DeSantis Didn’t Get It, But Will Trump?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of the most able executives in the country, a polished veteran not just of the battlefield but the political field, the Congressman turned Governor who took a losing primary in 2018 into an upset victory, then won another upset victory in the devastating general election of 2018; who governed like a restorer, not just a conservative; a man with a young and growing family, who showed up to lead during times of crisis while rejecting the public health-surveillance state, who accomplished every plank of the GOP platform; who turned Republicans from underdog to running the state of Florida, who flipped blue counties red and ended voter fraud and allegations of misconduct into a non-entity, has suspended his campaign for President.

DeSantis didn’t get it. Not this time.

I knew his campaign was over when he received the drastically underwhelming 21% in the Iowa caucuses earlier last week. We had expected a red tsunami in 2022, and we didn’t see one. We had believed Trump would win re-election in 2020, but that didn’t happen. Like many DeSantis supporters and other disaffected Republicans, I believed that the polling for the last six months was flawed and just plain bad.

Governor Ron DeSantis was the best Republican governor in a generation, if not the current (and even previous) century. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, my first choice for President in 2016, had defeated Big Labor in their own Birthplace, the once progressive state of Wisconsin. Walker sharpened his stance on illegal immigration, and he notched an incredible array of conservative reforms in his state. He didn’t make it past September 2015 because he underestimated Trump and overextended his resources.

DeSantis was different. He had witnessed two prior campaigns for Trump, and he learned to harness the MAGA message for big wins in the Sunshine State. Throughout his presidential campaign, DeSantis hewed the finest line possible attacking Trump for failing to keep his promises, while hacking away at a corrupt media, an onerous corporate wing of American politics (which wants Woke until we all go broke), and without dishonoring Republican voters (he never called them “deplorables,” and Trump activists attempt to pin him down for the “listless vessels” remark went nowhere).

DeSantis plotted and planned as best he could. He made it to Iowa, and then he plummeted.

What happened? Why couldn’t Governor DeSantis make the cut, cut the deal, and make the grade?

First of all, just as in 2016, Trump the master of marketing and branding, saturated the airwaves and the media’s attention. When he announced his relaunch campaign in 2022, Trump was a middling candidate getting lackluster polling. He already sounded old, tired, out of touch, uninteresting. Most of the major networks didn’t see or care all that much.

But then came the indictments, the lawsuits, all the lawfare against the former President. One charge after another, one banana-republic style persecution after another, and he was the king of the hill once again. There was no way that any candidate could have overcome all the free publicity and massive sympathy from Republican voters, the vast majority of whom still rightly believe that Election 2020 was stolen.

All the strongest, wisest DeSantis surrogates pleaded with the wide swath of Republican primary voters to explain to the rest of us: “How do you expect Trump to overcome the negative headwinds among Independents and disaffected Republicans if—or when—he is convicted of one or more crimes, felonies, etc.?” No answer was provided, because of the 51% (so far) of the Republican voters, Trump is just going to magically ride out and override all this lawfare.

Still, does the DeSantis campaign bear some burden of responsibility for not clinching the nomination, let alone not even getting close?

Call me biased, but I submit that that is not the case. He had the best conservative record of any of the candidates, especially including Donald Trump, who failed to keep a number of promises and has either excused or doubled down on his prior executive mistakes. DeSantis was not charismatic, but he was consistent, competent, and compelling in diction, his company, and his campaigning. His case for replacing Trump, on paper at least, is unassailable.

But politics, especially a modern Republican brand that is driven so heavily by identity politics and emotions, is not open to reason, calculation, or prospective considerations. Too many of the current primary voters simply have nostalgia for the good times of the Trump Administration, when gas was cheaper, costs were lower, nations feared us, and criminals respected us. Of course, all of that was obliterated with Trump’s COVID-19 response, including his relatively disturbing inaction during the George Floyd riots.

Four years later, it seems as though GOP voters did not remember, or rather do not want to remember all the failures, fallouts, and just plain folly of Year 2020. I don’t blame them, but I do have to reproach them for ignoring the incredible work that Governor DeSantis accomplished during that very difficult time.

With the New Hampshire primary approaching, I predict a massive double-digit win for Trump, with a single-digit blowout against DeSantis. He was wise to assess the situation and quit. Nikki Haley will drop out once she craters to 21% in the Granite State against Trump to save herself the embarrassment of losing her home state while running an active campaign.

Call my cynical, but I don’t have high hopes for a Trump return to the White House in 2025. Democrats can coalesce all their delegates for the Chicago convention, then Biden can release them to Gavin Newsom or Michelle Obama. What’s Trump going to do then? And even if Trump pulls of another upset win, can we expect anything less than another four years of middling performances and broken promises?

Governor Ron DeSantis didn’t get the nomination. Will Trump get the fact that he hurt himself in 2020 and learn from those mistakes in 2024? The jury is still out on that one.

Letter to the Editor: Completely Wrong on Assessment of Trump

Letter to the Editor:

First, I am 56 years old and was born and raised in California. With the exception of the four years I was stationed in South Carolina I lived and raised my kids in California. I retired from State employment in 2016 after 22 years when my injuries from a major submarine accident in the Navy forced me to retire early. In 2018 we left California as we could bo longer stomach the stupidity of the communist rule there.

I just read your opinion piece about Ron DeSantis leaving the race. I feel you are completely wrong in your assessment concerning Trump and the presidential race. DeSantis promised his constituents that if they gave him a second term he would fulfill the entirety of that term. I know a lot of people in Florida that wouldn't support him on that basis alone. As far as Trump failing to meet all of his promises; so the constant attacks from the communist Dems and RINOs in your estimation had nothing to do with his inability to accomplish his goals? There hasn't been any President since Lincoln that has had as much hate thrown at him as Trump. The leftists will never be punished for what they did to the election in 2020. They and the RINOs will continue the same evil deeds unless they are stopped. Trump being reelected will send a very loud message and maybe a majority of the Republicans in that swamp will run with it and fight to make the changes that need to be started. For way too long that swamp has been out of control and Trump is the one with the biggest mouth and strongest constitution that will be able to get the changes started. I don't like many of the attacks that come from Trumps mouth, but he needs to be the one to go back and get the changes he thinks need to be done started in the right direction. Otherwise the RINOs and communists will have won & from now on they will use the same playbook to destroy ANYONE that they believe threatens their established rule over us subjects. 

--Rick Neault

Rick:

Thanks for your letter. I am still surviving here in California. I notice your 530 area code. Are you from Redding, Siskiyou, Modoc?

Responding to some of your charges:

When did Governor Ron DeSantis promise to fulfill his second term, not run for President? He never made any pledge during the 2022 debates against Charlie Crist. If you can find that statement, then prove me wrong.

Regarding the attacks on Trump and his inability to keep his promises:

1. He strong-armed many members of Congress to get The First Step Act. He could have done that with immigration, but didn't.
2. Most of the laws empowering the President on border security already exist. They need to be enforced, but Trump did not do that.
3. He could have taxed the remittances to Mexico to pay for the wall, but not only did he NOT do that, he made excuses about not doing it.

Yes, Abraham Lincoln faced a lot of hate, but he still got the job done.

Trump locked down the country following the COVID-19 outbreak. He didn't have to, and he even urged Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as well as Gov. DeSantis to reinstate health mandates. He went along with all of it, undermining our constitutional Republic.

You talk about the Swamp being out of control. Could not agree with you more. Yet you have chief swamp creatures like Lindsey Graham who are supporting ... TRUMP! Please explain why that does not concern you. Don't forget that Trump signed off on not one, not two, but THREE bad budget bills, including the last one in 2020, which funded the Biden regime for nearly a year. Trump could have vetoed every one of those terrible budgets. He holds the blame for that, for the COVID lockdowns, for the $8 trillion increase in the national debt, for doing nearly nothing during the George Floyd riots. I notice that you have not refuted my criticisms of the President on those fronts.

In too many cases, Trump was his own worst enemy, picking fights where not needed, making big promises then backing away from them, and then making excuses for not getting things done.

And again, you have not refuted my points about Trump v. DeSantis. You confirm my argument, that many current Trump supporters are driven more by emotion and identity politics than reason, policy, or attention to detail.

Thanks for writing, and I will be sharing this letter.

Sincerely,

Arthur Schaper

Really, What is Wrong With American Voters?

The Iowa caucuses are over. Trump won over his closest rival by double-digits, two-to-one over Governor Ron DeSantis.

I wish the Governor of Florida the best, but let's face it: this primary is over. Granted, the Iowa caucuses have not been the strongest indicator of who the GOP nominee would be in many elections. In all those cases, however, you did not have a former incumbent running for re-election. This time, the indication is clear: Trump is going to be the GOP nominee.

Trump got 52% of the vote, and DeSantis straggled behind in a distant second with 21% of the vote. This election loss is a shellacking for DeSantis. I believe that he will "Never Back Down," and he will stay true to his core commitment to fight all the way. Good for him. He is a worthy presidential candidate.

The problem is that the voters are not worthy voters. American voters turned down the greatest governor in a generation. 

Let me explain.

In 2016, I had supported Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for Presidente because he accomplished unprecedented reforms and advanced a robust conservative agenda for his time. Walker took on Big Labor in the Progressive epicenter of the United States (for the record, it was not California where the Progressive political movement took off, but Wisconsin). Walker won three statewide victories in what was then recognized as a blue state, including a bitter recall battle, in a state that voted for the Democrat presidential nominee every election since 1988. Walker continued to get the job done expanding gun rights, cutting taxes, cutting spending, paying down massive debt, expanding worker rights, school choice, protecting life and families: everything a conservative could  want from a governor and a future president.

On the presidential trail, he fizzled out in September 2015, over-extending his resources without honing a strong, pugilist populist message against frontrunner Donald J. Trump.

In 2023 and into this year, DeSantis corrected all those campaign mistakes. He properly apportioned his campaign funding. He fought the media hard and won. He went after Trump and all his failures and false promises. He did the Full Grassley, he connected with everyday voters, he stepped up for every debate. He is a masterful communicator, refreshing if not riveting. Yet for all that, Iowa GOP caucus voters said "No thank you," and voted for the former incumbent.

DeSantis did everything right, and he still lost. The fault, dear reader, is not in the candidate, but in the voters. They see themselves as underlings who need Trump again. They long for the Trump administration, with its lower taxes, cheap gas, better economy, etc. Yet for some reason, they have no problem forgetting about COVID, all the broken promises, the bad management in the White House, his failure to secure the border, etc. For some reason, nothing is ever Trump's fault, and it doesn't matter that he didn't get the job done the first time.

Unlike Scott Walker, Ron DeSantis accomplished even more conservative reforms with a broader constitutional vision. For the record, Scott Walker went all in for corporate handouts. He provided taxpayer subsidies to sports arenas, and he was supporting The Trans Pacific Partnership economic program, which would have pushed more American jobs overseas. He was for more immigration, but following a massive backlash among primary voters, he switched gears and spoke out forcefully against amnesty. I was willing to trust him then because he repealed the DREAM Act in Wisconsin. In sharp contrast, DeSantis accomplished more robust reforms on immigration, life, the Second Amendment, the rule of state government in the livees of everyday Floridians, plus the fact that he stood up to Big Business and Big Labor and won! DeSantis is Walker on steroids, and Trump with results.

Where Walker reformed universities by cutting their funding and forcing them to streamline their spending, DeSantis focused on ideological changes so that they stopped churning out Marxist activists. DeSantis enacted constitutional carry and repealed gun control measures. DeSantis boldly and triumphantly declared: "Florida is where woke goes to die," and it is dying. The biggest promoted of woke cultural marxism is in fully collapse, as the Florida Democratic Party faces the same fate as the California Republican Party: becoming a controlled, dessicated, destroyed opposition movement that cannot muster a statewide election win in the near future.

And yet, Iowa voters went with Trump in 2024.

What is going on here?

A stunning and sobering reality, when it comes to politics, campaigns, and elections, Republicans are the liberals, while Democrats are the business-minded conservatives. Democrats assess the costs, the strategies, the efforts needed to get the job done. They invest campaign funding where they are most likely to flip a seat and win an election. They will search for every resource, legal and extra-legal, to win the election. 

Democrats have to win to fulfill their promises. Republicans don't really have to win to get their supporters what they want. Darren Beattie and Congressman Andy Biggs furnished a great analysis of grift and graft in politics. For Democrats, the grift is taxpayer dollars, so they have to win elections to hand out the spoils. For Republicans, for the Right in general, the campaign itself is the grift. Consultants get 15% of the campaign funds, whether their candidate wins or loses. The incentive to win is not nearly as strong, and it doesn't matter in the long run. Also, many grassroots Republicans are more interested in conferences and gatherings, taking photos with media influencers are getting a chance to meet a Congressman. They just want to party.

Republicans often donate money to candidates because they are taking on big, bad Democratic monsters like Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi. It feels good. However, those Republican candidates don't have a chance against entrenched incumbents in uber-liberal Congressional districts. Voters would be better served donating their funds to candidates in swing districts, but most Republican voters go with "Look at the black conservative running against Maxine Waters!" or "I want to support that young lady running against Nancy Pelosi!" It's identity politics and emotion all the way. That kind of thinking does not win the war. You have to maintain a cold, rugged, naked desire to win power, and to use the best strategies to get that power. Governor DeSantis understand this desire for power, but the GOP voting electorate does not. 

Let's look back to what a real winner DeSantis is.

DeSantis destroyed the Democratic Party in Florida. He didn't just score big wins for the Florida GOP and enact a robust agenda. You have hundreds of thousands of voters switching their registration or joining the Florida Republican Party. They are winning over county after county, and they are achieving unprecedented gains throughout the state. Democrats want to turn their states into one-party fiefdoms. Only Governor DeSantis has shown a robust attention to this kind of total victory against Woke, Cultural Marxism, and Racialized Communism.

He doesn't just fight, he doesn't just win, he wins bigly and demoralizes the Left.

And Iowa GOP voters went forT rump. Sad.

This outcome reminds me of a reality TV show in which a lucky lady gets to choose between two eligible bachelors. One is a wealthy investor, owns a home, multiple properties, has a strong, steady career, but he's a nerd. The other guy is a buff weightlifter, good looking and charismatic, but still loves at home with his parents.

DeSantis would be the best of both of those eligible bachelors. He is good on TV, he makes strong points, he has a vision for the future. He wins big culturally, economically, and even spiritually. Politically speaking, he is wise and good-lucking. And yet, the voters are turning down the rich stud and going with a flabby sellout who talks big and accomplishes little.

Why?

It all comes down to identity politics and feelings. Worse, it's like the domestic violence victims who have become so attached to their trauma, who identity all too closely with their abuser, that they cannot see themselves living with anyone else, or getting someone better. There are serious problems in the American voting electorate at this point. They are so desperate for former times, that they will take the wife-beater who at least paid the bills and provided a roof over their head versus Prince Charming who won't treat them like trash.

Instead of reason and research, voters are going with nostalgia and coping. They want to feel good, and they want to believe that they are saving the country because they show up to vote once every four years and watch Fox News faithfully. Not going to happen, and many of these voters are going to learn the hard way that feelings, thoughts, prayers, and lots of hope do not win elections and do not shape the culture.

Governor DeSantis was the president we needed, but not the President that the United States deserves. Iowa voters missed their opportunity to elect the most consistently conservative candidate in a generation, if not an entire century, because they wanted to chase the headlines and feel good about themselves. The problem was not the candidate, but the voters, and changing the voters is going to take much longer than one election cycle.

Steve Deace Analyzes DeSantis Momentum

I am going to leave this post here:

If you are a precinct captain for @RonDeSantis in the #IowaCaucus here are some great points to make to voters IMO:

1) There’s a reason Florida had the red wave the rest of the country didn’t in the midterms, and DeSantis won the largest landslide in Florida history — he’s the…

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) January 15, 2024

Deace provides great analysis, for sure.

Democratic Desperation: Iowa Dems Roll out Al "Grabber Gate" Franken to Help US Senate Candidate

Democrats want Al Franken to endorse candidates. Really.

 

Now this is just pathetic.

It's not good enough, not smart enough, and doggone it, I don't like it. It's just plain creepy.

But it's par for the course for the sick, broke, disgusted, sickening, decrepit, vile, communistic Democratic Party.

They actually recruited disgraced sexual deviant Al Franken to endorse and campaign for another flailing US Senate candidate, this time in Iowa:

Hello People of the World, It’s me – Al Franken! – interrupting your inbox to hit you up for a donation to help elect Senator Franken. Just to be clear: I’m not running for Senate (not right now anyway). No. I’m emailing you about Admiral Mike Franken, the Democrat running for Senate in Iowa against the spineless fossil known as Chuck Grassley. As far as we can tell, Mike and I are not related. But we’ve got a whole lot else in common. He’s a retired three-star Admiral who commanded destroyers, fought pirates, and oversaw covert ops in the U.S. Navy. Okay. I did none of that. But I’m a comedy writer who wrote books about Republicans who don’t tell the truth. And I remember back in 2009, after we Democrats in the Senate had introduced the Affordable Care Act, Chuck Grassley flat out lied about it. He said, referring to the so-called “death panels” that the ACA would determine “when you pulled the plug on grandma.” Grassley had to walk that back. But then he voted against the ACA. And did so repeatedly, year after year. But finally, after learning that Americans and Iowans overwhelmingly like the health care coverage they get under the Affordable Care Act, Grassley has pledged NOT to vote to change it! Mike Franken is a man of integrity. And he’s got a real shot at defeating Chuck. But this race could be as close as my first one was. And that other spineless fossil, Mitch McConnell, and his Super PAC buddies are going to drop millions to try to win it. If Mike Franken is going to follow in my footsteps and become the next Senator Franken, he needs people like you to chip in to his campaign today: I’m personally asking you to split $10 now (or whatever amount your heart desires) between Mike’s campaign and our friends at 314 Action to help him defeat Chuck Grassley this November and protect Democrats’ majority in the Senate. If you’ve stored your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will be immediately split between Mike Franken and 314 Action Fund. CHIP IN $10 IMMEDIATELY » CHIP IN $25 IMMEDIATELY » CHIP IN $50 IMMEDIATELY » CHIP IN $100 IMMEDIATELY » CHIP IN $200 IMMEDIATELY » CHIP IN ANOTHER AMOUNT » Control of the Senate is at stake – and our democracy is on the ballot. On behalf of the entire Franken clan, thank you. Al VICE ADMIRAL FRANKEN (RET) IS A FORMER MEMBER OF THE U.S. NAVY. USE OF HIS MILITARY RANK, JOB TITLES, AND PHOTOGRAPHS IN UNIFORM DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY OR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

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The Democratic Party is not good enough, not smart enough, and doggone it, they are so desperate, that they have sexual deviants, perverts, and offenders trying to help them out, because no one else wants anything to do with them.

More YUGE News: Trump Pumping Up in the Polls

The news just gets YUGer and YUGer.

I must confess, one of the reasons I was getting warmer to supporting Trump was that he was polling so well in  ... Pennsylvania!

That working class, Rust Belt state is just what the Republican Party needs to start winning wider swaths of voters again.

Republicans care about secure families as well as secure borders. This message should resonate with everyone in the Keystone State. And yet election after election, Pennsylvania falls into Democratic hands. The residents of the Commonwealth need to wake up and recognize that the Democratic Party of the 1980s has sold out to communistic elitist elements.

The Democratic Party of today has lost all respect and caring for working people. They have caved to the globalists and have rejected the hearth and home of local communities.

Donald Trump connects with these voters, these families.

And he should have a good chance of winning more states in the Rust Belt, including Michigan and Wisconsin.

In fact some of the good news that I read today shows Trump now ahead in Ohio by five points!

Five is the cushion that every Republican should hope for, Voter fraud or last minute dust-ups can shake an otherwise solid lead.

Trump is ahead of Hillary Clinton by five points! The US Senate candidate, incumbent Rob Portman, is trouncing former Democratic Governor Ted Strickland by TWENTY points.

This is YUGE! Portman is making Ohio Great Again, and so will Donald Trump.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is already rethinking their strategy and delaying campaign funds to the Buckeye State.

The Buckeye State is the Bulls-eye for Republicans in every election. A Republican Presidential candidate sweeps this and the other Rust Belt states, and he has won the election.

Speaking of sweeping states ...

Trump is now ahead in Sunshiny Florida, another must-win. The latest polls show Trump gaining an nice incremental again. Previous polls have shown Hillary right on the edge, but still winning (only within the margin of error).

Marco Rubio is a strong and welcome voter draw in that state, too, since he is running for re-election. Keep in mind that Trump has barely invested any time in that state, and he is just about overcome the polling gap with the Democratic nominee.

Imagine how Trump will do in Florida once he starts investing major time and resources there!

In Iowa, were US Senator Chuck Grassley is working hard and showing himself very strong, Trump is gaining a stronger advantage. The Republican registration now overlaps the Democratic numbers. The state is staying solidly in the Trump camp.

North Carolina is coming back to Trump, as well. Richard Burr has campaigned on solid issues which should hold at bay disruptive concerns to distract voters from key concerns. The jury is still out on Wisconsin and Michigan. Trump just paid a key visit to Flint, to commiserate and connect with the residents outraged by the long-time Democratic incompetence which has ruined the city's water supply.

Other unique developments ... Maine is starting to tilt toward the Trump column, too? Two states rely on Congressional representation for the Electoral college, which means that candidates who win the majority vote in each Congressional district win one electoral vote, and the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote wins two electoral votes (for the US Senators).

Trump is topping out in ME-2, represented by Bruce Poliquin, and with a plurality victory in the other district, the Donald could score three electoral votes right there!

The map is getting better and better for Trump, while Clinton is watching more swing states swing away from her sphere of influence. Other reports even suggest that Colorado is starting to tilt back to Republican hands

Looking over the latest map on FiveThirtyEight.com, if Trump maintains his leads in those key states, and flips Nevada, he wins the election.