Not every Florida politician wants to pay tribute to Rush Limbaugh.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced on Monday that she would disregard an order from Governor Ron DeSantis to lower flags in the state to half-staff to pay tribute to Limbaugh, the conservative radio host who died last week after a battle with lung cancer.
“Lowering the flag of the United States of America to half-staff is a sacred honor that pays respect to fallen heroes and patriots. It’s not a partisan political instrument, ”Fried, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Therefore, I will notify all state offices under my direction to disregard the governor’s impending order to lower the flags for Mr. Limbaugh – because we will not celebrate hateful language, bigotry, and division. The lowering of the flag should always reflect unity, not division, and raise, not lower our standards. Our flags will continue to fly to celebrate America’s values of diversity, inclusion and respect for all. “
On Friday, DeSantis announced his decision to lower flags at Florida government buildings in honor of the man who made a career attacking Democratic politicians and politics. The flags, DeSantis said, would be lowered the day Limbaugh was buried.
“If there are things of this magnitude, once the date of Rush’s funeral is announced, we will lower the flags to half staff,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Palm Beach County.
Limbaugh was a close political ally of former President Donald Trump, who awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the talk show host during the 2020 State of the Union speech. DeSantis, who posted ads during his 2018 gubernatorial race proclaiming that he had the same views as Trump’s, expressed his personal fondness for Limbaugh on Friday.
“Not much needs to be said, the man was an absolute legend,” he said of Limbaugh, who lived in Palm Beach. “He was a friend of mine and just a great person.”
Fried responded to DeSantis’ comments on Twitter.
DeSantis is certainly not the only one to praise Limbaugh. Numerous Republican lawmakers paid their respects to the host after his death.
Last week, Trump released a statement praising him.
“Rush was a patriot, a defender of freedom, and someone who believed in all the greatness our country represents,” the former president said in his statement.
In a Monday published by Fox News, former Vice President Mike Pence said Limbaugh “gave voice to the ideals and values that made this country great; he inspired a generation of American conservatives; he reached men and women, young and old of every way of life with his humor and wisdom, and he will be deeply missed. “
For Democrats like Fried, Limbaugh’s bigoted statements were impossible to ignore. And during his last episodes, he continued to emphasize the untruth that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Trump.
In 2007, he aired a parody song entitled “Barack, the Magic Negro,” which ridiculed the then Sen. The sudden rise of Barack Obama on the national scene after a black columnist for the Los Angeles Times called him that. Earlier in Limbaugh’s career, he often mocked homosexuals. “If a gay man turns his back on you,” he once said, “it’s anything but an insult; it’s an invitation. ‘
In 2004, Limbaugh compared the NBA to criminal gangs. “I think it’s time to get rid of this whole National Basketball Association. Call it the TBA, the Thug Basketball Association, and stop calling them teams. Call them gangs,” he said. In 2013, he acquitted whites of their role in slavery. “If a people of people doesn’t have to be guilty of slavery, it’s whites,” he said. “The white race has probably had fewer slaves and for a shorter period of time than any other in the history of the world.”
He often targeted feminists, like when he called Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” after testifying to Congress about universal medical coverage for birth control. Years earlier, Limbaugh wrote that feminism “was created to give unattractive women access to the mainstream of society.”
Fried is the only statewide elected Democrat in Florida. Last month, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, a close Trump ally, said he did consider challenging Fried in the 2022 elections.
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