Ron DeSantis usually trends nationally for his excellent leadership on COVID. That includes the often false, hysteria-filled rantings in response to said leadership from the left. Still, he’s the governor of a state, and that means there are other serious issues he has to contend with besides the pandemic. That’s where DeSantis is really shining and building his resume.

When the teachers’ unions threatened to keep his state’s schools closed, DeSantis didn’t hesitate, signing an order that forced them to re-open. Florida has since been among the top states in the nation in in-person schooling, ensuring that almost every child received a full year of education. Meanwhile, other states languished because of the cowardice of their leaders.

Now, DeSantis has a new battle to fight – preventing critical race theory from being taught in the schools he oversees. In short, he’s having none of it.

Gov. @RonDeSantisFL announces Florida's curriculum will "expressly exclude…Critical Race Theory."

“There's no room in our classrooms for things like Critical Race Theory. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money.” pic.twitter.com/7y2b40GqDk

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 17, 2021

An unequivocal rejection of this harmful ideology being taught in schools is the right move. Critical race theory is a racist scourge, and Republicans should treat it accordingly. No child should be taught they are lesser than because of a supposed innate, uncontrollable racism within them. Further, no child should be taught to hate someone else because adults tell them that person is a racist simply because of the color of their skin. There is nothing more discriminatory in mainstream America right now than critical race theory and its associated offshoots. That it’s even gained any notoriety is a disgusting indictment of our current culture.

DeSantis is picking a fight, though, and I’m sure it’s one he’s glad to engage in. Florida is receiving a lot of money from the new COVID bill to go towards education. Joe Biden could conceivably try to attach conditions to those appropriations. If he does, DeSantis may be drawn into an extremely public battle over federal funding for Florida schools.

Despite that, no Republican should back down on this just because the federal government threatens to withhold money, and I don’t expect DeSantis to do so if it comes to that. Republicans have to get in the trenches over this and be willing to pay whatever costs come with waging this war. Nothing is more important than preventing the further ideological manipulation of children. The left is counting on critical race theory being forced upon society to help entrench their political power. That can’t be allowed to happen.