DeSantis, for the Agitation
Happy Wednesday, my dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Celery sticks have their place, but it’s not here.
Lent is here and none too soon. This year I’m giving up regret and despair. That stuff is too easy to get addicted to these days. Let’s hope and pray that the secular heathens don’t try to cancel Easter in the name of public safety now.
It’s another one of those days here at the Briefing where I want to avoid thinking about the present by having some made-up happy thoughts about the future.
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida. I’ve been singing his praises since last spring, when he was doing all of the right things in response to the Wuhan Chinese Bat Flu while idiot boy Andrew Cuomo was killing as many elderly New Yorkers as he could. The press was excoriating DeSantis and praising Cuomo, and a conservative star was born.
DeSantis’s handling of the bottom feeders in the mainstream media has been so masterful that I recently wrote that it would be nice if he could teach some tricks to other Republicans. The kinds of Republicans who are going to try and screw up the party now that Trump is no longer in D.C.
DeSantis continues to make all the right people angry, which as you know is a favorite criterion of mine for judging our elected officials. DeSantis has been flying in the face of the liberal hypocrisy orthodoxy regarding whether schools should be open or not. Lib politicians are, of course, utterly beholden to the demands of teachers’ unions, who have been lobbying hard to get paid, get vaccinated, and not return to work.
COVID-19 Has Exposed Teachers’ Unions as the Shakedown Artists They Really Are
The good governor of Florida didn’t play that game and is rightfully proud of how it worked out:
Our kids belong in school and Florida's decision to keep schools open was the right thing to do. When compared to other states of similar size, Florida has fewer pediatric cases per 100,000. pic.twitter.com/U1boNXKmAr
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 16, 2021
As the GOP looks to 2024, it should look outside the Beltway for its nominee. This is, of course, setting aside the idea of Trump making a comeback, which I would still support. Who knows where we will all be by the time the 2024 presidential campaign kicks off on New Year’s Day 2023? If we had to set the wheels in motion for a candidate now, however, DeSantis would be one of the most obvious choices.
He’s becoming a favorite all over, which Stacey wrote about yesterday:
Politico spoke to Republican veterans across the country who give DeSantis a lot of runway going into 2024. Many say they hear his name in unexpected places, like Texas, where he seems to be gaining popularity. The author notes that he is probably popular with Republicans because he defies experts and spars with the media. A shallow assessment, to be sure.
DeSantis is gaining in popularity for several reasons. He has an authenticity about him that is not boorish. He can handle himself with the media, knowing when to crack a joke and when to get serious. DeSantis holds people accountable, like firing Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel after his failures during the Parkland shooting. He also defends Floridians by committing to taking on Big Tech to protect free speech and showing a willingness to take on the new administration when it threatened Florida with travel restrictions.
That’s not a “shallow assessment,” by the way. That’s something important to conservatives like me out here in the hinterlands who feel betrayed by D.C. Republicans who seem to be more interested in being liked by their Democratic colleagues than by their constituents.
As the governor of a large state, DeSantis has a name recognition advantage that most governors don’t enjoy. Additionally, all of the undeserved negative press he’s gotten in the last year has backfired and made him better known than the Democrats probably wanted him to be. If he remains popular and is a serious contender in ’24 it will make all of his haters’ heads explode. He might get my support just for that.
The Republican cupboard isn’t bare as we head into the next couple of election cycles.
We have to take our comfort where we can get it.
Yup
We're living in a dystopian nightmare. https://t.co/jWOQAYk6Gw
— Ellie Bufkin (@ellie_bufkin) February 16, 2021
Everything Isn’t Awful
LOL “YardiGras”
Despite pandemic restrictions, the Mardi Gras spirit alive and well in New Orleans as local artists transform houses into virtual parade floats for #YardiGras. @gabegutierrez reports from Bourbon Street. pic.twitter.com/hoQUXzw7MB
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 16, 2021
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Bee Me
Biden Loses Another Mario Kart Game After Trying To Sniff Peach's Hair The Whole Time https://t.co/yHfE46PPAw
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) February 16, 2021
The Kruiser Kabana
— Archillect (@archillect) February 16, 2021
Call me when there’s a potato-vodka-flavored Girl Scout Cookie.
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PJ Media Senior Columnist and Associate Editor Stephen Kruiser is the author of “Don’t Let the Hippies Shower” and “Straight Outta Feelings: Political Zen in the Age of Outrage,” both of which address serious subjects in a humorous way. Monday through Friday he edits PJ Media’s “Morning Briefing.” His columns appear twice a week.
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