Based on his runaway re-election campaign in 2022, Florida governor Ron DeSantis thought he had conjured up the secret sauce for doing the same across the country. This morning we learned that DeSantis’ victory may not be the shield of invincibility he thinks it is. We also learned the difference between DeSantis and Donald Trump. The latter claims he WILL BE the retribution. The former demonstrated, via his budget vetoes, he ALREADY IS. Consider the following two news reports which came across my news feed this morning.
From Mike Phillips, editor of our local on-line news service The Fernandina Observer:
Wow. Did that governor of ours ever give us something to think about. We thought our request for a million bucks to help us advance our riverfront stabilization project was a no-brainer.
He thought not.
My first thought, of course, was, “How can he do that to us? Doesn’t he know how important tourism is to our economy and Florida’s? And what’s a measly million-dollar contribution to our modest historic district flood management project at a mere $14-18 million overall?” Visitors won’t spend money if their feet are wet. Doesn’t he get that?”
This morning’s edition of Politico.com includes an article titled, “DeSantis’ budget vetoes include projects from GOP lawmakers who didn’t endorse him.” It quotes State Senator Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota).
The governor is clearly upset I endorsed Donald Trump for president and so he took it out on the people of Sarasota County. Simply because I support his political opponent, the governor chose to punish ordinary Floridians who want better water quality, less traffic congestion and increased for resources for disabled children to grateful employment. It’s mean-spirited acts like this that are defining him here and across the country.
During his recent campaign trip to Iowa, DeSantis echoed other Republicans who claim the Biden administration has weaponized government and is coming after you. Maybe he felt the average Iowa voter did not understand what he meant by this. So, he decided to show them, by example. exactly how it works. He also showed potential presidential primary voters across the national exactly what “Make America Florida” would look like.
POSTSCRIPT: The Wrong Analogy
A January 2, 2023, Morning Consult poll of registered Republican voters had DeSantis trailing Donald Trump by 11 percentage points (34-45). Despite the deficit, conservative media declared the Florida governor was within striking distance, especially considering the campaign war chest he amassed and did not have to spend during his 2022 bid for re-election and new-found support by large donors who were ready to move past Trump. Fast forward to June 11, 2023, when the latest Morning Consult poll shows Trump trouncing DeSantis 59-19 percent. Which many pundits viewed as a replay of former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s precipitous fall from grace. Walker was the odds-on favorite to win the 2016 presidential nomination until he suspended his campaign on September 21, 2015, five months before the Iowa caucus.
Confidence in Walker’s ability to win the nomination was based on his previous success in Wisconsin characterized by his fiery rhetoric and skill as a retail campaigner, two attributes even supporters do not associate with DeSantis. Why the excitement surrounding DeSantis? He was the early darling of the donor class, supplementing his 2022 surplus with millions in new money. This is not the first time a GOP contender was anointed at this phase of a presidential contest based on his fundraising ability. In 1996, Texas Senator Phil Gramm was thought to have the nomination sewed up when he officially announced his candidacy on February 25, 1995. On March 31, 1995, the Tampa Bay Times wrote, “Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas dwarfed the competition Thursday as the GOP presidential candidates revealed their fund-raising totals during the first three months of the race”
Contrary to the advertising slogan, “Money talks and nobody walks,” made famous by Cash Cars, a family-owned dealership in Circleville, Ohio, Gramm strolled away from the 1996 presidential race on February 14, 1996. A look under the hood suggests DeSantis is more like a Gramm, not a Walker.
For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP