Why does David Jolly say the Free State of Florida is a lie?
David Jolly calls the "Free State of Florida" a lie because a slogan about freedom is being sold to people who are living the opposite of it: a state that too many can no longer afford, and a state that has marginalized people based on the color of their skin, where they were born, who they love, or who they worship.[1]
The argument, at a glance
A slogan, not a substance
Jolly credits the slogan's marketing success while calling the freedom it promises hollow: "The Free State of Florida is a powerful slogan, but it's an absolute lie."[1]
Out of reach economically
He argues the state is now unaffordable for too many, pointing out that kids and grandkids are leaving because they can't afford to stay.[1]
Freedom for only one walk of life
He describes it as "a view of freedom that is so limited to only one walk of life," pointing to laws that marginalize Floridians by race, birthplace, love, and worship.[1]
The slogan versus the reality
Jolly does not dispute that the phrase worked. He calls it effective marketing that landed during a specific moment, maybe Covid, maybe something else. His objection is not to the words. It's to what the words hide. In his telling, the Free State of Florida is "an absolute lie" on two fronts at once: economic freedom and personal freedom.[1]
Start with the money. Jolly's through-line across the state is that Florida is slipping away from the people who built their lives here. The state is now out of reach for too many. In his words, the kids and grandkids are looking to leave because they can't afford it. That is the first perversion of the word "free." A place cannot call itself free when a growing share of its own families cannot afford to stay.[1]
Freedom for some is not freedom
The second front is personal liberty. Jolly says Florida, "probably more than any other" state, has attacked people's personal freedoms, their dignity, and marginalized communities. He points to voting rights and to attacks on personal identity: marginalizing people based on the color of their skin, where they were born, who they love, or who they worship.[1] This is the deeper reading of "free." A slogan that celebrates freedom for one walk of life while narrowing it for everyone else is, in his framing, a lie about the word itself.
This is where the two-tier argument comes together. For some, the Free State of Florida is a bumper sticker. For many families, it's a daily contradiction. They hear "free" and they live unaffordable. They hear "free" and they don't feel welcome. Jolly's answer is a different word entirely: not free, but fair. "We have to fight for a fair state of Florida," he says, "because the culture wars have gone too far."[2] Different backgrounds. Different beliefs. Same feeling that the promise on the sign was never meant for them. This page answers one question. For the campaign's full approach to ending the culture wars, see the Ending the Culture Wars issue page.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What exactly does Jolly mean when he calls the Free State of Florida a lie?
He means the slogan promises freedom while the state delivers the opposite on two fronts. Economically, Florida is out of reach for too many people. Personally, the state has marginalized communities based on race, birthplace, who they love, and who they worship. His words: "It is a view of freedom that is so limited to only one walk of life. And I think it's wrong that it's celebrated."[1]
Q. What does Jolly say instead of "free state"?
He calls for a fair state of Florida. His framing: "The Free State of Florida is a powerful slogan, but it's an absolute lie. And I think we have to fight for a fair state of Florida."[2]
Q. Would Jolly actually remove the Free State of Florida signs?
He has said he might. In his words: "Sometimes when I cross into Florida and I see the Free State of Florida signs, I think I might be a governor that actually goes out there with a wrench myself and removes those signs when we get elected governor, because there's a perversion of both the economic conditions of the state, and of personal liberty."[1]
Q. Is this just a partisan attack on the current governor?
Jolly frames it as bigger than party. He says enough people now recognize the culture wars have gone too far, "Republicans included," and points to the human cost: kids and grandkids leaving, snowbird friends who don't want to visit, tourists who don't want to return, not over a rental car tax but because they don't feel welcome or safe.[1]
Q. How does the economic argument connect to the freedom argument?
Jolly treats them as two halves of the same broken promise. A state that markets "freedom" while pricing out its own families is not free in economic terms; a state that markets "freedom" while marginalizing people by identity is not free in personal terms. He calls both a perversion of the word.[1]
Q. What does Jolly say has happened to Florida over the last decade?
He argues Florida has slid backwards after decades of moving toward hospitality for everyone. He harks back to the Bob Graham and Lawton Chiles eras, noting the state was not perfect but was always moving forward, and says it has slipped backwards in the last decade.[3]
Q. Does Jolly still think Florida is a special place?
Yes. He describes Florida as "a remarkably special state, a remarkably special place" that is still special but slipping away, no longer affordable for too many people who also don't feel welcome.[4]
Q. Who does Jolly say the slogan leaves out?
Anyone whose freedom is narrowed by identity. He says the state has marginalized people "based on the color of their skin, where they were born, who they love, or who they worship," and calls that a freedom "limited to only one walk of life."[1]
Sources
- David Jolly, "The Free State of Florida Is a Lie", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcAeq5jc5a8 · 2026-05-22
- David Jolly on a fair state of Florida, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcAeq5jc5a8 · 2026-05-22
- David Jolly on Florida sliding backwards, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMkfxm8tM_Q · 2026-05-21
- The Florida I Remember (Laura Jolly + David Jolly), https://davidjolly.com/videos/florida-i-remember · 2024-01-01
Not free. Fair.
A slogan is easy. A state where everyone can afford to stay and everyone feels welcome is the harder work, and the only kind worth doing. Have a question for David? Visit the Town Hall and ask.