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Not Everyone Hates DeSantis
The war has already begun. Even before DeSantis announces his candidacy for President, the hate speech and accusations are ramping up. The irony of all these efforts is that those attacking him don’t really understand his goals and motives, and don’t realize that many people have already seen through the rumors. But efforts to tarnish his reputation continue. I’d like to suggest that those who hate him (including Republicans and Democrats) are misjudging not only DeSantis but those who already are, and who could become, his supporters. We’re not as stupid as some assume.
This post was inspired by an article titled “DeSantis Further Right Than Trump?” My knee-jerk reaction was, “I hope so!” (Unfortunately, the article is behind a paywall.) Many of us knew that Trump lacked pure Conservative credentials, but we were satisfied with most of the work he did. In the case of DeSantis, the key attributes he demonstrates are that he acts and legislates like a Conservative, but he rarely relies on the label:
Brian Ballard, a lobbyist and former Trump adviser, agreed that DeSantis was no moderate.
‘What the national media might miss is that Ron DeSantis is an authentic conservative,’ Ballard said. ‘It’s not learned, it’s not something where he looks at the polls to see what a conservative does or believes. … Anyone who says Ron DeSantis is a moderate doesn’t understand him, probably has never met him, certainly, or spent time studying him.’
DeSantis’ ultra-conservative agenda could help him win the Republican primary for president, just as it did for Trump in 2016, but DeSantis would then face the dilemma of whether to move back to the middle for the general election, one analyst said.
I believe that DeSantis is not going to move back to the middle at all. Instead, he is going to stand on his track record and not abandon his conservative agenda.
People may very well try to compare him to Trump, saying that he has demonstrated that he’s more conservative than Trump. Again, I don’t think people are going to be as concerned with the labels as with his actions.
To show how his track record drove his last election in Florida, Democrats turned out to vote for him in great numbers:
It’s unclear how many DeSantis Democrats there are: DeSantis’ vote count jumped from roughly 4 million in 2018 to 4.6 million in 2022. Lots of those voters are presumably independents or Republicans who didn’t vote last time.
But some are disaffected Democrats alienated from the party they once belonged to. That’s evident from the longtime Democratic strongholds that DeSantis flipped, including Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, where DeSantis skyrocketed from a 21-point loss in 2018 to an 11-point win in 2022—a net gain of more than 30 percentage points.
But the comment from this DeSantis Democrat is telling:
Democratic Palm Beach County Commissioner Dave Kerner says he identifies as a DeSantis Democrat, ‘and I can tell you I’m not the only one.’
‘As I traveled around the state and throughout my county over the past several years, at first it was quiet, you know, ‘This governor is doing a great job’—and this is amongst my Democratic colleagues,’ he told me. ‘Then I started hearing it more and hearing it more. And then I saw my own county—which has been majority blue throughout probably its entire history—we saw more people vote for the Republican candidate over the Democratic candidate.” [bold is mine]
This is one more demonstration that the Democrats were looking for results, not following party affiliation.
If he runs for President, his campaign should focus on his bi-partisan support from citizens; how he focuses on results that work; he doesn’t concern himself about stepping on toes but on serving the needs of the citizens; and treats citizens with respect.
He also is difficult to challenge because he’s one of the rare governors who has based his decisions on facts and science, not on lies and rumors. Dr. Jay Battacharya often commented on how well-versed DeSantis was regarding Covid-19 and admired his determination to make wise, rather than popular, decisions.
DeSantis also treated Florida’s citizens as adults. When they needed to decide what was best for themselves, for their children and families, he often left the decision-making up to us. Whether it was getting the vaccine or booster shots, wearing masks, meeting in large groups, taking care of their children, the grown-ups could decide for themselves. And when he needed to step in, whether banning Critical Race Theory, teaching gender-affirming curricula, or closing businesses for Covid-19, he didn’t hesitate to take a stand. When he made mistakes (like some early Covid-19 decisions), he admitted his errors, made the appropriate changes without excuses, and moved forward.
* * * *
Of course, Florida citizens will be only a fraction of the population deciding whether to choose DeSantis as the next President. He will also be up against the Republicans in Congress who have proven to be feckless and prefer the status quo, Progressives who will demonize him, and the media. But DeSantis understands his enemies well. He served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and wasn’t afraid to buck the status quo and so knows the lay of the land. He knows that the establishment will attack his actions against Critical Race Theory, is not afraid of the unions, and will protect children against sick and progressive agendas whenever he can. And he’s had plenty of practice fighting the media in Florida.
I suspect the media will be so over-the-top in their criticism of him that people will have second thoughts about where the truth lies. Here are one “journalist’s” comments about DeSantis:
What he shares with Trump is a vindictive and demagogic streak, unquenchable ambition and a refusal to be weighed down by political norms or democratic traditions. Like Trump, his time in office would be marked by repeated attempts to pit Americans against each other. But unlike Trump, DeSantis has the proven ability to follow through on divisive rhetoric. The complete package, DeSantis represents a terrifying future for America, and by 2025 it could become a reality.
I think this writer has the wrong guy. Let’s hope the rest of our citizens figure that out.
Published in Politics
The journalists realize that DeSantis is a huge threat for 2024, so they need to start the character assassination ASAP (aside: my guess is he won’t run until 2028, maybe even 2032). I really thought Republicans would sweep big in 2022 because of how things are horrific, but the MSM was successful in painting Republican candidates as Trump lackeys – whether they were or not. It was in peoples’ best interests to vote against crime, open borders, and skyrocketing prices, but they didn’t. If people are dumb enough to vote against their best interests, a large number will fall for the “Ron DeSatan” rhetoric and vote Democrat right down the ticket.
If he plans to run, I hope he does it in 2024. Why wait? They will try to destroy him no matter when he runs. He’s on a high now with his FL victory; I think he should capitalize on that and on his reputation with Covid and other challenges.
Why do you think this, Stad? It seems to me his time is now. WHy wait?
Look at Chris Christie’s experience. He should have run in 2012. By 2016, he was tarnished by “Bridgegate” and yesterday’s news. The stars only align once.
The Cato Institute has a ranking of governors/states. DeSantis is #3. However, they rank Spenser “my pronouns” Cox ahead of him. Cato ranks Kim Reynolds at #13 and she is probably the most conservative governor in the USA.
Good question. I think what I think for a couple of reasons:
Even if both of these things happen, there probably won’t be enough people not voting for Ron to make a difference. Regardless, he’s wearing the mantel of “Great Republican Hope” right now, and conservative voters tend to get disappointed and apoplectic if they discover one flaw in their Republican savior . . .
Don, could you give me a direct link to this data. (I can’t find it easily on the Cato site.) I’m interested in knowing what they mean by “Executive Policy.”
I agree with the potential of #1. But his country needs him. Whether he waits two years or six years, some Republicans will find flaws. I’m looking at Congress in particular; I don’t think they will see him as their friend.
Yeah, I always like how they try to make it sound like people are “too conservative.” The did it with Bush and Trump and all I could think is “If only that were true.”
CATO is libertarian, so I assume they want a drag queen in every kindergarten class and that is probably the reason DeSantis gets a bad score there.
A minor quibble: I have a favorable opinion of Ron DeSantis, but he only served in the House, not the Senate.
Jeb! learned that lesson too. His time was supposed to be 2000, but he was late and ‘W’ got the gig.
Reason #3 for DeSantis not to run: crazy Orange Man. If Ron got the nomination, Trump might go 3rd party to sell more NFTs and that would be a career killer for Ron.
“DeSantis’ ultra-conservative agenda”? That lobbyist obviously lives in a well-insulated bubble, as he has apparently never encountered many of my friends (and I suspect a whole lotta people like my friends) who would suggest agenda a whole lot more conservative than anything DeSantis has suggested. DeSantis is “ultra-conservative” only if your scale extends from PBS on the far left, the New York Times on the left, and the Washington Post on the right.
I used to be a Libertarian. Then I threw away my bong, got a haircut, and grew the hell up.
Because he was just elected for another term as Governor?
It’s not a minor quibble and I appreciate the correction. Unfortunately, once it’s been promoted to the Main Feed I can’t edit it.
I’m not necessarily agreeing. But to a person who watches him fighting the gender affirming agenda, for example, or stopping teaching gender to our little kids, it seems radical. Go figure.
Christie was/is Trump-lite.
It pains me to disagree with you on any subject, Stad, but here I have to say I think you’re wrong: I think he’s going to run in 2024. He has a lot going for him, being fresh off of a fantastic showing in Florida, where he showed that he can attract voters from across the political spectrum by being competent and articulate.
Is Cato conservative? Or Libertarian? Not at all the same in my book.
I would add too that he has divested Florida from the ESG – driven BlackRock firm.
from their website:
The vision of the Cato Institute is to create free, open, and civil societies founded on libertarian principles.
The handwringing about “political norms” and “democratic traditions” was just precious.
So more cross dressers in the public libraries and elementary schools.
Whose statement were you referring to, Hartmann?
That of the MSNBC commentator you cite near the end. Thanks for the post, by the way!
Oh! You read the whole article. Would you like a dose of antibiotics? He really was a piece of work, wasn’t he. Thanks that you liked the post, too!
Sorry. My bad. That came from Alec.org (https://alec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021-Governor-Report_FINAL.pdf) I was checking multiple sources. I will note that Cato gives financial credit for stable government spending. That punishes high-growth states like Florida.
No problem, Don. I found what I was looking for. Thanks.
But you kept the bongos right?
I used to call myself a conservative with libertarian sympathies. I have since grown up and discarded those sympathies. Libertarians and their philosophies are fundamentally utopian and divorced from the ugliness of human nature.
I wouldn’t trust Cato’s ratings of conservatives. If anything, a good rating from them is a knock against that candidate’s contact with reality.
Those are some choice ‘skins, ya dig?