Speech, and Permissible Meetings.”
Buckling under
Vallas’ submission to Garcia’s attempt to cancel DeSantis coming to Illinois is also reprehensible. You either stand up for free speech, free association, and free debate, or you don’t.
There’s something deeper going on here and it’s a national concern. Cancel culture has run amok. Watch the response from followers of the go-along-to-get-along progressive orthodoxy when anyone challenges the narrative: paint them as intolerant, dangerous, beyond the pale, not to be tolerated. They must be “de-platformed,” is how it’s put lately. Ban or shadow-ban them from social media. Rally to disinvite them from speaking engagements at universities. Call their ideas “dangerous disinformation.”
One of the most succinct ways to advance a cancellation attempt now is to accuse someone of hateful speech. Flailing incumbent Lightfoot aired an ad calling her crime critics “haters.”
Lightfoot also aired an attack ad on Vallas suggesting – based on years-old interview footage – that he might be a Republican. But it’s results, policies and plans that matter. Not allegations that a Scarlet “R” belongs on someone’s forehead. A Garcia ad claimed Vallas is anti-abortion. But abortion is a state issue and abortion is legal under state law.
Cancel culture is a threat to democracy. The intent of it is to fence off discussions about government accountability for things like continuing violent crime or the failure of public schools to impart basic reading and math skills to students, especially black and Latino students. Under cancel-culture rules, vexing failures must always be described as due to “systemic racism” or “underfunding.” Case closed. Anyone who persists in a results-based critique runs the risk of a cancellation attempt – by being called “racist,” “classist,” or “far-right.”
Intimidation shortchanges us all. And remember this: those that engage in it inherently concede the bankruptcy of their arguments.
Unless Chicagoans, including politicians, stand up to authoritarian attempts at controlling political thought, political speech, and free association, the city will continue to inch – or more likely gallop – toward a political police state.
It can ill afford to do so.
Note: this article has been updated to reflect that the DeSantis campaign initiated the Chicago-area speech scheduled for Monday, and was not invited by the FOP.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Hypocrisy unbridled as Pritzker claims opposition to ‘book banning’ will make Illinois a destination state
- Unwed births, illiterate children and black-on-black crime: What Chicago’s mayoral candidates ignore
- Not a single student can do math at grade level in 53 Illinois schools. For reading, it’s 30 schools
- No, Mayor Lightfoot hasn’t put more cops on the streets. Beat cops are down 19% since she took office.
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
I watched the mayoral debate the other night to see how stupid all the candidates are and of course they didn’t dissapoint.They actually blamed the car manufacturers for car theft, unbelievable.
Looks like Vallas in trying to gain favor has lost all credibility. As for Pritzker, he seems to be jealous of DeSantis so he did what liberals do best try to demean those that have gotten it right. Ether way Ilinois will be the loser in the end.
I’m old enough to remember when the left championed free speech and speaking truth to power. I guess that only applies to when they aren’t in power. Democracy and freedom needs/requires a rigorous debate of ideas. We have to end this nonsense where every politician is just a troll.
It seems evident that all running for mayor are weaklings who deny free speech and free association, and instead think they can advance their sad careers through thuggish intimidation. As the story notes, these politicians are too timid and fragile to focus on the real issues that are of concern to voters: lawless streets and failing schools. Once again, there is no one to vote for – we are left to determine who might do the least harm. Increasingly there seem to be two wings of the Democrat party: spineless and insane.
It’s amazing to me how all these liberal Democratic politicians throw around words like “right wing extremist” as if that means anything to their base. Vallas knows better than to speak of DeSantis in those terms as Vallas wants to run Chicago that has been left in terrible fiscal shape. Meanwhile, DeSantis has had Florida running on all cylinders and has had great economic success with a $20 billion surplus in his last fiscal year. Illinois would be proud to have that. But Chicago is in terrible fiscal shape and this should not be lost on Vallas. And those “left… Read more »
It’s quite simple actually. Democratic politicians demonize us as right wing extremists because they want to desensitize their base to the pain and punishment they intend to inflict upon us. It’s no different than when the Hutus called the Tutsis cockroaches. What do you do to cockroaches? You smash them.
Why are they always afraid to hear alternative narratives?
Perhaps it’s because it might enlighten their constituents?
DeSantis is a very dangerous dude!
He is to the liberal loonies🤦♀️must be because he has kept Florida prospering and our streets free of thugs marauding mobs and gang bangers. Yeah, that must be it😁
So tell me why Pritzker’s family moved to Florida during Pritzker’s pandemic fueled dictatorship days?
I was a President Trump supported and despite all the distractions of false charges, impeachments, scandals etc I thought he did a good job. Over the top sometimes, sure, but overall a good job. President Trump is a lightning rod of controversy and has been demonized for years which is most definitely not a good look at at 2024 run. Governor DeSantis is a fresh look, highly qualified, great credentials and a solid conservative. Time for President Trump to step aside, time for a new lightning rod, Governor Ron DeSantis.
What a sad and depressing situation. There are no good choices here.
DeSantis’s trip to the Chicago area will accomplish very little, if anything at all. So it is kinda funny watching the Leftist Democrats get triggered by it. If they would of said nothing, hardly anyone would of noticed the staged DeSantis visit. But Leftists just can’t help themselves
Republican presidential year only voters aren’t really familiar with Ron DeSantis. Most polls show Ron losing to Trump pretty handily in the primaries. Not everybody watches Fox news. Only a few million people a night watch Fox News in a country of 75,000,000 Republican voters. Ron needs IL’s primary votes to take the stage as the nominee in Milwaukee next August. Ron just tricked JB into broadcasting his name, ‘Ron DeSantis’, to the half-asleep Republican voters not even paying attention. Smart move by DeSantis, he just played JB like a fiddle.
IL is of little importance to anyone anymore. A staged political event in Chicago is close to wasted space.
The fat man and the Democrats should build a wall around Illinois to keep fascists out and protect Illinoisans from fascism. They could call it the Antifascist Protection Barrier, or Antifaschistischer Schutzwall in its original German.
Just heard the tail end of a candidate interview (Garcia?) on WGN and DeSantis was the final topic. The candidates response was predictably stupid. Our city leaders would fit nicely into an “Idiocracy” themed skit.
The real authoritarians are the Democrats who try to cancel, ban and silence anyone who opposes their self-destructive policies. By their fruits you will know them. How’s the fruit Chicago? San Francisco? Portland? DeSantis is 10 times the leader they will ever be and they fear him. Of course they do
Sad how their focus is trying to exclude ideas from the discussion when their own ideas have proven so disastrous in practice. Anything to change the subject from their failures, I suppose
When did liberals become so illiberal?
They’ve always been nut jobs
It happened very rapidly about 6 or 8 years ago. I try to make a point of not calling today’s left liberal. They are not liberal either in the way we used that that term in recent decades and certainly not in the classical sense of the term.
They are progressive. Another word for communist.
The fat man can’t dispute Gov. DeSantis’ policies and results so he has to attack him personally
Well I read this about Florida
“Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is sounding the alarm about a 4,400 percent increase in life-threatening conditions reported in the state to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) since the 2021 rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines.”
Meanwhile here in Illinois Pritzker states the pandemic continues on while demanding his emergency powers to continue. The teachers side with him demanding more vacinations. There is a big difference but guess whose family moved to Florida and out of Illinois?
This is Illinois and the City of Chicago where you agree with the political agenda of those in charge, who by the way are responsible for deterioration of the City and State or you are a racist or so called “hater.” Unfortunately like every Illinois election our choices are not for good, viable candidates but instead we vote for who will screw us the least. Who among them is the best of the evils. None of them have the balls to stand up to actual beliefs but instead choose to say what they think will get them elected. Lightfoot on… Read more »
Carnival barker!
And the guilty scream!
In 1951, William F. Buckley, Jr., authored his book, “God and Man at Yale”. Among the many topics discussed, he noted the concept of “academic freedom” as the rallying cry of the faculty at Yale and other elite institutions. Fast forward to the birth of “the free speech’ movement at Cal Berkeley and have a compare notes. We have gone from a free exchange of ideas in the academy, to a school that prided itself on the First Amendment, to “free speech for me but not for thee”. Somewhat interesting that Orwell’s, “1984” was required reading in school at one… Read more »
He’s over the target so they go crazy.
Matt, It is intereting they want to cancel a Governor who by most measurements is doing a great job, because people want to live there and feel safe in Florida. When was the last time you heard someone say they were excited to move to Chicago or Illinois? I am sure Pritzker would love to have that same excitment about what was happening in his state. It would help for his upcoming presidential campaign (which he will fail miserably). When these progressives are threatened by people’s success the best thing to do is try to cancel them, so people won’t… Read more »
People that are excited to move to Illinois are looking to capitalize on its “sanctuary status” may be undocumented, hence illegal and are planning to utilize the generous welfare and Medicaid systems.
Another insightful story from Matt and Ted. I so appreciate their work. I can only hope that thinking Chicago does, too. We need to support high-integrity, independent journalism.
Kudos … again
But the people who need convincing will never read opinions like this nor even hear them.
I totally agree with Matt & Ted—> Cancel culture is a threat to democracy. The intent of it is to fence off discussions about government accountability for things like continuing violent crime or the failure of public schools to impart basic reading and math skills to students, especially black and Latino students. Under cancel-culture rules, vexing failures must always be described as due to “systemic racism” or “underfunding.” Case closed. Anyone who persists in a results-based critique runs the risk of a cancellation attempt – by being called “racist,” “classist,” or “far-right.”
Cancel culture is nasty business. So is the dirty concept of “permissable” speech, which is seeping into our schools and our lives. Once a world class city, Chicago has descended into a mini thrid world country, and Pritzker is only adding fuel to the fire. I see no mayoral contender with any common sense. Do these people reside in an alternate universe? De Santis has the same First Amendment rights we all have. To every single contender, i say. ” GROW UP!
Cancel culture is a cover for intellectually dishonest, &/or mentally slow, cowards who wish to gain political expediency at the risk of choking off liberty. It’s a favorite modus operandi of the left.
“cave-In” Vallas made a mistake!
Thanka for shining a light on yet another attempted cancellation by the Left. Sad to see Vallas buckle under so easily.
The coward Vallas will buckle to the CTU terrorists too
Matt,
I appreciate your shining a spotlight on this instance of cancel culture run amok. The suppression of ideas and free speech on the part of these “leaders” smells of jack-booted thuggery. Shame on all of them. Another vote for DeSantis!
To these leftist fools Desantis is the enemy because he speaks the truth and they cannot have that. It is expected of the usual hateful weenies running but it’s disappointing that Paul Vallas caved. Vallas needs to realize that caving to left will have the opposite effect on his election results.
The left can’t argue against conservatives, so they ban them.
Living in Florida and personally knowing the Governor from our tea party days – he’s actually enjoying facing the cabal. Doesn’t Pritzker understand he’s giving Desantis free press? Get your popcorn out.
DeSantis is also going to NYC Monday, first stop on what’s reportedly a pro-police message to be given in multiple cities. https://nypost.com/2023/02/18/ron-desantis-to-visit-staten-island-monday/
To those attacking DeSantis: “I have become too accustomed to the pseudo-Left style, whereby if your opponent thought he had identified your lowest possible motive, he was certain he had isolated the *only* one. This vulgar method is designed to have the effect of making any noisy moron into a master analyst.” Christopher Hitchens
“…noisy moron…” = J.B. Pritzker. This is among others, but he has the most opportunity to take to the podium expecting to achieve his goals by being irrational.
Matt, Thanks for adding this to the public forum. These attempts by liberal (in this context defined by New Oxford as, “willing to accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own) leaders lays bare the avarice and utter disregard for citizens of this state. DeSantis at least seems to be in touch with his state. JB seems to be appealing only to those that are tied to him financially (Government unions, State employees, those megaphones propagating victimhood.) Just people looking out for themselves willing to do whatever it takes to shut down discussion so they can control the collective $.… Read more »
What an oxymoron name for the current Democrat party. It is anything but democratic. They are behaving like an authoritarian regime; they are bullies. DeSantis should go. Stand up to the bullies.
As I repeatedly point out to people in real life, the Democrat party since its inception has been the party of slave holders, racist, KKK members, segregation, street criminals, union organizers, communists, socialists, anarchists, and all of the degenerates and malcontents of society. Nothing has changed in 200 years. People are always the same, they do not change. All that changes are the position on various issues. And the degenerates and morally questionable people in society tend to gravitate towards the Democrat Party. It’s always been that way and will always be that way because that’s just what those people… Read more »
Matt Rosenberg wrote, “Intimidation shortchanges us all. And remember this: those that engage in it inherently concede the bankruptcy of their arguments.” And that is where we are now. When you add in the Hitlerian “big lies” parroted daily in the presstocricy you will realize that we are just steps away from the same cancel culture forced on the German people in the 1930’s. Today, only certain people and only certain groups are allowed to freely express themselves or to decide what happens to their own bodies. A stark example recently was the vicious backlash that Green Bay Packer… Read more »
I don’t speak Hungarian, so can’t say what they called that “internal passport” in Hungary, but my husband had one….I could write more about that than anyone wants to read. No one can believe the horrors behind that damned little book.
Karen: When I saw the above mentioned Ahnenpass durring a visit to Germany in 2016 I was stunned. Citizens at the time had to write in the names, relation, a lot of other info for every relative. Each name was then vetted by a Nazi official who placed a little swastika rubber stamp in a small box next to the name. Several names were written on each page. It was a little larger than a passport. The Ahnenpass was in the possession of my close friend, a native German. It had once belonged to relative of hers. Scary stuff…sort of… Read more »
Go Ron!
JB, there is likely no other state in the union, other than Cali, where you could have this job…
You are exactly correct. JB could easily be elected here in Cali. I moved here in 2013 to San Diego from Joliet for the weather. That part of it paid off. But the politics here are abysmal. We are relatively safe here in the Eastlake neighborhood of suburban Chula Vista. But San Diego itself is a no-go zone after dark. Why? There have been numerous shootings in once quiet beach areas such as Pacific Beach and Mission Beach. Our Gaslamp Quarter in downtown is just as bad. It too is a no-go zone after dark. When the libs took over,… Read more »
When Pigster shut down Illinois he immediately retreated with his family to a home in the free state of Florida. I declare that he should sell all his real estate holdings in free states and invest in the cesspool that he helped create. The hypocrisy is overwhelming.
I love Florida Governor Ron DeSantis!
Will Desantis be speaking publicly in Illinois, if so, how do I get tickets!
Paul Vallas is making his mark by talking CRIME, CRIME, CRIME! All the others are attacking hate speech while they compete in its usage. As kids we would chant, STICKS AND STONES WILL BREAK MY BONES, BUT NAMES WILL NEVER HURT ME. We really lived by that. Insults were flung but it is the day-to-day quality of life issues that mattered. They all hate DeSantis because he has struck a nerve. He is not afraid to speak his truth, instead of trying to please every special interest group conceivable. People are leaving Illinois in droves to live under Governor DeSantis… Read more »
It’s just kind of hypocritical of everybody complaining of cancel culture and deplatforming when the MASTERS were the Daleys, Madigan and Obama. They controlled all the Agencies that dug up the dirt on anyone that dared to run.. Paul Vallas sucks period and is part of the Cabal.
Particularly interesting is that DeSantis apparently initiated the whole event. Why would he choose to come to Chicago, a lion’s den of progressives? “A GOP source told the Sun-Times the DeSantis political team was organizing the law enforcement event in the western suburb – not anyone in Illinois.” Maybe it’s just the right place to give a tough law & order speech. But maybe he wants to take on Pritzker directly since Pritzker has been saying exceptionally harsh things about him. Pritzker almost surely will use the occasion to up his profile by attacking DeSantis further.
I thought that might be so, as doing a good job of speaking in Illinois could help DeSantis’ candidacy in so many ways, with so little risk to him. Illinois is a perfect foil for DeSantis – a target rich environment. Crime’s just one of them. I hope that Pritzker does such a good job of calling the public’s attention to comparisons between Illinois and Florida that everyone just keeps on making them as time goes on. “Not welcome to debate in Illinois because we’ve decided you’re wrong.” Nothing makes me happier than watching JB work up a sweat huffing… Read more »
The tenets of JB’s progressive religion are not up for debate, especially not coming from a disgusting deplorable. Conservatives will never win in the marketplace of ideas because the debate only goes one way. Democrat voters always get in line to adopt the party’s positions unquestioningly. That’s why progressivism must be defeated through every possible political means the dirty trick available at our disposal, because we will never, ever be able to win the hearts and minds of a democrat voter.
Calling Governor DeSantis authoritarian while they attempt to prevent the citizenry from hearing a differing opinion is a joke without a punchline. They won’t be satisfied until we live under a one-party system with no opportunity for dissent. Ask the people in Russia and China how that’s working for them.
Canceling/deplatforming people who disagree with their fascist, evil agendas is the most successful tactic the leftists have. Unfortunately, it works all too well, because most people are ignorant, reactionary and believe what their lying, leftist propaganda tv programming tells them. Such people don’t know or care what the difference between facts and feelings is, and they’d much rather watch the Stupor Bowl and waste time on nonsense than think and act constructively.
A famous Navy Seal Team Member – Really impressive Facts: Was born on September 14, 1978, in Jacksonville, Florida. [1] He is of Italian descent. [2] His family moved to Orlando, Florida, before relocating to Dunedin, Florida, when he was six years old. [3] In 1991, he was a member of the Little League team from Dunedin National that made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (4] After graduating from Dunedin High School in 1997, he attended Yale University. He was Captain of Yale’s varsity baseball team and joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. [5] On… Read more »
Used underwear of Gov DeSantis has more common sense than governor buffet table ever had. Obese, spoiled, rich kid who has an ego problem. GFY JB
Thanks for the down vote mrs fat ass pritzger
One thing for sure is Desantis land is growing in population while Chicago land is losing population…maybe Jesus “Chuy” Garcia should take a hint.
What has become more and more evident as the days edge toward election day? None of the Chicago mayoral candidates seem to be running to GOVERN THE CITY! That’s right! They are ALL just running to WIN! There is not one of them who has given us any indication that they would be actually prepared to take the reins the first day and get on with the business at hand. Not one of them – not Lori, who at least knows where the paper clips are in the big wooden desk; not Vallas, who at least on paper seems to… Read more »