57 Comments

As it stands today, DeSantis would have my primary vote. Why?

1. Most important is that the GOP wins in 2024. The man who pulled a swing state governorship by double digits is a strong candidate.

2. He has a pro-freedom record in Florida to show how he would handle the presidency

3. He pushes back and easily shuts down the main stream media with coherent, mature arguments

4. Whether we like it or not, there is a significant establishment presence in the GOP on the hill. DeSantis is able to work within that structure.

5. The Deep State will never let go of the desire to destroy Trump. Even if he won, we would see another 4 wasted years of investigations that would handcuff his ability to get his agenda done.

6. The amount of moderates, suburban women mainly, who are solid 'never Trumpers' means even the smallest amount of election interference or flat out cheating would put Biden, or whomever the DNC candidate ends up being, over the edge.

7. We are heading into tricky economic times and foreign relations- we need someone who is willing to make the tough decisions (that will also maintain liberty over all else and uphold the Constitution). DeSantis has proven he will do that (bans on ESG, CBDCs, etc.)

8. Trump lost my vote when he didn't fight against lockdowns and till this day thinks that those horrendous 'vaccine' products were a good thing. (to cater to the folks that want to argue that DeSantis locked down, too. Yes, he did -the difference is that he pulled international experts and looked at other nations' data, saw the trends, and then altered his course appropriately. That is what a strong leader should do.)

Expand full comment

I agree. Items 5, 6, and 8 are the reasons I'm now a "not Trump" voter. Also, as said by Neil, Trump is the candidate of the Dems. While I haven't made up my mind, Ron is a candidate I believe I could support. Good luck to him.

Expand full comment

Do some research as to who is behind the Governor's candidacy. The odious Karl Rove and the Bush "dynasty" are pushing Ron DeSantis as is Ken Griffin (liberal billionaire). The Never Trumpers are counting on Ron to bring down Donald Trump. He will fail and crash his career simultaneously.

Expand full comment

5. The Deep State will never let go of the desire to destroy Trump. Even if he won, we would see another 4 wasted years of investigations that would handcuff his ability to get his agenda done. (I don't think so, the DS & Swamp are done)

This is why Trump should be POTUS, the evil powers that be. fear Trump and his ability to expose & destroy them. Nobody is afraid of DeSantis, so why attack him. Why choose a harmless cub when Trump the Lion is ready to tear-them-up.

Expand full comment

6. The amount of moderates, suburban women mainly, who are solid 'never Trumpers' means even the smallest amount of election interference or flat out cheating would put Biden, or whomever the DNC candidate ends up being, over the edge.

So you believe suburban women will vote for criminal Biden because they are too stupid to see how Joe is destroying our economy, flooding cities & towns with illegal aliens, has us on the brink of nuclear war, and is a major contributor to runnaway inflation & supply chain issues. And Biden refuses to support oil & gas production, which is our best hope of reducing debt and producing wealth.

Expand full comment

Stupid has nothing to do with it. Biden got many of the votes simply for not being Trump.

Expand full comment

Ditto. Suburban women are not dumb. They just could not abide Trump. This time, seeing what Biden actually is, versus what he campaigned as, I don't know.

Expand full comment

Did not even campaign. Hid in the basement as to not appear feeble and senile.

Expand full comment

It doesn't mean they have to vote for Biden; they (we, as I am one of them) could simply not vote for someone they don't support.

Expand full comment

Since you are one of those who simply would not vote for someone they don't support then you have actually abdicated to the status quo. Congrats... nothing changes & Freedom dies.

I doubt you can name 3-Trump policies you disagree with. Being abrupt or rude does not count as a policy.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

Exactly. The MSM, Dems, even Hillary Clinton, attacking DeSantis right now proves that they know he is a threat. They know they can beat Trump.

Expand full comment

Regardless of who is on the ticket next November, if we can't fix our broken election system, we are going to lose. At this stage of the game, the more voices the better, but people are wasting their time fighting over their choice when they should be fighting for election integrity.

Expand full comment

I think the Republic benefits more if DeSantis stays in Florida and leads a rebellion of the states. The states could have far more influence on the future of the nation than a single man who will get chewed up by “permanent Washington” (a.k.a. The Deep State). They will bog him down with endless nonsense like they did Trump. It would be a waste of a good politician and the waste of a golden opportunity to restore the balance between Washington and the states.

Stop waiting for Superman -- he will get here some time after Godot.

Expand full comment

This is a great idea actually.

Expand full comment

What now? If you're in Florida because it rejected medical tyranny consider renting, not owning.

Meet Florida Lt. Governor Jeannette Nunez. Who would complete the remainder of a vacated Gov. DeSantis. Who is she?:

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-reg-nunez-gov-pick-20180905-story.html

"As a state representative, Nuñez broke ranks with some members of her party on immigration, sponsoring a bill that allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at colleges and universities. "Don't hold these children responsible for something they had no control over."

...

"She supported legislation that extended state lawsuit protection to university doctors working in public hospitals."

...

"Nuñez rallied support for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012 as a member of the “Women for Mitt” coalition."

https://secondnexus.com/jeanette-nunez-trump-tweet-con

"Wake up Florida voters. Trump, is the biggest con-man there is.

#supportsKKK” and “#nevertrump.”"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanette_Nu%C3%B1ez

“...Nuñez later entered the health care industry, working as the vice-president of government affairs at Jackson Health System. Nuñez also worked for Florida International University as an adjunct professor and advisor. She also served as the vice-president of external affairs at Kendall Regional Medical Center and Aventura Hospital & Medical Center, until becoming the lieutenant governor of Florida.”

Between the DC consultants Gov. DeSantis has surrounded himself with and who he selected as his #2, judging someone for the company they keep rather than their words is a dangerous proposition.

Expand full comment

I don't see why anyone supporting medical freedom in the least bit would find Nikki Haley (who required vaxx cards at her events) and Tim Scott appealing. They both had platforms to speak and said jack, for years. They continue to say nothing and learned nothing whatsoever from any of it, as far as I can tell. Trump's pro vaxx, pro lockdown, pro mask, pro Fauci, etc. record makes him entirely unpalatable to such a level that I can not understand why anyone reading Justin Hart would be able to tolerate the man at this point. He also appears to have learned nothing and continues to congratulate himself for maybe the worst macro-level decision making in American history.

Expand full comment

Very well said and I agree completely. How could anyone who opposed the tyranny vote for it again? And as you say, he hasn't (and won't) admitted a mistake. I don't think he can.

Expand full comment

We are very disappointed that after we helped to re-elect Ron Desantis as our Governor, he had no intention of honoring his commitment. We believed his words and feel betrayed to find out he’s just another lying greedy politician putting himself and the elites first. We will not support him and think this is a career changing mistake. He had the support of the regular people but screwed up by taking bad advice from the wealthy elite who he will now have to serve. God help us.

Expand full comment

There was a reason DeSantis got the legislature to change the law to allow the governor to run for the presidency and not have to resign first. You just don’t know why yet. DeSantis is playing a long game here. Wipe off your tears, cut him some slack and see what happens.

Expand full comment

If the worst thing you have to say about Ron is that you don't like that he is running for President, I think you can find a way to forgive him...

Expand full comment

I want a President who will assure us a Medical Freedom Act, Never lock us down again, secures our borders with fairness to those potential legal immigrants already in line, hold all businesses to the same accountability no matter how large and powerful, pursues accountability with regard to every part of the Covid fiasco, stands up to the echo chambers of lying media, is business like and professional. Honestly a serious, sort of “boring” but outstanding administrator of the business of the country without prejudice and drama. I’m exhausted, frankly. Life HAS to be about more than this hyper vigilance towards the abusive, malignant and seemingly unassailable powers, controlling our lives.

Expand full comment

Trump makes the elites commit unforced errors thanks to their irrational overreactions to him, that's why I support him. He offers what America needs: acceleration.

Expand full comment

DeSantis is the way!

Expand full comment

DeSantis + Musk = Not a Good Smell

Expand full comment

Have DeSantis’s supporters investigated his relationship with Soros? What exactly is Ron DeSantis’s position on Ukraine?

Expand full comment

I hope it's more like Tucker Carlson's than Lindsay Graham's position.

Expand full comment

Like Trump said a couple of weeks ago Maybe DeSantis is tired of seeing people dying for no good reason.

Expand full comment

I don’t understand what you said.

Did DeSantis make a U-turn recently on the US involvement in Ukraine? Did DeSantis hate Putin so much that one cannot distinguish his position from that of the Democrats or RINOS?

Expand full comment

My state has open primaries, no party registration. In 2020 I requested a Dem primary ballot in order to vote for Tulsi. I will do the same next year and give my vote to RFK Jr. Trump was terrible during COVID, starting with his idiotic "what Sweden's doing is crazy" remark. As terrible as he was, I would still be happy with a President Trump or a President DeSantis. Prior to COVID, my #1 issue was geopolitics. I will never vote for another neocon in my lifetime, and give credit to Trump for mostly eradicating them from the GOP. There is a lot that I like about both candidates, and I'm not looking forward to the next year of mudslinging. It's going to get very ugly to the point it will likely weaken both candidates' chances of beating Biden. On the other hand, I would like DeSantis to have a chance to correct the record on COVID and point out the disastrous mistakes made by Trump, Biden, and the entire public health/medical community. Most of the candidates in the race are running for 2028, not 2024. Assuming Trump wins, I think DeSantis would have been better off waiting until 2028. You never know, but I have too many friends who will vote Trump and no one else.

Expand full comment

I would also like to say the original woke social justice warriors attacked 23 years ago with Disney (of course) changing the name of the WDW resort Dixie Landings. "Dixie" was too disgusting of a word even back then for the woke left. There were several Confederate Flag controversies in various states starting in 2000 and several NAACP boycotts. We've been watching this go on for decades down here, and now the rest of the country is aware of it. This is one thing many Southerners like about Trump. The now infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was centered around keeping the RE Lee statue from being removed. Trump got excoriated by the media, but he was DEFENDING Southern heritage when so few Southern politicians have been willing to do so. Do not be deceived by Nikki Haley - she has bowed down to pressure from the woke left for her entire career. I nearly spit up my coffee the morning I saw her 1st campaign ad claiming to be anti-woke. She's a liar. The left has nearly succeeded in eradicating our history and culture - just wait. They'll come for yours, too.

Expand full comment

Yes, I tried to talk sense into some of my (former) D friends re: his Charlottesville remarks about 'fine people' - that he was referring to the historic preservationists who were rallying around the statue NOT the handful of troublemakers that got lumped in with the entire crowd. The media is very good at their gaslighting craft and too few recognize them for what they are - paid shills for the D party.

Expand full comment

I agree completely about Nikki Haley and also used to love Dixie Landings! I was very sorry they changed that name. Wasn't Nikki governor when they removed the confederate flag from the SC capitol?

Expand full comment

Yes. The 1st controversy was in 2000, and the flag was removed from atop the SC Capitol dome, and a monument was erected on the grounds with the flag displayed. It was a compromise. Nikki was the governor when Dylan Roof shot up the church in North Charleston. In reaction, Nikki urged the legislature to remove the flag from the capital grounds.

Expand full comment

It's true - there are many who will vote for Trump and him only, no matter what.

Expand full comment

Just like lemmings walking off a cliff into the sea!

Expand full comment

I don't have a problem with either candidate, Trump or DeSantis. I would have been happy with Trump or Cruz in 2016. People need to think back to all of the terrible nominees and options we've had in the recent past: both Bushes, Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney.

Expand full comment

Yes, many are running for VP or a cabinet position more than president in 2024, IMHO. I do like that each seem to bring different issues to the table, giving the left more they have to spin doctor on, and giving the many in the electorate with short attention spans more education on what has been going on while they were asleep or distracted.

Expand full comment

Well it's unsurprising. Glad he is in officially. I am not as sour on Trump as you are and can support either of them. But the more candidates in that I can find myself supporting (Tim Scott also) the better.

Let's see if Trump can limit his attacks on DeSantis to policy and accomplishment points. If not, DeSantis will pick up some steam heading into the primary.

Tim and Ron should agree to some vigorous yet respectful debate and they will grab some Trump votes.

Expand full comment

We already know the answer to this. Trump has nicknamed the governor Ron De Sanctimonious. I am afraid that this will be a one sided name calling fest.

Expand full comment

Exactly. The name calling is beyond inappropriate for the position, and many of us are fed up with it. He had tried to demean plenty of good people like Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Heidi Cruz; it's all he's got and it never stops.

Expand full comment

He has my vote. He has demonstrated good leadership time and again. He is articulate, measured with his words, and knows how to handle the media. I think if the GOP becomes the party of DeSantis, the GOP will grow fangs and a spine to really get things done, and stand up to the Democrats and the media. DeSantis also runs a very tight ship, and hasn't had constant leaks unlike Trump. Trump did a lot of great things as a president, but always managed to ruin things for himself because he can't get out of his own way. Yes, the media was very unfair to him and lied time and again, but he often made it worse for himself. At this point, he is damaged goods and half the country hates his guts. If the GOP wants to seriously win, they need to move on from him. But DeSantis also needs to find a way to get past Trump in the primaries, especially since Trump will double down and throw even more mud at Trump.

Expand full comment

If DeSantis wins, all those people who moved to Florida in the last 4 years, can kiss that state good bye. It won't stay in republican hands, for very long.

This is why we (regular, middle class, conservatives) always loose. We play the short game. We never look down the road. All those cheering that Heavy D (that not a slight - it's props) is running, miss that he could have set the example and built momentum for other governors' built an alliance or coalition of governors that passed similar or the same types of laws in their respective states - so their effect is synergistic and thereby taking more states.

Instead, if he wins, aside form Florida falling - being stolen - you will get 4 years at best. 1 year will be spent getting his cabinet organized. The next two will be trying to push his agendas. The last is a lame duck year.

That whole time he will be constantly attacked - by both sides of the Unipart and the deep state DOJ and intelligence apparatus.

Don't forget, it was a Republican controlled Congress, for Trumps first 2 years and you see what that got him.

If we keep trying to hit homers, every time we're at bat, we will continue to strike out. We make this mistake ALL the time and the left does not. They play the long game and continually gain ground, every year. If you don't believe it, just look at the world around you...that's not the work of conservatives.

Expand full comment

If I lived in Florida, I would be upset... I wouldn't want to lose DeSantis as the Governor!

Expand full comment

The country is burning tho!

Expand full comment