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Steve Jolly
Steve Jolly
1 year ago

“For many of these voters, Trump — a representative of the old regime, albeit a reluctant one — is likely to be increasingly regarded as uncool at best and an unwitting tool of elite interests at worst.”
This is hitting the nail right on the head. For all that Trump did to move the political goalposts and show just how deep anti-elite, anti-global sentiments in middle America run, his actual policy was basically the border wall plus a lot of run of the mill Republican fare. Painting him as not smart/savvy enough to actually do what he promised is not actually a tough sell. DeSantis has to realize he could easily beat Trump at this point. He is the political darling of the populist movement and everyone knows it. He has the populist appeal but without Trump’s many and well known personal flaws. Populist Republicans will look for him to pick up the torch dropped by an election denying grievance nursing Trump. Establishment Republicans will try to corrupt him and quietly oppose the more populist parts of his agenda. Democrats will pull out all the stops to demonize him because they recognize the threat. He has the potential to dramatically shift American politics if he can capture the anti-elite vote without losing wide swaths of the electorate to offensive rhetoric. DeSantis is the only legitimate chance for another Reagan revolution type election victory that would propel the country out of the current polarized dynamic. I suspect the reason he has not announced a candidacy is because he, and other Republicans, want to extract some kind of promise from Trump not to run as a third party candidate when he inevitably loses the primary. Republicans don’t want to fire their golden bullet if Trump is going to get in the way.

Last edited 1 year ago by Steve Jolly
Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Jolly

Totally agree about Desantis. He is the future of populism. Trump has way way way too much baggage.

To be fair to Trump though, he did try to reduce govt regulations and had some success. He went hard at the EPA, one of the more opaque institutions that has throttled economic growth. He also did some good things in the Middle East.

John Smithson
John Smithson
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Jolly

Ron DeSantis is a plodder with little charisma. That didn’t hurt him in the last election, but it will hurt him if he goes national.
And he’s 44 years old with a net worth of about $350,000. There’s nothing wrong with that, and a low net worth didn’t stop Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. But he lacks the entrepreneurial flare that a Donald Trump has.
I know a lot of people don’t like people like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, but they know how to get things done. Especially Donald Trump. The man’s a genius at human relations. He knows how to push buttons to get things done. Ron DeSantis hasn’t shown any ability to do the same.

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Jolly

Totally agree about Desantis. He is the future of populism. Trump has way way way too much baggage.

To be fair to Trump though, he did try to reduce govt regulations and had some success. He went hard at the EPA, one of the more opaque institutions that has throttled economic growth. He also did some good things in the Middle East.

John Smithson
John Smithson
1 year ago
Reply to  Steve Jolly

Ron DeSantis is a plodder with little charisma. That didn’t hurt him in the last election, but it will hurt him if he goes national.
And he’s 44 years old with a net worth of about $350,000. There’s nothing wrong with that, and a low net worth didn’t stop Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. But he lacks the entrepreneurial flare that a Donald Trump has.
I know a lot of people don’t like people like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, but they know how to get things done. Especially Donald Trump. The man’s a genius at human relations. He knows how to push buttons to get things done. Ron DeSantis hasn’t shown any ability to do the same.

Steve Jolly
Steve Jolly
1 year ago

“For many of these voters, Trump — a representative of the old regime, albeit a reluctant one — is likely to be increasingly regarded as uncool at best and an unwitting tool of elite interests at worst.”
This is hitting the nail right on the head. For all that Trump did to move the political goalposts and show just how deep anti-elite, anti-global sentiments in middle America run, his actual policy was basically the border wall plus a lot of run of the mill Republican fare. Painting him as not smart/savvy enough to actually do what he promised is not actually a tough sell. DeSantis has to realize he could easily beat Trump at this point. He is the political darling of the populist movement and everyone knows it. He has the populist appeal but without Trump’s many and well known personal flaws. Populist Republicans will look for him to pick up the torch dropped by an election denying grievance nursing Trump. Establishment Republicans will try to corrupt him and quietly oppose the more populist parts of his agenda. Democrats will pull out all the stops to demonize him because they recognize the threat. He has the potential to dramatically shift American politics if he can capture the anti-elite vote without losing wide swaths of the electorate to offensive rhetoric. DeSantis is the only legitimate chance for another Reagan revolution type election victory that would propel the country out of the current polarized dynamic. I suspect the reason he has not announced a candidacy is because he, and other Republicans, want to extract some kind of promise from Trump not to run as a third party candidate when he inevitably loses the primary. Republicans don’t want to fire their golden bullet if Trump is going to get in the way.

Last edited 1 year ago by Steve Jolly
Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart
1 year ago

Yesterdays man, done now.

Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart
1 year ago

Yesterdays man, done now.

Paul S
Paul S
1 year ago

‘De Sanctimonious’ was limp. Might be losing his edge.

Paul S
Paul S
1 year ago

‘De Sanctimonious’ was limp. Might be losing his edge.

R Wright
R Wright
1 year ago

Unfortunately the party is over. Trump is not only distinctly unbased. He is cringe.

R Wright
R Wright
1 year ago

Unfortunately the party is over. Trump is not only distinctly unbased. He is cringe.

Graeme McNeil
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago

Trump remains the intellectual leader of the conservative movement – which is highly amusing for everyone else!
Diamond and Silk?!?!? It just gets bettter!

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Graeme McNeil

Who’s the intellectual leader of Dems. I won’t call them liberal and leftist is dubious. AOC maybe?

Graeme McNeil
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

AOC is an intellectual giant compared to the fat clown hiding out at Mar a Lago!

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Graeme McNeil

That was helpful. How many people in this site do you think are Trump fanboys? 100%, 50%, 20%? Because I’m not seeing a bunch of them.

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Graeme McNeil

That was helpful. How many people in this site do you think are Trump fanboys? 100%, 50%, 20%? Because I’m not seeing a bunch of them.

Lesley van Reenen
Lesley van Reenen
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

Biden?

Graeme McNeil
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

AOC is an intellectual giant compared to the fat clown hiding out at Mar a Lago!

Lesley van Reenen
Lesley van Reenen
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

Biden?

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago
Reply to  Graeme McNeil

Who’s the intellectual leader of Dems. I won’t call them liberal and leftist is dubious. AOC maybe?

Graeme McNeil
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago

Trump remains the intellectual leader of the conservative movement – which is highly amusing for everyone else!
Diamond and Silk?!?!? It just gets bettter!

Graeme McNeil
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago

I see that Musk has reinstated Nick Fuentes as well as Trump and various other racists, neo nazis and general losers. No surprise there – these scum tend to run together…

Graeme McNeil
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago

I see that Musk has reinstated Nick Fuentes as well as Trump and various other racists, neo nazis and general losers. No surprise there – these scum tend to run together…

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Are we sure that he actually does Twitter himself? The man is virtually illiterate, with a vocabulary of a 9 year old?

Nicky Samengo-Turner
Nicky Samengo-Turner
1 year ago

Are we sure that he actually does Twitter himself? The man is virtually illiterate, with a vocabulary of a 9 year old?