If you simply listened to the mainstream news media, you’d get the impression that Florida has been hit uniquely hard by the coronavirus pandemic. At obsessive levels, the Sunshine State has been lambasted for daring to keep their economy open while not enacting pointless, draconian mitigation measures.

Of course, the reality is far different from the media’s perceptions. Florida still only has about half the deaths per 100,000 compared to New York and New Jersey despite countless challenges to “just wait two weeks” that date all the way back to the spring.

We’ve had 9 months of weekly media articles about how bad Florida is doing relative to other states. At some point it’s rather obvious that it’s closer to wish-casting than anything resembling reality. pic.twitter.com/ixeYQut4GD

— AG (@AGHamilton29) December 27, 2020

That hasn’t stopped the left from continuing to trash Florida. Here’s the “grim reaper,” a lawyer who pranced around on a Florida beach months ago proclaiming that doom was coming, quoting noted conspiracy quack Rebekah Jones.

Florida is NOT doing well. It’s ground zero for death and sickness https://t.co/erTnhb3C0l

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) December 26, 2020

Florida is not ground zero for death and sickness. In fact, it’s not even close. Yet, these grifters owe their name recognition, to the extent it exists, to making wild claims of apocalyptic demise. It’s no wonder they want to keep the fear and loathing flowing toward their home state.

As I've said about COVID before, there's a Russian phrase "it is not yet evening" which applies. Areas with low rates can see spikes, areas with spikes can see numbers fall. It's a virus, this is how viruses go. But Florida is showing us that lockdowns and closures do nothing.

— Karol Markowicz (@karol) December 26, 2020

Many "Florida is hiding real COVID numbers" truthers in responses. I've asked *how* they are hiding their "real" numbers but actually: *Why* would they hide their numbers? What's the motive? To say haha to other states? They'd be willing to have their population DIE to do this?

— Karol Markowicz (@karol) December 27, 2020

"A bunch of psychopaths are covering up how many COVID deaths have happened in their state because they want to win the argument with other states about how best to handle COVID. Bodies are being hidden…somewhere. Large number of govt employees in on it." pic.twitter.com/MDFGwInFSf

— Karol Markowicz (@karol) December 27, 2020

The reason the left and their media allies want Florida to faceplant is simple. If Florida fails, it allows them to justify all their terrible, ineffective lockdowns that have crushed blue states across the union. Instead, the opposite is happening, with Florida doing far better than the blue states locked down the hardest. That doesn’t just include New York, the real epicenter of death and sickness. California, which was often listed with Florida early on as handling the pandemic better, is seeing the largest spikes of any state in the country despite being the most locked down.

Of course, the response to those facts is for the left to claim Ron DeSantis is an evil mastermind who’s covering up all the deaths. That’s not true either, but no one ever claimed liberals were rational in their thinking. It is funny that the media will decry the idea of voter fraud as a “conspiracy theory” while hosting crazy people like Rebekah Jones on CNN to spread their conspiracy theories about Florida which have no basis whatsoever.

In short, the bashing of Florida exists for one reason: For leftists to save face. Fortunately, for more reasons than one, Florida isn’t going to give them that satisfaction.

(Please follow me on Twitter! @bonchieredstate)