Ron DeSantis has a very tough job. After the 2020 election shenanigans and the unprecedented institutional abuse against Trump and his supporters, Trump voters see their guy as the incumbent, and they see RDS’s candidacy as a selfish outside disruptor trying to primary the incumbent before a tough election. Maybe that’s not fair, but that’s how it is.
He has to do several things to be successful, and even if he does them all perfectly it may not be enough. His policies aren’t much in question, and he’d be wasting his time on the mic touting them. GOP primary debate watchers know he’s good on policy. It would be nice to see him firm up an anti-intervention stance on Ukraine, but otherwise his time will be better spent elsewhere.
I was just in a Space where @JackPosobiec made an important point: there is only one candidate the regime hates and fears enough to throw out every norm and standard to defeat, and that’s Trump. I’ve seen RDS supporters ask a good question: If Trump couldn’t stop them from rigging the election in 2020, when he was President, how’s he going to do it now? A fair question, but a good (if somewhat evasive) answer is that, at this late hour, what’s the point of nominating anyone the regime won’t pull out all the stops to defeat?
RDS has to thread a difficult needle. He has to condemn the unprecedented abuse of the system against Trump (Christie might be his best foil here), but every time the subject comes up it hardens support for Trump with his base. If he tries to frame himself as Not Trump, he has no chance; he has to make the make case that he’ll be a better Trump than Trump himself. GOP voters aren’t looking for a President, they’re looking for a war general, and RDS has to convince those people that he’s going to burn Washington DC to the ground.
I don’t think his personality would allow for it, but Trump should say something like: “Look, I know a lot of you guys don’t like me. And to be honest, I get it. I know I can be obnoxious. I’m not a typical politician, and my style can be off-putting, and I get it. But this is bigger than me.” And go from there.
RDS is coming more aggressive than usual, feels a little unnatural, but it’s good overall.
Vivek wasted no time calling down the fury of Lord Shiva on his enemies. He’s the one bringing the entertainment, and Trump taught us that that should not be underestimated.
Nah, Vivek can’t be ended. Just like with Trump, people don’t even listen to someone attack him, they’re just looking forward to seeing what he’ll say back.
Nikki Haley has to overcome a major disadvantage: people want to stick a screwdriver in their ear whenever she opens her mouth.
There are too many literally who candidates on stage. Tim Scott shouldn’t be allowed to speak. Being CEO of Godfather’s Pizza doesn’t qualify you for the Presidency.
Nobody cares about the candidates’ policy positions. We all know what everyone except Vivek would do - be a regular Republican President. 🎉 🎈 😭 People want someone who is going to walk around the White House with a boot knife and who might make Nancy Pelosi the next Charles Sumner if she tears up how SOTU speech.
Oh, settle down, we’re all having fun here. You have to admit that there’s some irony in the GOP being against affirmative action, yet elevating people like Whaley and Scott miles above what their talent merits just because they check a box.
To the question of whether they’d support Trump if he’s convicted, only Vivek raised his hand right away. The rest of these cowards sheepishly put their hands up after the crowd started cheering. Disqualifying cowardice.
Only Vivek immediately raised his hand when the candidates were asked if they’d be against increasing funding and support for Ukraine. RDS started saying something about making Europe carry more of the load, but all the rest kept their hands down.
No reason to have anyone but Vivek and RDS at the next primary debate.
Haley called Ukraine a “pro-American country…” That might have something to do with the fact that we overthrew their government for being pro-Russia.
HOLY SHIT LOL Haley just said that “Putin has promised that after he’s done conquering Ukraine, Poland and the Baltics are next!” That is a blatant, whole-cloth warmongering lie.
This pic sums it up.
Vivek: Yes
RDS: Sort of
The field: No
Vivek is RDS kryptonite, and the DeSantis campaign needs to figure out how to deal with it fast. It’s not that Vivek is landing any kill shots on him, but he makes it hard for RDS to differentiate himself from the field. Vivek comes across better and stronger than RDS on all the issues that should be separating RDS from the rest of the field. Has the effect of making RDS blend into the crowd even though he’s better than them on most issues.
Anti-Trumpers don’t want to hear this, but the decision not to participate in the debate was brilliant. The fact that he’s getting arrested tomorrow automatically makes him the focus, even when he’s not there. If he was there, Vivek would look like a sycophant as the candidates attacked Trump and Vivek kept talking Trump’s side. Instead, Vivek is doing Trump’s work for him.
Tim Scott: “These teachers unions are standing in the door-house of our kids…”
She’s probably pretty popular among the Poles, actually.
This is exactly right, and the best argument for Trump. No more sleep walking into an inevitable Demolition Man rainbow dystopia. Bring the matter to a head and force the American people to decide whether they’ll tolerate tyranny.
Little-known fact: Mike Pence was based on Cotton from King of the Hill.
Haley: Putin said he wants to invade Poland.
Me: That’s a lie, he never said that.
This person: It’s not a lie. He never said it, but everyone knows he means it.
There’s really no way to puncture a deflector shield this robust.
About 150k Jews served in the Wehrmacht during WW2, compared to 50-60k Jews in the UK military. The highest ranking Jewish officer in UK history was only a brigadier, while Hitler had ~30 Jewish generals & admirals, and his last head of the Luftwaffe was a Jewish field marshal.
Obviously this is a fact without context, but it’s interesting nonetheless. There were only 500-600k Jews total in Germany. ~250-300k of those were men, and many of those were too old or young to serve. IOW a very large % of eligible German Jews served.
I would hesitate to draw any hasty conclusions. But the fact that most people would find it unbelievable shows that things are more complicated than the mythic version of the story.
This list assumes you know the History Channel version of the war, and are looking to understand it from different angles. None of these authors are dreaded revisionists, and buying these will not land you on whatever lists I'm now on. /1
1. Churchill, Hitler, and The Unnecessary War, by Pat Buchanan
In the early 20th century, Britain was 'the empire on which the sun never set'; by 1945, she was a 2nd-rate power in a world dominated by the US & USSR. This book documents the blunders that lost Britain her empire.
2. Human Smoke, by Nicholson Baker
This book consists of a series of chronologically-ordered snapshots and moments-in-time that manage to generate a narrative momentum that, by the end, somehow makes the war seem both inevitable and unavoidable. Highly recommended.
Time for a Churchill thread? Time for a Churchill thread. Let's do this.
Why I think Churchill was a chief villain of World War 2. /0
I know that sounds like hyperbole. Churchill didn’t order the most deaths, oversee the most atrocities, or commit the worst crimes. But most of those crimes could not have been committed if the war had not happened, and Churchill was the leader most intent on making it happen. /1
You'll think, "But Darryl, everyone knows the war started after Germany invaded Poland, + Austria & Czechoslovakia before that. It could have been prevented if only people had listened to Churchill , and taken a tougher line against Hitler." And you might be right. Sort of. /2
Because they insist on the primacy of words, and reject as irrational the idea that both are happier when the man sees his job is not to achieve a meeting of minds, but to manage her emotional state, keep her calm, content, optimistic… less like your bro, more like your horse.
She won’t like hearing that, so don’t say it to her. But make that shift and thank me later.
Yes, but she has to learn to treat you like a child in some ways, too, like “aw, he thinks the sounds coming out of his mouth mean things and are important…”
This is a list of science/engineering achievements, but also a description of capital flows. The way to make big $ in the 2000s was through finance and tech, and too many of our best brains were wasted creating CDOs and dick pic apps.
Add in that labor & regulatory arbitrage provided industry w/an easy way to drive up the bottom line without the risky business of innovation, and you get what we have now, secular stagnation or whatever.