34 Comments

If rebooting DeSantis involved actual kicking him, I’d be totally down with it. My first thought of him is always that event where he bullied high school kids because they were wearing masks. I’m thinking I’m probably not alone in that.

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You are 100% not alone on that. The first time I had ever seen DeSantis was that "Take those masks off; they don't do anything" bullshit press opportunity and I've despised him ever since. So glad I don't live in FL anymore, although to be honest SC really isn't any better.

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I have had the opportunity to meet Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W Bush. All of them, even Carter!, had magnetic personalities. (Clinton was actually scary he was so charismatic). DeSantis is clearly smart and has political savvy but he's also, from everything I can see, an a-hole. There is a joke in Texas--Why do people hate Ted Cruz before they even meet him? It saves time.--and I have a feeling this applies to DeSantis too.

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I've met Bill Clinton several times (he lives near me) and he makes you feel like you're the only person in the room. He seduces you with his eyes.

I met Ted Cruz and he was off putting, but he took photos with everyone

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On Clinton, EXACTLY!!!

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Was with you until "...has political savvy..."

That's his basic issue. The Caudillo of DeSantistan is a wannabe authoritarian bully.

He has no instinct to pull people together for common cause.

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He seems to think that his record in Florida is a selling point, it scares the heck out of me. Even before the snafu with the Nazi imagery, he has made it clear that he would love to be top dog of a fascist country.

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"But, what is the original appeal for DeSantis? Where is the obvious thing about DeSantis that voters have already responded well to?"

I assume it's his racism and homophobia, and his passion for hurting anyone who disagrees with his racism and homophobia.

But that's not going to beat Trump.

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DeSantis is a culture warrior. He has no principles or vision for the country. He is afraid to attack Trump so he bullies the weak and marginalized peoples. He is cruel and uses valuable state resources to push his anti-“woke,” own-the-libs agenda. His lack of charisma is part of his emptiness.

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excellent description

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This is so Jeb Bush/Rudy Guiliani/Scott Walker it's scary.

I think the other issues are his main campaign platforms seem to be: hey, remember covid- which everyone wants to forget and woke woke woke woke woke woke woke, which he even admitted most people don't even know what it is.

And he's trying to do the Ted Cruz gently criticize Trump so as not to piss off his base, because when Trump flames out, he'll be at the top, and that ended with Trump going after Cruz's wife and still winning the nomination, so not a great plan!

Also Chris, everything okay? I saw what was going on with your Twitter.

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My Twitter was hacked. Working on it now!

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Great profile in the NYT this weekend that the COVID death toll in Florida was well above what it could have been had the Caudillo of DeSantistan listened to true experts in the field instead of going with wanting to do things his way --- oh, so Trump.

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Just like Greg Abbott, a smart man who hitched his wagon to the Trump train and derailed from sanity.

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DeSantis won’t go anywhere, reboot or whatever he wants to call it. He’s toast. I was pregnant and on 6 months of bedrest when Clinton was running and boy, he seemed to have it all. He could work a crowed just with his eyes. I watched a lot of news during those 6 months and knew he had the package to become the next president. I was too young during the Kennedy years but you knew he had it all, as well. I had the same feeling with Obama and Biden. Biden, IMO, is a decent and kind man. He is empathetic and is down and dirty with everyone. DeSantis? No. Nothing. Zip. He’s like a wet noodle, as my mom would have said. He needs to jump in and get down and dirty, work the crowd, talk to people, be relatable. Not sure he has it in him.

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That item in the New York Times about how DeSantis is costing his campaign tons of $$$ by flying private is BRUTAL. Makes him look so out of touch

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Agree with your thoughts on DeSantis. Bill Belichick has more charisma, and that's a problem!

I don't understand the comparison to Taylor Swift, though. Isn't T-Swizzle the most popular musical artist in the world these days? Maybe you're referring to her personal relationships.

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Just quoting her song!

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Sorry, I'm not that familiar with her music.

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I wouldn't know her music if she was in the next room singing. I can pick her out of a lineup cuz she's all over the place selling stuff but that's it.

Geeze, "Alexa play some Taylor Swift".

(20 songs later) Rick Beato's right. Pop music in 2023 lacks imagination. It's really polished, but bland. Wonder bread and mayo sandwiches.

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So who do you think is the most charismatic non Trump presidential candidate for 2024?

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Tim Scott

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I've met Tim Scott; he's my Senator (not by choice). He's got a veneer of likeability but there's an insincerity under the surface. I wouldn't buy a car from him.

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I thought so, but I haven’t met them in person. I always liked him. Thanks.

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Joe Biden

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I gotta ask, do you really think Trump is charismatic? I see him as the school yard bully, literally trampling anyone that gets between him and the cheeseberders.

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When he tries to be, and in person yes. I have known people like that who I see right through, but they tell everyone what they want to hear and it’s maddening others don’t see through it. He does it for his own ego and loving the personal attention. Biden does the same thing but in a more calculating cold, mean spirited way. It bothers me less Trump just does it for his ego, not power, lol.

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DeSantis is the quality of candidate who you end up with when a party can pick their opponents. He won by only 20 points, that is actually embarrassing when your party can pick an ex-Republican as your opponent. The Force is weak in this one. Jeb!!

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In'22 DeSantis bombed Florida with mailers and TV advertising. And you are right about Crist. He was a lead balloon. And something horrible did indeed happen to the Democratic Party in Florida.

Also, remember that TinyD only won in 2018 by 33,000 votes out of 8 million. Thats a TinyD fraction of 1%.

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Having spoken with people who know/worked for DeSantis, they are describe him as smart. Warm, fuzzy and likable were not terms that they used.

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And smart doesn't always play great on the stump.

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I would go one step further and say that in the current political environment, it might even be a drawback. It's now ALL about charisma and how you can drive voters to polls with rhetoric.

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Trump turned the nomination process into a contest of who is the best entertainer. Now the republican voters want to be entertained, and DeSantis is just boring and unwatchable.

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Anyone coming into a duck has to be a part of the problem. Ducks quack under at least two to three times the pressure of quails, depending on the source of the retail of tailors pricings for dry cleaning. Just ask a swifty!

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