by Mother Jones Staff
It is the first full day of the inaugural Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors National Summit, and 500 such warriors are listening raptly as Florida governor Ron DeSantis delivers the keynote address. They fill tables in the grand ballroom of the Tampa Marriott, waving “Mamas for DeSantis” signs, and wearing T-shirts bearing the slogans “I don’t co-parent with the government” and “Stop woke indoctrination.” They jump to their feet and cheer when DeSantis, who is obviously considering a presidential run in 2024, brags about having stood up to Disney’s “leftism” and again when he refers to President Biden as “Brandon blundering around every time you go get gas.”
The moms have been primed by a morning program that has been nothing short of a pep rally. First came a deluxe version of the national anthem, replete with a rarely sung verse added in 1986. A color guard of four teenagers looked on, flags, sabers, and rifles by their sides. A prayer followed, enlisting God in the fight against the scourge of progressivism in schools. When DeSantis finally took the stage, three Moms for Liberty leaders presented him with a bright blue sword, emblazoned with the group’s logo. “It is what the gladiators were rewarded with after they had fought a long, hard battle for freedom,” said the group’s founder Tina Descovich. “So this is a representation from all of us moms here in Florida and across the country that appreciate all you’ve done to stand up for parents’ rights.” Clutching the sword, DeSantis grinned at the crowd as the press at the back of the ballroom snapped pictures.
“Parents’ rights” is Moms for Liberty’s rallying cry. But they don’t mean every right. They’re decidedly unconcerned about a parent’s right to ensure that their gender nonconforming child is safe at school, for instance, or that their immunocompromised child is protected from Covid. Rather, the Moms who are for Liberty have mobilized around parental concerns that are decidedly conservative. They want to excise lessons on systemic racism, LGBTQ-friendly books, accommodations for transgender students, and Covid mitigations like vaccine and mask mandates. They want to defend the Second Amendment rights that have allowed school shooters to obtain weapons. They work toward these goals with an unflagging spirit of good cheer—hence the “joyful warriors” conference theme. “People want to be around joyful people,” one presenter said. “They don’t necessarily want to be around angry, screaming, yelling people, or it’s not going to grow.”…
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