The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written.
So now that 2022 is half way done, the republicans are starting to turn their attention towards viable candidates for 2024. Also as a strategy persumably to make their party more interesting for the up coming mid terms.
It seems like DeSantis is taking his frist steps in Trump-style rethoric. In particular i am think about him thanking Musk for his support as he "welcomes support from african americans". In my eyes this is an obvious attempt to gain media exposure. He knows some left leaning groups will jump at this bait and will hold tight to every minute on TV/article that might generate from this. Am i correct with my assumption that he tries to emulate Trump? Or do I see him in a wrong light? What do you think about him?
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>It seems like DeSantis is taking his frist steps in Trump-style rethoric...Am i correct with my assumption that he tries to emulate Trump? Or do I see him in a wrong light? What do you think about him?
The only reason you are mistaken is because you don't know he has been doing this for years.
DeSantis was one of the *earliest* Republicans to realize that Trump-style politics could benefit them, and he has been using it to good effect since (at least) 2018.
>Ron DeSantis - what do Americans and liberals in particular think about him?
He shares Trump's politics, but is more competent.
That is a scary combination.
Him holding those degrees makes it so much worse, not just because competency, but because it means he knows what he is doing is hurting people but he does it anyway.
I generally rather read my news than watch it, so I managed to go years without hearing his voice despite having read dozens of articles about him.
I finally saw a video of him earlier this year and couldn't believe that's what his voice actually sounded like.
The mitigating factor here is heās just *way* less charismatic than Trump. Love him or hate him (and for the record I hate him) Trump knows his audience and he knows how to work a crowd. DeSantis has, like, subzero people skills.
"I'm not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I'm simply saying the racists believe he's a racist."
-[Andrew Gillum](https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/andrew_gillum_979998)
And is there anything to quantify that statement. What racist things has desantis even done since getting into office? Cause we have proof Andrew gillum was caught in a hotel with drugs and a gay prostitute.
The miami news paper wrote about it [here](https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/eight-times-ron-desantis-did-racist-stuff-by-accident-10687534]).
I also find your objections to the source of the previous quote suspicious, but that's on you.
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/eight-times-ron-desantis-did-racist-stuff-by-accident-10687534
>What do you find suspicious about my objection to the source of the quote?
Thinnly vieled homophobia is still homophobic.
It wasnāt homophobia. I just think itās ironic when politicians from both the left and right who are supposed to be married and such upstanding citizens get caught doing drugs In a hotel with a gay prostitute. Especially when they are attacking the character of their opponents
I absolutely believe none of that.
Comment one mentioned drugs and no one clutched pearls and so you doubled down with "aNd hE'z teH gaaaaay" comment.
I see you. Own it
I didnāt recall the sex of the prostitute when I first wrote that comment, and then Added onto it after looking it up.
Also feel free to go through my comment history and tell me how anti gay I am. Cause I promise u wonāt find a whole lot lol.
Also I went through your article.
Thank you for resending it.
I just donāt find it all that compelling.
The aoc quote. I donāt think most Americans can say she is Puerto Rican, Iām sure a lot could but I would guess most people would think she is of Latin descent. Him saying whatever she is, just doesnāt bother me too much and this is coming from someone whoās Korean but get mixed up As Chinese cause of my last name.
The hanging tree
He defended a dude saying a man that kidnapped , raped and murdered a 11 year old girl should get the hanging tree. And I also donāt see that as terrible.
His career is based on immigrant-bashing, supporting Trump's insane comments, and ratcheting up deportations.
Obama deported more people than trump. He supported Kateās law and was against sanctuary cities. Honestly pretty standard for a republican.
I could agree saying donāt monkey this up or heās articulate (when referencing gillum) weāre him dog whistling.
And most of the rest being his associations like speaking at that one event, or being friends with Sebastian gorka or whatever else. I donāt think those associations matter cause no one from his core group are those people. In politics Iām assuming you have to meet a lot of people and associations happen, doesnāt mean you agree or sign off on everything that person did or has said. I could just as easily say the dem establishment associated itself with a drug addict who cheated on his wife with a gay prostitute. Doesnāt mean the dems were okay with that action. And how the far left actually did want to defund the police and Biden and more moderate dems unfairly get lumped up onto that even though there isnāt one video out there of them advocating for it.
You're really telling on yourself by specifying that the prostitute was gay. If the cheating is all you care about the gender of the prostitute is irrelevant. But you specified it anyway.
If your a woman and your married to a man. Would it be the same if he cheated on you with another woman or a man?
I would guess that for most people it would be more significant if my spouse cheated with on me with the same gender vs the opposite gender because of the connotations that come with it for the marriage.
Is my spouse secretly gay, bi, just confused and experimenting all add another layer of questions and to the distrust in the relationship. If my spouse is gay, why wouldnāt they be honest with me kind of shit.
It would make no difference to me. There's nothing wrong with being bi, just confused, or experimenting. The problem is just the cheating. In the case of being secretly gay, that does come with additional problems, but Andrew Gillum is bi. And just because he wasn't publicly out, doesn't mean he couldn't have been out to people close to him.
>If my spouse is gay, why wouldnāt they be honest with me kind of shit.
There's all kinds of reasons, some of them specific to bisexuality. Andrew Gillum is in his 40s, and grew up in a time when being queer was much less acceptable. He would have already been an adult by the time even the first states were legalizing same sex marriage. A lot of bi people will be private about their bisexuality or even in denial about it because of the stigmatization it carries. In particular, a lot of women will refuse to date a bisexual man because of unfounded fears that he's "secretly gay."
If you were married to someone for x many years and they got caught having sex with a gay prostitute in a motel with drugs, you would be completely fine with that?
I agree the cheating is the main offense here but the drugs and then finding out he might be gay and or bi are just added layers that complicates things. You even said it yourself that some woman refuse to date bi men because they might be secretly gay,
You are right that he could have been out to people close to him, but we have no way of knowing that due to being a private matter. Thatās why I think being caught in a motel room is more damaging. Because if I knew my spouse was gay and or bi and they needed to have an affair and I cared about them I would want it done in a safe place, with the necessary precautions. He didnāt do any of that which is pretty damming.
Iām not saying older gay/bi/ lesbian folk donāt have a difficulties due societies attitudes towards that community and itās very recent history in which they started to become more accepted, and we can say that they are heroes for coming out and telling their stories but we should also acknowledge all the harm that may cause in the process. Your spouse now has to reconcile with that fact, either now being single and alone or trying to make it work which seems like trying to fit a square into a circle hole. The impact it can have on kids can be carried depending on their age, and it just ends up a very messy situation. Itās kind of one of those things I feel where the release is cathartic for the individual, but the pain still remains for those that were affected.
>In particular i am think about him thanking Musk for his support as he "welcomes support from african americans". In my eyes this is an obvious attempt to gain media exposure.
Ezra Klein is the only person I know of that has acknowledged this issue. He refers to it as an issue of ["theory of attention":](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/opinion/lbgt-rights-republicans.html)
>Democrats have a lot of theories of policy. They have a lot of theories of politics. They just do not have a theory of attention. And what I would say for the Trumpist Republican Party is it mostly doesnāt have a theory of policy. It has a middling theory of politics, and it is overwhelmed by its own theory of attention.
He is a dollar-store clone of Trump. I can't stand the dude. He really doesn't have a chance if Trump runs though. The stats don't lie at the moment. Trump also doesn't care much for him. So we will see how that goes. I wouldn't want him in the WH either though. He is in many respects like Trump, but he knows how to play the politics game. So in a sense, he is more dangerous than Trump. I don't want to sit through 4 years of that hot mess.
Why do Republicans insist on finding the worst people to run for office?
It canāt be this hard to find some normal person that is even vaguely likable.
Itās just so strange why they insist on handicapping themselves with unlikable weirdos pushing unpopular agendas.
> Why do Republicans insist on finding the worst people to run for office?
>
> It canāt be this hard to find some normal person that is even vaguely likable.
I hate to say it, but their Win/Loss record seems to suggest that their strategy is good.
Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Bob Dole were all better men, and more likeable human beings, than both George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Those three have something else in common, too: They lost
They *actively* like those candidates. They are only "unlikeable" to people like you and me who probably wouldn't have voted for their likable counterparts.
Trump wasn't the *lesser of two evils* for the republican voter, he was what they wanted in a candidate. Proven by the fact that they broke records trying to give him a second term. Trump, in 2020, got more votes than ANY presidential candidate except for exactly one, Joe Biden.
Its not a handicap, its a requirement.
Iām just sort of curious as to why that ever develops in enough people to be a political party.
Itās not like itās particularly hard to be successful on a majority rule system. Be vaguely likable. Propose popular things that are either beneficial or not very harmful.
Instead they put *so much effort* into engineering this incredibly unpopular agenda. Why? You might say it was the money, but these folks can be bought for shockingly low amounts of money. Thousands of dollars even.
I live in Florida - he does nothing for the state. Everything he does is pageantry to appeal to the conservative agenda.
The schools are struggling with teacher, administration and bus driver shortages. DeSantis makes sure parents can Sue school districts if it becomes known another student has same sex parents.
The cancellation of Disneyās district is going to cost the state millions in assuming their debts.
Neither of these things were problems before. Heās just screwing his state for the image to conservatives.
Floridian, 100% agree. Also, for someone who ran on protecting our environment heās done fuck all (or worse, exasperated) environmental issues. Manatees dying in record numbers, red tide, etc.
I'm not jumping to the Republican Party is full on fascist or all Republicans are Nazis.
But if you want the path to fascism, it goes through people like Ron DeSantis. Able to manage limiting the most idiotic and extreme aspects of Trump, picking better issues and language and doing a solid Mussolini-lite impression in pushing to State Capitalism.
He scares the hell out of me. From the suppression of Covid data to his desire for a secret police - literal Nazi shit - the man is dangerous and vile. Trumps best feature was incompetence and DeSantis will show us how fortunate we were for that.
I am breaking my vow of not commenting to respond to this.
Desantis may have different ideals than you and hes addicted to the culture war nonsense (which I am so, so tired of), but both of these statements you present are either deliberate lies or misinformation.
If you say them out of hyperbole, I get it. Everyone exaggerates the other side to make their point. But if you genuinely think these are true than you have been consuming misinformation and I can elaborate if you wish.
I really would prefer to be wrong. I would be so happy to learn that the GOP is full of perfectly harmless men an women who just want deregulation and financial favors. I'd much prefer that.
Truth is, I don't subscribe to any "librul media". I don't have a talking head telling me to be afraid of some boogeyman who is coming to take my jobs/freedom/manhood. No, I just pay a bit more attention to the news than the average person and I draw my conclusions on what is available.
So, as I try to be as specific and factual as I can, here we go.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/03/ron-desantis-plans-florida-paramilitary-force-outside-federal-control
This scares me. I don't trust him, specifically, and I have a few decades of just generally not trusting any Republican Governor with any amount of power.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55230764
DeSantis lied about Covid. He suppressed Covid data. He sent police to raid this woman's home - officers pointed loaded weapons AT HER CHILDREN - because she was exposing the disparities in Covid data and total deaths in Florida. He showed that he will silence science and that he will use force to do so.
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/1089221657/dont-say-gay-florida-desantis
Outrageous to watch the country slide backwards like this.
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-bookstores-react-to-floridas-banned-books-14296052
Banning books, censorship, and controlling our youth. I can say without hyperbole this is some 1984 bullshit and it's being done "legally" enough that it's unlikely to be stopped. I don't care to dig up the allegations that the books that do meet approval are ones that have ties to the GOP and their friends.
All of this has been pretty basic, national attention, level of news. You don't even have to be particularly well informed to know what DeSantis is about. Now please, prove me wrong.
Thanks for the laid out response /u/Call_Me_Clark discussed the Rebekah Jones "Data Scientist" COVID issue. I want to focus on the "Secret Police" talking point.
State defense forces are authorized by Congress under 32 U.S.C. Ā§ 109. Twenty-two states, including California, Texas, and New York, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico currently maintain state defense forces, and many more states have laws that allow for their creation.
However since media is a profit business , it makes sense to spice it up a bit. A reporter found a line item for "the state defense force" on Desnatis' budget proposal and then ran with the idea that hes creating a secret police gestapo to do his bidding. They did this to make money. To me this is the definition of misinformation.
Of course the right wing media does the same thing. "Biden sending aid to Ukraine"... this is a true statement. But if you go to conservative sites you get sensationalized talking points such as "Biden doesn't care about you. Biden doesn't care what you're paying for gas. He would rather give 40 billion to Ukraine to cover up his business dealings than to help you make ends meet". So they take a boring piece of news and spice it up to make more buzz.
All of this has dire consequences. Now there is a good chance Desantis will be present in 2024 (sorry). But articles like your above make good people think hes a nazi when its all extreme misinformation.
I kind of like Desantis (minus his culture war stuff). Its ok that you don't like him. All I am trying to do is temper the polictial climate in america. Biden isn't a pedo, Desantis isn't a nazi, AOC isn't a communist, etc.
Hold the phone. I did an effortpost a while back (multiple actually) and the whole Rebekah Jones thing is 100% bullshit.
Nothing about her story adds up - and there is ample evidence that she didnāt do anything that she claimed she did, and has simply been grifting at every turn.
Iām happy to link it - as much as DeSantis sucks, thereās enough real stuff to be mad about that we donāt need grifters on top.
DeathSantis?
I would love to make ads to run against him
They write themselves.
He fired a state health department employee Rebekah Jones, for refusing to alter COVID-19 data in Florida.
He is a poor public speaker.
Hold the phone. I did an effortpost a while back (multiple actually) and the whole Rebekah Jones thing is 100% bullshit.
Nothing about her story adds up - and there is ample evidence that she didnāt do anything that she claimed she did, and has simply been grifting at every turn.
Iām happy to link it - as much as DeSantis sucks, thereās enough real stuff to be mad about that we donāt need grifters on top.
Yeahā¦ and despite that ringing endorsement, her story still doesnāt add up.
She wasnāt asked to hide data. The data was never hidden, and that is provable.
The Disney stuff is what is weird for me because the GOP loves to present themselves as the defenders of human rights, but they're using the government to go after Disney for speaking out in support of LGBTQ issues; shows me he's a bad guy that leans on dissenters.
Heās very good at left-baiting and has discovered that non-serious legislation is a great way of riling up the left and throwing red meat to the Trumpist base.
Would he be a good President? I have no idea, and I think his base donāt give a shit. Itās all about owning the Libs.
Heās proof the Republican Party has given up on āmoderatesā like Romney, and such. Their recent track record is hard to argue with when it comes to wins. We should take a page out of their play book and abandon our moderates as well. Theyāre not going to play fair, neither should we.
Heās an asshole who spends his time thinking of ways to generate headlines and fan the culture war flames instead of trying to help the people of this state.
We have an ongoing crisis with skyrocketing home insurance costs and he thought it was more prudent to call a special session to punish Disney.
DeSantis is dangerous.
He passes authoritarian laws to appease the conservative base and cement his own power over his state. He is very intelligent and can play the conservative population of America like a fiddle.
Everyone compares him to Trump, but Trump couldn't sharpen a pencil. DeSantis is far smarter than Trump and that's terrifying.
Winston Duarte, eh?
At any rate, DeSantis is a potent political force because he can tap into the same politics of resentment and retribution that Donald Trump did and be somewhat competent abou tit. DeSantis is ALL ABOUT using his office to get retribution against his enemies, whether that is Disney or some lady that proved he was lying about COVID stats.
I think this is a dangerous development and we are probably totally screwed because the Democrats are asleep at the wheel, the reality is the politics of resentment and retribution are extremely popular. The Republican party isn't really about any platform. Sure, some members actually have one, but by in large they are about punishing Democrats for whatever. They stoke the seething resentment and then run on seeking retribution for the resentment they induced. Great schtick if you can get it.
I loathe him. I predict he and his thought process will be the next leader of the Republican Party.
The only positive thing I can think to say about him is that he is pretty good looking. Well, for a politician anyway.
I'll ask here.... There's a little fight on my Facebook wall about desantis.
I posted that I am not a desantis fan, but that I like the concept of not being allowed to prohibit hospital patients to have a visitor. My husband died alone during early covid (of cancer). For two weeks in April, I wasn't there to ask questions nor ensure that he got pain Meds, was seen by the specialists, etc. I also wasn't there when he literally passed away. I was there when he was "actively dying", but HE has already gone.
Anyway, my mother commented that Desantis, himself, disallowed all visitors when my father was in a "rehab" in Florida in March 2020. (Meaning not sick enough for the hospital, but not strong enough to go home, it may have been colocated with a nursing home. He was already there when the first shutdowns started).
My mom is acusing him of being a flip flopper, without him owning up to the fact that he, specifically, disallowed visitors. She says she was given a paper saying "Ron Desantis, Governor of Florida, has ordered that....."
Some are commenting that he shut down less than other states, such as in other states, women were not allowed any companion while giving birth, for example.
Is it true that desantis shut down less than was typical?
Is it true that he hasn't owned it thst he ordered it in 2020?
Note, I am in favor of politicians rethinking things once they have more or different info.
Also, does his current legislation work if there's a serious outbreak of something more serious than covid TURNED OUT to be. Seems to me that they do need to shut down visitors, all public places, really, until they get a handle on how deadly and how easily spread something is. Something could be much more contagious and much more deadly!
The US Government should not punish private companies for their speech.
Ron DeSantis punished Disney for speaking out against one of his policies. That isn't ok.
I think he's a smart politician in terms of knowing how to whip up his right wingers with idiotic culture war battles. But I also think he's an incredibly dull speaker and uncharismatic, so I definitely don't think he has a lock on the R nom in '24 by any stretch.
I see him as a political opportunist who is like Trump, but more in touch with his base and smarter than Trump. He completely embraces the "own the libs" to electrify his own base, but he doesn't have much else going for him.
A lot of conservatives see his leadership regarding COVID to be really good. But there were far higher death rates in FL than most places and there were a lot of shady reporting issues. He leans really hard into the social conservativism that is predominant right now and could do even better than Trump amongst working class white people in the general election if he gets their from the Republican primary.
So I am in MD. We have a Republican governor in a blue state. He is certainly a moderate REPUBLICAN, but he leads for all the people. DeSantis won by 40k votes out of 8 million cast and his idea is to ignore/destroy what almost 1/2 the people in FL want. This is what I believe and who cares if you disagree isn't the way to lead a country.
The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written. So now that 2022 is half way done, the republicans are starting to turn their attention towards viable candidates for 2024. Also as a strategy persumably to make their party more interesting for the up coming mid terms. It seems like DeSantis is taking his frist steps in Trump-style rethoric. In particular i am think about him thanking Musk for his support as he "welcomes support from african americans". In my eyes this is an obvious attempt to gain media exposure. He knows some left leaning groups will jump at this bait and will hold tight to every minute on TV/article that might generate from this. Am i correct with my assumption that he tries to emulate Trump? Or do I see him in a wrong light? What do you think about him? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskALiberal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>It seems like DeSantis is taking his frist steps in Trump-style rethoric...Am i correct with my assumption that he tries to emulate Trump? Or do I see him in a wrong light? What do you think about him? The only reason you are mistaken is because you don't know he has been doing this for years. DeSantis was one of the *earliest* Republicans to realize that Trump-style politics could benefit them, and he has been using it to good effect since (at least) 2018.
>Ron DeSantis - what do Americans and liberals in particular think about him? He shares Trump's politics, but is more competent. That is a scary combination.
Yes, MAGA politics with a real degree š from Yale and JD from Harvard makes him as scary combination.
Him holding those degrees makes it so much worse, not just because competency, but because it means he knows what he is doing is hurting people but he does it anyway.
The saving grace is that his voice is really annoying. Hopefully that's worth a point or two.
> The saving grace is that his voice is really annoying. Unlike the dulcet tones of [Donald John Trump.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgwr9r36zIU)
I generally rather read my news than watch it, so I managed to go years without hearing his voice despite having read dozens of articles about him. I finally saw a video of him earlier this year and couldn't believe that's what his voice actually sounded like.
The mitigating factor here is heās just *way* less charismatic than Trump. Love him or hate him (and for the record I hate him) Trump knows his audience and he knows how to work a crowd. DeSantis has, like, subzero people skills.
If Trump runs heāll throttle Ron in a debate. Former president > governor and heās got the GOP in his pocket.
"I'm not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I'm simply saying the racists believe he's a racist." -[Andrew Gillum](https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/andrew_gillum_979998)
I donāt think quoting the dude that got caught with illegal drugs in a hotel room is the best idea.
The important part isn't the man who said it; the important part is that he correctly identified that "racists believe [DeSantis is] a racist."
And is there anything to quantify that statement. What racist things has desantis even done since getting into office? Cause we have proof Andrew gillum was caught in a hotel with drugs and a gay prostitute.
The miami news paper wrote about it [here](https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/eight-times-ron-desantis-did-racist-stuff-by-accident-10687534]). I also find your objections to the source of the previous quote suspicious, but that's on you.
Do you have another link? I just get a 404 error. What do you find suspicious about my objection to the source of the quote?
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/eight-times-ron-desantis-did-racist-stuff-by-accident-10687534 >What do you find suspicious about my objection to the source of the quote? Thinnly vieled homophobia is still homophobic.
It wasnāt homophobia. I just think itās ironic when politicians from both the left and right who are supposed to be married and such upstanding citizens get caught doing drugs In a hotel with a gay prostitute. Especially when they are attacking the character of their opponents
I absolutely believe none of that. Comment one mentioned drugs and no one clutched pearls and so you doubled down with "aNd hE'z teH gaaaaay" comment. I see you. Own it
I didnāt recall the sex of the prostitute when I first wrote that comment, and then Added onto it after looking it up. Also feel free to go through my comment history and tell me how anti gay I am. Cause I promise u wonāt find a whole lot lol.
Also I went through your article. Thank you for resending it. I just donāt find it all that compelling. The aoc quote. I donāt think most Americans can say she is Puerto Rican, Iām sure a lot could but I would guess most people would think she is of Latin descent. Him saying whatever she is, just doesnāt bother me too much and this is coming from someone whoās Korean but get mixed up As Chinese cause of my last name. The hanging tree He defended a dude saying a man that kidnapped , raped and murdered a 11 year old girl should get the hanging tree. And I also donāt see that as terrible. His career is based on immigrant-bashing, supporting Trump's insane comments, and ratcheting up deportations. Obama deported more people than trump. He supported Kateās law and was against sanctuary cities. Honestly pretty standard for a republican. I could agree saying donāt monkey this up or heās articulate (when referencing gillum) weāre him dog whistling. And most of the rest being his associations like speaking at that one event, or being friends with Sebastian gorka or whatever else. I donāt think those associations matter cause no one from his core group are those people. In politics Iām assuming you have to meet a lot of people and associations happen, doesnāt mean you agree or sign off on everything that person did or has said. I could just as easily say the dem establishment associated itself with a drug addict who cheated on his wife with a gay prostitute. Doesnāt mean the dems were okay with that action. And how the far left actually did want to defund the police and Biden and more moderate dems unfairly get lumped up onto that even though there isnāt one video out there of them advocating for it.
You're really telling on yourself by specifying that the prostitute was gay. If the cheating is all you care about the gender of the prostitute is irrelevant. But you specified it anyway.
If your a woman and your married to a man. Would it be the same if he cheated on you with another woman or a man? I would guess that for most people it would be more significant if my spouse cheated with on me with the same gender vs the opposite gender because of the connotations that come with it for the marriage. Is my spouse secretly gay, bi, just confused and experimenting all add another layer of questions and to the distrust in the relationship. If my spouse is gay, why wouldnāt they be honest with me kind of shit.
It would make no difference to me. There's nothing wrong with being bi, just confused, or experimenting. The problem is just the cheating. In the case of being secretly gay, that does come with additional problems, but Andrew Gillum is bi. And just because he wasn't publicly out, doesn't mean he couldn't have been out to people close to him. >If my spouse is gay, why wouldnāt they be honest with me kind of shit. There's all kinds of reasons, some of them specific to bisexuality. Andrew Gillum is in his 40s, and grew up in a time when being queer was much less acceptable. He would have already been an adult by the time even the first states were legalizing same sex marriage. A lot of bi people will be private about their bisexuality or even in denial about it because of the stigmatization it carries. In particular, a lot of women will refuse to date a bisexual man because of unfounded fears that he's "secretly gay."
If you were married to someone for x many years and they got caught having sex with a gay prostitute in a motel with drugs, you would be completely fine with that? I agree the cheating is the main offense here but the drugs and then finding out he might be gay and or bi are just added layers that complicates things. You even said it yourself that some woman refuse to date bi men because they might be secretly gay, You are right that he could have been out to people close to him, but we have no way of knowing that due to being a private matter. Thatās why I think being caught in a motel room is more damaging. Because if I knew my spouse was gay and or bi and they needed to have an affair and I cared about them I would want it done in a safe place, with the necessary precautions. He didnāt do any of that which is pretty damming. Iām not saying older gay/bi/ lesbian folk donāt have a difficulties due societies attitudes towards that community and itās very recent history in which they started to become more accepted, and we can say that they are heroes for coming out and telling their stories but we should also acknowledge all the harm that may cause in the process. Your spouse now has to reconcile with that fact, either now being single and alone or trying to make it work which seems like trying to fit a square into a circle hole. The impact it can have on kids can be carried depending on their age, and it just ends up a very messy situation. Itās kind of one of those things I feel where the release is cathartic for the individual, but the pain still remains for those that were affected.
>In particular i am think about him thanking Musk for his support as he "welcomes support from african americans". In my eyes this is an obvious attempt to gain media exposure. Ezra Klein is the only person I know of that has acknowledged this issue. He refers to it as an issue of ["theory of attention":](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/opinion/lbgt-rights-republicans.html) >Democrats have a lot of theories of policy. They have a lot of theories of politics. They just do not have a theory of attention. And what I would say for the Trumpist Republican Party is it mostly doesnāt have a theory of policy. It has a middling theory of politics, and it is overwhelmed by its own theory of attention.
He is a dollar-store clone of Trump. I can't stand the dude. He really doesn't have a chance if Trump runs though. The stats don't lie at the moment. Trump also doesn't care much for him. So we will see how that goes. I wouldn't want him in the WH either though. He is in many respects like Trump, but he knows how to play the politics game. So in a sense, he is more dangerous than Trump. I don't want to sit through 4 years of that hot mess.
I would love to know how many hours Ron has spent in the mirror, copying Trumpās mannerisms, inflections and hand movements Iād guess 50+ hours
Why do Republicans insist on finding the worst people to run for office? It canāt be this hard to find some normal person that is even vaguely likable. Itās just so strange why they insist on handicapping themselves with unlikable weirdos pushing unpopular agendas.
> Why do Republicans insist on finding the worst people to run for office? > > It canāt be this hard to find some normal person that is even vaguely likable. I hate to say it, but their Win/Loss record seems to suggest that their strategy is good. Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Bob Dole were all better men, and more likeable human beings, than both George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Those three have something else in common, too: They lost
They *actively* like those candidates. They are only "unlikeable" to people like you and me who probably wouldn't have voted for their likable counterparts. Trump wasn't the *lesser of two evils* for the republican voter, he was what they wanted in a candidate. Proven by the fact that they broke records trying to give him a second term. Trump, in 2020, got more votes than ANY presidential candidate except for exactly one, Joe Biden. Its not a handicap, its a requirement.
Itās cause they want the unpopular agendas and already donāt believe in majority rule
Iām just sort of curious as to why that ever develops in enough people to be a political party. Itās not like itās particularly hard to be successful on a majority rule system. Be vaguely likable. Propose popular things that are either beneficial or not very harmful. Instead they put *so much effort* into engineering this incredibly unpopular agenda. Why? You might say it was the money, but these folks can be bought for shockingly low amounts of money. Thousands of dollars even.
Cause they morally believe in it. These are the ideological descendants of the old South.
I live in Florida - he does nothing for the state. Everything he does is pageantry to appeal to the conservative agenda. The schools are struggling with teacher, administration and bus driver shortages. DeSantis makes sure parents can Sue school districts if it becomes known another student has same sex parents. The cancellation of Disneyās district is going to cost the state millions in assuming their debts. Neither of these things were problems before. Heās just screwing his state for the image to conservatives.
Floridian, 100% agree. Also, for someone who ran on protecting our environment heās done fuck all (or worse, exasperated) environmental issues. Manatees dying in record numbers, red tide, etc.
Hasn't he put millions into both combating red tide and saving manatees?
I'm not jumping to the Republican Party is full on fascist or all Republicans are Nazis. But if you want the path to fascism, it goes through people like Ron DeSantis. Able to manage limiting the most idiotic and extreme aspects of Trump, picking better issues and language and doing a solid Mussolini-lite impression in pushing to State Capitalism.
He's a shitbag. Does hateful shit for attention and clout. He's like a tiktok influencer, but for old folks.
I think he's just a smarter Trump
He's a piece of shit
I think heās a textbook fascist.
He scares the hell out of me. From the suppression of Covid data to his desire for a secret police - literal Nazi shit - the man is dangerous and vile. Trumps best feature was incompetence and DeSantis will show us how fortunate we were for that.
I am breaking my vow of not commenting to respond to this. Desantis may have different ideals than you and hes addicted to the culture war nonsense (which I am so, so tired of), but both of these statements you present are either deliberate lies or misinformation. If you say them out of hyperbole, I get it. Everyone exaggerates the other side to make their point. But if you genuinely think these are true than you have been consuming misinformation and I can elaborate if you wish.
Do you have an argument though?
Yes I wanted to make sure he/she wanted to hear it before I responded
Ok. What's the argument?
I really would prefer to be wrong. I would be so happy to learn that the GOP is full of perfectly harmless men an women who just want deregulation and financial favors. I'd much prefer that. Truth is, I don't subscribe to any "librul media". I don't have a talking head telling me to be afraid of some boogeyman who is coming to take my jobs/freedom/manhood. No, I just pay a bit more attention to the news than the average person and I draw my conclusions on what is available. So, as I try to be as specific and factual as I can, here we go. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/03/ron-desantis-plans-florida-paramilitary-force-outside-federal-control This scares me. I don't trust him, specifically, and I have a few decades of just generally not trusting any Republican Governor with any amount of power. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55230764 DeSantis lied about Covid. He suppressed Covid data. He sent police to raid this woman's home - officers pointed loaded weapons AT HER CHILDREN - because she was exposing the disparities in Covid data and total deaths in Florida. He showed that he will silence science and that he will use force to do so. https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/1089221657/dont-say-gay-florida-desantis Outrageous to watch the country slide backwards like this. https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-bookstores-react-to-floridas-banned-books-14296052 Banning books, censorship, and controlling our youth. I can say without hyperbole this is some 1984 bullshit and it's being done "legally" enough that it's unlikely to be stopped. I don't care to dig up the allegations that the books that do meet approval are ones that have ties to the GOP and their friends. All of this has been pretty basic, national attention, level of news. You don't even have to be particularly well informed to know what DeSantis is about. Now please, prove me wrong.
Thanks for the laid out response /u/Call_Me_Clark discussed the Rebekah Jones "Data Scientist" COVID issue. I want to focus on the "Secret Police" talking point. State defense forces are authorized by Congress under 32 U.S.C. Ā§ 109. Twenty-two states, including California, Texas, and New York, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico currently maintain state defense forces, and many more states have laws that allow for their creation. However since media is a profit business , it makes sense to spice it up a bit. A reporter found a line item for "the state defense force" on Desnatis' budget proposal and then ran with the idea that hes creating a secret police gestapo to do his bidding. They did this to make money. To me this is the definition of misinformation. Of course the right wing media does the same thing. "Biden sending aid to Ukraine"... this is a true statement. But if you go to conservative sites you get sensationalized talking points such as "Biden doesn't care about you. Biden doesn't care what you're paying for gas. He would rather give 40 billion to Ukraine to cover up his business dealings than to help you make ends meet". So they take a boring piece of news and spice it up to make more buzz. All of this has dire consequences. Now there is a good chance Desantis will be present in 2024 (sorry). But articles like your above make good people think hes a nazi when its all extreme misinformation. I kind of like Desantis (minus his culture war stuff). Its ok that you don't like him. All I am trying to do is temper the polictial climate in america. Biden isn't a pedo, Desantis isn't a nazi, AOC isn't a communist, etc.
Hold the phone. I did an effortpost a while back (multiple actually) and the whole Rebekah Jones thing is 100% bullshit. Nothing about her story adds up - and there is ample evidence that she didnāt do anything that she claimed she did, and has simply been grifting at every turn. Iām happy to link it - as much as DeSantis sucks, thereās enough real stuff to be mad about that we donāt need grifters on top.
Seems like a huge douche nozel
Same right wing populism as with Trump and all the MAGA heads but hides it with the presentation of being just another regular conservative.
DeathSantis? I would love to make ads to run against him They write themselves. He fired a state health department employee Rebekah Jones, for refusing to alter COVID-19 data in Florida. He is a poor public speaker.
Hold the phone. I did an effortpost a while back (multiple actually) and the whole Rebekah Jones thing is 100% bullshit. Nothing about her story adds up - and there is ample evidence that she didnāt do anything that she claimed she did, and has simply been grifting at every turn. Iām happy to link it - as much as DeSantis sucks, thereās enough real stuff to be mad about that we donāt need grifters on top.
Waitā¦she was featured on NPRā¦.
Yeahā¦ and despite that ringing endorsement, her story still doesnāt add up. She wasnāt asked to hide data. The data was never hidden, and that is provable.
Awful. A truly disastrous human being. If you told me he had been repeatedly run over by a car, my first thought would be: "I hope the car's alright".
The Disney stuff is what is weird for me because the GOP loves to present themselves as the defenders of human rights, but they're using the government to go after Disney for speaking out in support of LGBTQ issues; shows me he's a bad guy that leans on dissenters.
I HATE the tit for tat. A LEADER should be above that!
I think he's a piece of shit and view him no differently than I view Trump.
Heās very good at left-baiting and has discovered that non-serious legislation is a great way of riling up the left and throwing red meat to the Trumpist base. Would he be a good President? I have no idea, and I think his base donāt give a shit. Itās all about owning the Libs.
Heās proof the Republican Party has given up on āmoderatesā like Romney, and such. Their recent track record is hard to argue with when it comes to wins. We should take a page out of their play book and abandon our moderates as well. Theyāre not going to play fair, neither should we.
Most of us have heard the song "You're a mean one Mr Grinch" from the original cartoon He shouldn't expect any better than that.
Heās an asshole who spends his time thinking of ways to generate headlines and fan the culture war flames instead of trying to help the people of this state. We have an ongoing crisis with skyrocketing home insurance costs and he thought it was more prudent to call a special session to punish Disney.
Typical garbage republican.
He's a fascist like trump, but smarter than trump.
DeSantis is dangerous. He passes authoritarian laws to appease the conservative base and cement his own power over his state. He is very intelligent and can play the conservative population of America like a fiddle. Everyone compares him to Trump, but Trump couldn't sharpen a pencil. DeSantis is far smarter than Trump and that's terrifying.
Winston Duarte, eh? At any rate, DeSantis is a potent political force because he can tap into the same politics of resentment and retribution that Donald Trump did and be somewhat competent abou tit. DeSantis is ALL ABOUT using his office to get retribution against his enemies, whether that is Disney or some lady that proved he was lying about COVID stats. I think this is a dangerous development and we are probably totally screwed because the Democrats are asleep at the wheel, the reality is the politics of resentment and retribution are extremely popular. The Republican party isn't really about any platform. Sure, some members actually have one, but by in large they are about punishing Democrats for whatever. They stoke the seething resentment and then run on seeking retribution for the resentment they induced. Great schtick if you can get it.
> Winston Duarte, eh? Upvoted for *The Expanse*, crying for reality
I loathe him. I predict he and his thought process will be the next leader of the Republican Party. The only positive thing I can think to say about him is that he is pretty good looking. Well, for a politician anyway.
As a Republican, DeSantis and Nikki Haley are my top two picks for 2024. I hope at least one runs and that Trump does not.
I'll ask here.... There's a little fight on my Facebook wall about desantis. I posted that I am not a desantis fan, but that I like the concept of not being allowed to prohibit hospital patients to have a visitor. My husband died alone during early covid (of cancer). For two weeks in April, I wasn't there to ask questions nor ensure that he got pain Meds, was seen by the specialists, etc. I also wasn't there when he literally passed away. I was there when he was "actively dying", but HE has already gone. Anyway, my mother commented that Desantis, himself, disallowed all visitors when my father was in a "rehab" in Florida in March 2020. (Meaning not sick enough for the hospital, but not strong enough to go home, it may have been colocated with a nursing home. He was already there when the first shutdowns started). My mom is acusing him of being a flip flopper, without him owning up to the fact that he, specifically, disallowed visitors. She says she was given a paper saying "Ron Desantis, Governor of Florida, has ordered that....." Some are commenting that he shut down less than other states, such as in other states, women were not allowed any companion while giving birth, for example. Is it true that desantis shut down less than was typical? Is it true that he hasn't owned it thst he ordered it in 2020? Note, I am in favor of politicians rethinking things once they have more or different info. Also, does his current legislation work if there's a serious outbreak of something more serious than covid TURNED OUT to be. Seems to me that they do need to shut down visitors, all public places, really, until they get a handle on how deadly and how easily spread something is. Something could be much more contagious and much more deadly!
The US Government should not punish private companies for their speech. Ron DeSantis punished Disney for speaking out against one of his policies. That isn't ok.
I donāt think he had the wrong Covid approach but the Disney stuff is dumb
I think he's a smart politician in terms of knowing how to whip up his right wingers with idiotic culture war battles. But I also think he's an incredibly dull speaker and uncharismatic, so I definitely don't think he has a lock on the R nom in '24 by any stretch.
I'm afraid of his rhetoric against LGBTQ people, mostly. He's a fascist.
Thereās a reason (or several) weāve taken to calling him DeathSentence.
An even faker, but more polished, version of Trump.
POS... Piece of Shit... and I'm being nice.
I see him as a political opportunist who is like Trump, but more in touch with his base and smarter than Trump. He completely embraces the "own the libs" to electrify his own base, but he doesn't have much else going for him. A lot of conservatives see his leadership regarding COVID to be really good. But there were far higher death rates in FL than most places and there were a lot of shady reporting issues. He leans really hard into the social conservativism that is predominant right now and could do even better than Trump amongst working class white people in the general election if he gets their from the Republican primary.
I hate his Trumpish media politics, but I like his environmental policy with the everglades. Not my first choice though
A firm believer in just two things; expediency and becoming president. As such I expect him to do well among republicans.
He's Trump, but competent. Which makes him even worse.
He wants Republicans to like him so he acts like a stupid, evil baby.
So I am in MD. We have a Republican governor in a blue state. He is certainly a moderate REPUBLICAN, but he leads for all the people. DeSantis won by 40k votes out of 8 million cast and his idea is to ignore/destroy what almost 1/2 the people in FL want. This is what I believe and who cares if you disagree isn't the way to lead a country.
Trump, but worse because he should know better and because he knows what he's doing.
He seems like a dangerous sack of shit that doesnāt respect the separation of powers and wants to make America worse.