Gov. Ron DeSantis returned to his undergraduate Alma Mater Friday night,  and turned his attention to whether conservatism is a “racket” or not.

He rooted his argument, which borrows unattributed phrasing from an antiwar speech from General Smedley Butler nearly a century ago, in the premise that there are conservative precepts that endure despite rhetorical and situational shifts that threaten the ideological framework.

“There’s a saying, you know, all great causes begin as a movement, transform into a business and degenerate into a racket. And I think whatever is on the right now, you know, we are very much in a racket stage. I mean, you have people that can monetize, outrage online. Some of these people that are always out there, they’re getting paid for certain positions. There’s a whole cottage industry,” he said at The Buckley Institute’s Fifteenth Annual Conference.

DeSantis benefited from his own online influencers, including Twitter tough guys, podcast interviewers who spent hours with him but never asked a remotely critical question, and two conservative websites in Florida that took aggressive positions on his behalf as alleged counterweights to the liberal media as he ran for re-election then for President.

But by the time he got to the end of his bid for the GOP nomination in 2024, he began to take a more critical look at the phenomenon from which he benefited.

“It used to be, ‘Oh, Republicans, you know, don’t like the liberal media, the NBC, CNN, all that stuff or whatever, but that the conservative media were like the good guys, right? They’re fighting for us,’ Well, let me tell you, it’s all a racket. OK? It’s all a racket,” DeSantis said in Iowa in January of that year. “They’re trying to get clicks, they’re trying to do all this stuff. There’s as much fake news on the right as there is on the corporate press now.”

The outlets don’t “want to lose viewers,” DeSantis said, and “almost every entity out there is plagued with this in one sense or another.”

At that time, the Governor fumed at Fox News offering no “pushback” against Donald Trump’s claims in a town hall, calling the conservative press a “Praetorian Guard” for him.

Sen. Keith Truenow said he plans to file legislation to overhaul irrigation practices in Florida.

“As a farmer who has worked this land my entire life, I know water isn’t just a resource, it’s our lifeline,” the Tavares Republican said in a statement Friday. “We can’t keep building the Florida of tomorrow with the wasteful practices of yesterday. This legislation brings developers, irrigation professionals, and water experts to the table to craft solutions that work for everyone and will last for generations.”

Truenow, who chairs the Senate’s Agriculture Committee, explained the reason for his bill: Fix what he described as failings in the system.

“Florida’s current irrigation system lacks uniformity, professional oversight, and efficiency standards, allowing unqualified installers to waste millions of gallons annually while patchwork local rules confuse homeowners and undermine conservation,” his office said.

Part of the proposed bill will require only licensed irrigation contractors to install, alter, or repair systems, according to the press release from his office.

“This ends the widespread threat of ‘handyman’ work that leaks water, damages landscapes, and erodes public trust, while elevating professional standards and ensuring accountability,” his office said.

The bill would require uniform rules for watering across the state, which Truenow said will be necessary for environmental reasons and to be more efficient.

“Smarter system designs must be upgraded to require zoned irrigation, smart controllers, pressure regulation, micro-irrigation in plant beds, and separate turf zones. These measures eliminate overspray and runoff, which currently drain the Floridan Aquifer and inflate utility bills, delivering proven water savings for every home and business,” his office said. “By requiring site-appropriate plants, preservation of existing vegetation, pervious surfaces, and low-volume designs, the bill curbs fertilizer runoff, erosion, and excessive watering that threaten Florida’s ecosystems and long-term drought preparedness.”

As of  Friday afternoon, the bill hadn’t been assigned a number yet.

Daniel Liftman, who worked for decades as a staffer to late Democratic U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, died Tuesday in West Palm Beach after a long illness, the office of state Rep. Jervone “Tae” Edmonds said.

He was 73.

Liftman spent 32 years serving the people of South Florida while working under Hastings, who passed away in April 2021.

At the time, Hastings was the longest-serving member of Florida’s congressional delegation. And for Hastings’ entire tenure in Washington, Liftman was there.

Born in Massachusetts on Dec. 5, 1951, Daniel Arthur Liftman was the only son of Samuel and Doris Liftman. He went on to earn an associate degree in theater arts from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1971 and a bachelor’s in communications from Georgia Southern University in 1973.

Documents from the latter institution listed him as a member of the College Union Board, alongside other students.

Liftman began working for Hastings before the Congressman won office and continued doing so after. On his LinkedIn page, Liftman said of his regular responsibilities, “I do casework, write letters, do constituent outreach and represent the congressman at events large and small.”

He described himself as a political consultant, public speaking trainer and writer. As specialties, he listed, “Clever slogans, signs and advertising strategies.”

Described as “a very honorable man who quietly devoted his life to community and government service” in an online obituary, Liftman was eloquent and incisive when he chose to speak out.

In 2012, he was prominently quoted in coverage of the flap over Evelyn Garcia, a Florida Democrat who resigned her Democratic National Committee position over harshly critical emails about Israel.

A decade later, after Alcee’s death, Liftman penned a op-ed for the Palm Beach Post, lambasting a letter the outlet published from a reader who described liberal views as mostly informed by “hate (of) anything the Republicans do.”

“Who wouldn’t appreciate” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ disdain for mask mandates during the pandemic, Donald Trump’s “encouragement of the mob that staged an insurrection” and the Republican-led Congress’ refusal “to support legislation that would remove restrictive laws that make it more difficult for minorities, the poor and disabled people to vote?” he wrote, sarcastically.

Liftman’s public Facebook page, which has some 3,700 followers, features the William Shakespeare line, “This above all else; to thine own self be true,” on its header.

Several friends and followers published posts expressing concern about Liftman’s well-being around mid-June after being unable to contact him.

On Nov. 13, two days after Liftman died, Palm Tran Senior Manager of Legislative and Government Affairs Deborah Posey-Blocker published a post confirming Liftman had died.

“It is with a heavy heart that, on behalf of his family, we are devastated to share the passing of our dear friend, Dan Liftman,” she wrote, adding that while Liftman is to be buried in his home state of Massachusetts, a celebration of his life will be held locally in December. “We will share those details as soon as they are available. Rest in Peace, Dan — you will be missed more than words can express.

Delray Beach education consultant Jeannett Manzanero wrote of how she’d gotten to know Liftman at several Palm Beach County Democratic fundraisers.

“He was always willing to represent the congressman’s office to any even we invited him at the college to raise awareness of the plight of immigrant students and their families,” she wrote. “Always great company Mr. Liftman. A truly fair man of justice. Rest in peace, friend to all!”

Liftman is survived by several first cousins and their spouses. He will be laid to rest with family in the Tifereth Israel Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, in a private, family burial.