Today, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appears on Uncommon Knowledge to discuss his transformation of Florida’s government and political identity. H.R. McMaster describes the dire state of Iran’s military as tensions remain in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. And Michael Auslin writes about some of the peculiar places the original Declaration of Independence was stored and displayed in the past 250 years.
Florida
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joins Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson at the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee to explain how Florida transformed from a razor-thin swing state into one of the fastest-growing and most politically distinct states in the country. DeSantis outlines his governing philosophy—pairing conservative policy with a focus on competence—and details the results: rapid population growth, rising revenues without an income tax, debt reduction, and a dramatic political realignment. He reflects on controversial decisions during COVID, his approach to education reform and school choice, and high-profile battles with corporations, universities, and cultural institutions. The discussion also explores broader themes, including the decline of identity politics, the future of the Republican Party, and the enduring relevance of America’s founding principles.
Learn more about DeSantis’s governing philosophy here.
Iran
Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster joined CBS Mornings on Tuesday to speak about Iran’s new strategy in the Strait of Hormuz. He says the attacks on shipping by IRGC “fast boats,” which were quickly dispatched by US attack helicopters, are an attempt by the regime to show it can still stop commercial traffic in the Strait. But he says the Iranian regime is closely monitoring US public opinion, and these moves are meant to put pressure on Washington to pare back its demands at the negotiating table concerning Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and missile capabilities. McMaster says “there is a huge chasm” separating news coverage of Iran’s current military capabilities and the reality on the ground, which shows the Iranian military industrial base is largely decimated and the regime cannot muster the kind of massive missile salvos it launched at the start of the war.
See how McMaster says the White House’s messaging on the war needs to change.
Revitalizing History
In an essay for the Liberty Fund’s Online Library of Liberty, Research Fellow Michael Auslin relates the history of the Declaration of Independence as “a physical object.” Today, we take for granted that the Declaration is “an object of near veneration, a ‘People’s Declaration,’” but as Auslin shows, this was not always the case. “Indeed, for long periods, it was either ignored or locked away for preservation purposes,” the historian writes. War, fire, and the ravages of humidity and sunlight all threatened the parchment document between the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries. Auslin explains how the Declaration made its way into taverns, homes, and classrooms via reproductions over time—increasing its prominence in the American mind. All the while, the original document endures, faded yet intact. As Auslin concludes, “The physical survival of the fragile parchment intertwines with its enduring philosophy and vision, its ongoing challenge to create a more perfect Union, and a hope that animates not only the American Dream, but aspirations around the globe.”
Discover how the Declaration was displayed at the Patent Office in the mid-1800s.
NATO
In The Guardian, Senior Fellow Timothy Garton Ash writes of the urgent need to ensure Germany’s rising defense spending, soon to equal that of France and Britain combined, means positive outcomes for European continental security. There is a risk the reawakening of the German military industrial complex will do as much to rekindle rivalries within the EU as it will to deter Russia. Garton Ash says the major EU militaries and the UK need to agree to consolidate hardware standards, pointing out that the EU militaries have 174 different pieces of fighting equipment (vehicles and aircraft) between them, while all six branches of the US military together have 33.
See how Germany’s rearmament can be a force for good.
Revitalizing American Institutions
In the Wall Street Journal, Senior Fellow Michael McConnell and John Witte Jr. of Emory University write of an unfolding court case in Massachusetts, where the decision to display two statues of Saint Florian and the Archangel Michael in front of a fire station in Quincy has sparked a legal challenge now before the state’s Supreme Judicial Court. But what makes this case interesting, McConnell and Witte say, is that the plaintiffs are asking judges to use a legal interpretation of state constitutional law that was rejected by the Supreme Court years ago. “It would be extremely strange for the Massachusetts court in 2026 to embrace for purposes of state constitutional law a standard that failed so miserably at the federal level and has since been abandoned by the US Supreme Court,” McConnell and Witte write.
Learn more about a case testing Massachusetts’ commitment to religious freedom that predates America’s Bill of Rights. [Subscription required.]
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