Ron DeSantis Florida

The Ultimate Primary Battle: Trump Vs DeSantis, Florida Presidential Primary, Tuesday March 19, 2024!

Ronald Leave a comment

The nation is one year away from the ultimate primary battle–the struggle to win the Florida Republican Presidential Primary between two Floridians: former President Donald Trump and Florida second term Governor Ron DeSantis.

While the possibility exists that Trump, if indicted, might be forced out of the race, and that DeSantis might flop in earlier primaries and caucuses before Tuesday March 19, 2024, at this point, it seems highly likely that the battle between the two Floridians will occur, and may decide who is the Republican Presidential nominee in 2024!

And a third candidate, one of a large group, could surprise, and emerge and be the frontrunner in the race.

With both Trump and DeSantis being unwilling to back Ukraine against Russia, a Republican who backs the importance of sustaining Ukraine and the NATO alliance, could suddenly emerge.

It is important to keep in mind that NEVER at this point of a Presidential campaign, has anyone who went to become President, been seen as the likely winner in the past century, so suprises could occur!

March 19, 2024 will be a very big day, as Arizona, Illinois, Ohio and Virginia will also be voting in primaries!

Republican Governors Vs Democratic Governors: The Future Battles!

Ronald Leave a comment

As one looks ahead to future political battles, one cannot ignore the growing role of Republican governors being challenged by Democratic governors, usually a “fraternity” in which the members share a “camaraderie”, but not so in 2023, 2024, and beyond!

A number of former or sitting Republican governors are seen as likely to seek the Presidency, and even those who are not seeking to “move up” are engaged in “culture wars”.

Meanwhile, Democratic governors seem unlikely to enter the Presidential race for 2024, standing by while President Joe Biden moves to run for a second term, but they are “backups” in case the situation changes, and are certainly to be seen as part of the long term future of the Democratic Party, even more than sitting members of the US Senate.

The list of Republican governors includes Ron DeSantis of Florida; Greg Abbott of Texas; Kristi Noem of South Dakota; Glenn Youngkin of Virginia; Brian Kemp of Georgia; Chris Sununu of New Hampshire; and former Governors Larry Hogan of Maryland and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas.

The Democratic list of the Governorships has potential future Presidential contenders, including Gavin Newsom of California; J. B. Pritzker of Illinois; Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Jared Polis of Colorado; Jay Inslee of Washington; Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania; Wes Moore of Maryland; Phil Murphy of New Jersey; Andy Beshear of Kentucky; and Roy Cooper of North Carolina.

Never have we had so many state governors seen as potential Presidential contenders, with the reminder that in the past 100 years, we have had the following Presidents who were state governors: Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Potential Republican Presidential Nominees Who Would NOT Support Donald Trump!

Ronald Leave a comment

With the Presidential campaign of 2024 beginning, the question arises whether there are ANY potential Republican Presidential contenders who would refuse to endorse Donald Trump, were he to win the Republican Presidential nomination next year.

Many Republicans have made criticisms of Trump in some form, and a number plan to run and compete, but the issue is IF any of them lose the nomination to Trump, would they support and endorse him at the end of the process.

There is no certainty of any active Republicans willing to go so far as to refuse to support the party nominee if Trump is that nominee.

But on paper, the following, none certain to run, would likely NOT support him:

Senator Mitt Romney of Utah
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois

This author and blogger would have added sitting New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to the list, but it turns out that even with their likely candidacies for President, and their strong criticisms of Trump in recent times, that they have said that they WOULD support Trump, were he the nominee of his party!

This is stunning, as it takes Sununu and Hogan off a short list of Republican political figures who have the guts and courage to overlook party, and do what is good for the nation!

Trump recently stated that he wished to torch the Constitution, and what else needs to be known as to the threat to American democracy than that utterance!

And yet Sununu and even Hogan, as well as many other Republicans who opposed and criticized Trump in the past and present, are still letting party win out, and would support Trump if he was the nominee of the Republican Party!

Realize one thing about the short list given above, that all but Romney (who would be 77 and a half at election time in 2024, and is considering running for reelection to the Senate), are FORMER officeholders!

And despite Liz Cheney stating she would do everything possible to stop Trump, will she actually run against him or form an independent party candidacy?

And Kinzinger seems highly unlikely to mount a campaign either.

And Hutchinson is an unknown, and is unlikely to be a serious contender in any case.

So fundamentally, it seems likely that no significant Republican will stand in the way of Trump, ultimately, and many will even show that party loyalty matters more than principle!

So the Republican Party is hostage to a very dangerous, authoritarian Fascist threat in Donald Trump, but the leading alternative seems to be a person of similar authoritarian tendencies, who is much younger and smarter, and therefore, even MORE dangerous than Trump would be!

This is in reference to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis!

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday: Republicans Backtracking On Civil Rights!

Ronald Leave a comment

Today is the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, and yet, the Republican Party is doing everything imaginable to backtrack on Civil Rights!

The Supreme Court, with Republican appointments controlling six of the nine seats, is working very hard to negate the Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action, and so much more, and among those most promoting backtracking is African American Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who is a total disgrace on the issue of civil rights, which actually advanced his career!

Republican Governors, led by Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and other governors, mostly in the South, are mandating that teachers cannot discuss race and ethnicity, and the truth of American history, because some white children might feel “bad”, as if history should be totally sanitized!

This includes literature as well being censored, an absolute outrage, with the goal of keeping young people ignorant, and complying with the demands of many prejudiced white parents, who do not want their children exposed to truth and facts!

It also includes the goal of making it harder for poor people and those of color to be able to vote, a backtracking on the Voting Rights Act of 1965!

So we have Republicans mouthing quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr, but working assiduously to promote a white supremacy version of history and literature, in a nation becoming less white by the decade!

This is a human tragedy of massive proportions, and must be resisted by decent and educated people who do not want a sanitizing of our history and literature, and instead, a full accounting for past shortcomings, in order to promote a better future in a multiracial society!

Texas Governor Greg Abbott And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Should Be Prosecuted For Mistreatment Of Immigrants At The Border!

Ronald 1 Comment

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott is at it again, sending undocumented immigrants at the Texas border who are escaping persecution, violence and poverty from Central America, to Washington DC and the home of Vice President Kamala Harris, without any notice to authorities at a time of extremely cold weather and inadequate preparation!

The governor, who is in a wheelchair, shows zero compassion for the plight of immigrants, including many young children and babies, and is playing a political game, thinking it will boost his own credentials for President in 2024.

Abbott is in a competition with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has used similar tactics, with both men having no common decency, compassion, and concern for human life, although both are anti abortion activists.

They profess to be “good Christians”, but this is not the teachings of Jesus Christ, or Pope Francis.

The response should be arrest and prosecution of Abbott and DeSantis for cruel, reckless mistreatment, and neither should be given any possibility of running for President on such a racist, nativist, extreme right wing philosophy, which promotes hate and division!

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Being A Vaccination Denier Will Doom His Presidential Candidacy!

Ronald Leave a comment

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has been riding high since his overwhelming victory in the 2022 gubernatorial election, but his cockiness and arrogance has gone to his head, and he is on the way to self destruction as a Presidential candidate!

DeSantis has been reckless when it comes to science and public health, and has stirred a tempest in fighting against masks, vaccinations, and government promotion of science and public health guidelines regarding COVID 19!

Promoting an anti intellectual attitude and ignoring science and attacking the retiring and highly respected and honored Dr. Anthony Fauci may stir up the “KNOW NOTHINGS” in the radical right wing Republican camp, but it will NOT lead to his being elected President, even if he wins the nomination!

He is a supposedly “smarter” person than Donald Trump, since he has Ivy League credentials, from Yale University and Harvard Law School, but that does not mean anything other than that he has an enlarged ego without common sense!

One can be assured he will crash and burn, as many other so called “front runners” in past Republican Presidential contests have experienced, as for instance, Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and many others of their ilk!

Present Estimate of 220-215 Republican Control Of House Of Representatives!

Ronald 5 Comments

As I write this entry, the estimate is that the Republican Party may have control of the US House of Representatives by the razor thin margin of 220-215, a three seat edge!

And if that occurs, or even a few more Republican seats are added, the reason it will have happened is the loss of four New York State congressional districts due to court intervention preventing a Democratic reapportionment set up, and the power play by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who promoted a more extreme plan for congressional district reapportionment, creating a four seat gain in the Sunshine State!

It is clear that IF the Republicans do gain control, by whatever small margin of seats, that chaos and anarchy will rule, and nothing productive will be done in the next two years!

Kevin McCarthy also is on a scenario where if he is Speaker of the House, with the power of the House Republican Freedom Caucus, he might wish he was NOT Speaker of the House!

Democratic State Governors To Watch, As Future Of Party!

Ronald Leave a comment

Any concern about the future of the Democratic Party is gone, as once Joe Biden has become President for a second term, or decides not to run, opening up potential for other Democrats, the party has a “bench” of fantastic governors who care about public health and safety, and who are compassionate and empathetic human beings.

This is in reference to the following Democratic state governors, no special order:

Gavin Newsom of California
J B. Pritzker of Illinois
Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania
Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
Wes Moore of Maryland
Jared Polis of Colorado
Laura Kelly of Kansas

At least the first five listed are potential Presidential contenders in the future, and with Pritzker and Shapiro being Jewish; Whitmer (along with Kelly) being female; Moore being African American; Polis being gay; and Newsom being an original promoter of gay rights and gay marriage.

At the same time, the Republicans have potential Presidential contenders, who are more concerned about being nasty, vicious, divisive, confrontational, and have no concern about public health and safety, including:

Ron DeSantis of Florida
Greg Abbott of Texas
Kristi Noem of South Dakota

There is also Chris Sununu of New Hampshire (an exception, not as extreme and confrontational as the other three listed).

Of course, there are also soon to be former governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas; and former governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, who are more like Chris Sununu.

Additionally, soon to be former governors Larry Hogan of Maryland and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts come across as more decent, but like Hutchinson and Christie, unlikely to get very far in the Presidential race for 2024!

The Presidential Election Of 2024 Has Begun For The Republican Party!

Ronald Leave a comment

The Presidential Election of 2024 has begun for the Republican Party.

The easy victory of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis puts him in the forefront of a challenge to former President Donald Trump.

The two men are clearly no longer “friends”, but instead are hostile rivals, and Trump influence already seems far less influential, as a number of Trump endorsed candidates are clearly not doing well in early returns, although final results are not yet available.

That does not mean that DeSantis is on the way to the Republican Presidential nomination, as there is a whole slew of candidates who will enter the race, including those who are clearly not favored by Donald Trump, but also will not sit by and just allow DeSantis to be “coronated”!

Republican Party Openly Promoting Misogyny, Racism, Nativism, Anti Semitism, Without Shame!

Ronald Leave a comment

It is clear that the Republican Party is openly promoting misogyny, racism, nativism, and Anti Semitism, without shame or apology.

Republicans are demonstrating they do not care about women’s right to control their own bodies, and many of those seeking office wish to put women back in the bedroom and the kitchen, rather than being independent and pursuing careers.

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama openly promotes racism against African Americans in particular, as he did at a campaign rally in Arizona for Donald Trump!

The attack on immigration continues in the Republican Party, making it a major issue promoted by the likes of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey!

And Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano is openly anti semitic, including attacking his Jewish opponent, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro!

And these examples are just the tip of the iceberg, as the Republican Party has become the party of Fascism, and right wing extremism, and out to destroy all of the good done by the Democratic Party since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt through Lyndon B. Johnson, Barack Obama, and now Joe Biden!