Ron DeSantis has a good track record as governor, but I'm not so sure he's not using the Populist movement as a weapon for his own personal advancement.
I dont. He has gone far too hard in the paint on a number of issues that would have been better for him to back down on for it to all just be a ruse. He has also been significantly better at picking staff that will go just as hard as he does and then tell the journos "you disgust me" when they come looking for answers.
Unlike Trump who may have picked a handful of good people but was getting backstabbed by court politics basically from the moment he drummed out Bannon. On the recommendations of said court politics, fittingly enough.
All that said, I think Larry does better nationally, but still doesnt actually win it. But like you said, him being there to drag the Overton Window and take a sledgehammer to the resurgent Black Nationalist narratives is absolutely a win in its own right.
I don't think it's a full scale ruse; I think he's just got a bit of Ted Cruz in him. All in all, we could do worse than Ted Cruz if he became president, and he genuinely would fight wokeness on some level. He's not a complete fraud like Lindsey Graham.
I'm glad Trump's warming back up to Bannon. Honestly one of the worst staffing decisions he made.
I don't suspect Larry Elder would win the presidency except for some kind of insane circumstance, like Trump getting assassinated or imprisoned. But yeah, Larry could bulldozer any topic he'd set his sights on; and if he got a cabinet position out of it, we could just consider that whole area secured. Make him in charge of the Department of Education, see what the fuck happens.
I don't think it's a full scale ruse; I think he's just got a bit of Ted Cruz in him.
Honestly, I think it is more like what went down with Reagan. You start out as something completely the opposite (Reagan was a communist, DeSantis was a NeoCon). But then once you start getting into positions where you get to see behind the curtain and learn the truth about what you are arguing for, and you have the conviction, you backlash. And then you become the exact opposite of what you used to be (Reagan becoming a founding Neo-Liberal back when that meant something, DeSantis becoming an arch American Populist), and you fight twice as hard because "I know what you will do if you win."
Make him in charge of the Department of Education, see what the fuck happens.
I can hear the absolutely titanic reeing now. I just hope that, if Trump wins, he and his people take a page from DeSantis book when dealing with the media: Dont even bother trying to explain yourself or make them come around to your side. Tell them to bite your ass, and bulldoze through to get the job done. And then let the people rally to your deeds, ignoring the media all together.
Don't forget that Reagan's 2nd term gave way to the beginnings of Neo-Conservativism, and the increasing influence of the former director of the CIA as his VP: George Bush Sr. Even a guy as good as Reagan can be co-opted.
That lesson is good, but there's a better one, which comes from DeSantis showing the explicit material of a 'queer education' text that was in a grade school. It goes back to one of the reasons I actually had no objection with r-WatchPeopleDie on Reddit.
People have no idea how much stuff is actively censored from them, and when done for so long: how badly that alters your capability of receiving reality. When WPD was being shut down, one of the things that I heard from most people who went to the sub was: "This place convinced me to always wear a seat belt." Followed by, "This place taught me to be much more careful."
When you don't see gore, you miss the necessary feedback mechanism in your neurology that teaches you when something is lethally dangerous. One of the saddest things, but most important things, about WPD is that there was hardly any videos where you could think that "if he had just done X during the event, he'd be alive". You will almost never get a chance to fight for your survival, and if you are lucky enough to get that chance, you'll have only seconds, maybe 1, maybe 5, it's a miracle if you get 10; and normally you earned those 10.
See, the time you get to fight for your life is based on the hours, days, or even years of decisions you've been previously making... and you don't totally know it. If there are read flags, they'll be laying on the ground. You don't get warning buzzers, no one's going to try to dissuade you, and it's not going to be readily apparent how dangerous what you're doing is.
People don't know how hard dying is, how tragic it is, how gory it is, and how scary it is. They don't know because they don't see it in their daily life, and it's censored in the news. So when the lethal event happens, the normalcy bias overtakes everything because this is the first time they've ever seen behind the censored video. That's the power of censorship, and it's not even done maliciously.
So, when DeSantis shows, uncensored, on live television, in a public briefing, how a textbook shows children how to use a butt plug; the value in that is showing the face of the evil to normies who never even imagined that anyone would do that; let alone that entire institutions are built to protect the people who are doing that. The value in showing the face of evil and calling it out is something that conservatives don't want to fully commit to; because it's very uncooth, and they have always tended to live in environments which censor immorality.
Don't forget that Reagan's 2nd term gave way to the beginnings of Neo-Conservativism, and the increasing influence of the former director of the CIA as his VP: George Bush Sr. Even a guy as good as Reagan can be co-opted.
I mean, that kind of goes back to your point about who you surround yourself with. Reagan was still in that phase where you could supposedly trust those sort of officials, so when they started taking power there wasnt much he could do since he didnt really see the problem (then Dementia happened).
But DeSantis has thus far been excellent in his picks. Some of them even more hardcore on the issues than he is (like the Florida Surgeon General who enjoyed getting into frequent fights with Fauci and the NIH over Covid). In fact, it is one of the point I put so far in his favor for a potential White House run (of course, balanced out by the fact that he would need to get that shit through Congress instead of just saying so).
So, when DeSantis shows, uncensored, on live television, in a public briefing, how a textbook shows children how to use a butt plug; the value in that is showing the face of the evil to normies who never even imagined that anyone would do that; let alone that entire institutions are built to protect the people who are doing that.
It certainly took a torpedo to their narrative. I know normies who saw that, saw it get censored for "showing porn", but you could see the cogs turning and them thinking "But it is fine in schools?" But they just cant help themselves, because he put them in a position where it is a lose-lose for them as far as that data is concerned. And that movement only spreads more. Which is why they are trying so hard to make it about "Look at those evil conservatives banning library books." In a desperate hope that it makes people associate with old evils instead of actually looking at the books banned.
The value in showing the face of evil and calling it out is something that conservatives don't want to fully commit to; because it's very uncooth, and they have always tended to live in environments which censor immorality.
At least for a lot I know though, that is starting to change. People always throw around the Dune quote about "When I am weaker, I ask for your principles, when I am stronger, I enforce my principles" as for why the Left does what it does, and why the Right doesnt stop it. But I have seen a new trend growing that can basically be summed up as "Because I know you are a threat to my principles, you will not receive the mercy of them."
It has really been noticeable with gun rights and CRT, where the Left attempts to do some sort of argument about, say, "free speech" to defend CRT. And then the Right says "Did I ask for your opinion? No? Then suck fat nuts! bitchslaps Leftoid" Which thus far has been met with increased election turnout like that seen in Florida (with its 20% margin of victory).
I dont. He has gone far too hard in the paint on a number of issues that would have been better for him to back down on for it to all just be a ruse. He has also been significantly better at picking staff that will go just as hard as he does and then tell the journos "you disgust me" when they come looking for answers.
Unlike Trump who may have picked a handful of good people but was getting backstabbed by court politics basically from the moment he drummed out Bannon. On the recommendations of said court politics, fittingly enough.
All that said, I think Larry does better nationally, but still doesnt actually win it. But like you said, him being there to drag the Overton Window and take a sledgehammer to the resurgent Black Nationalist narratives is absolutely a win in its own right.
I don't think it's a full scale ruse; I think he's just got a bit of Ted Cruz in him. All in all, we could do worse than Ted Cruz if he became president, and he genuinely would fight wokeness on some level. He's not a complete fraud like Lindsey Graham.
I'm glad Trump's warming back up to Bannon. Honestly one of the worst staffing decisions he made.
I don't suspect Larry Elder would win the presidency except for some kind of insane circumstance, like Trump getting assassinated or imprisoned. But yeah, Larry could bulldozer any topic he'd set his sights on; and if he got a cabinet position out of it, we could just consider that whole area secured. Make him in charge of the Department of Education, see what the fuck happens.
Honestly, I think it is more like what went down with Reagan. You start out as something completely the opposite (Reagan was a communist, DeSantis was a NeoCon). But then once you start getting into positions where you get to see behind the curtain and learn the truth about what you are arguing for, and you have the conviction, you backlash. And then you become the exact opposite of what you used to be (Reagan becoming a founding Neo-Liberal back when that meant something, DeSantis becoming an arch American Populist), and you fight twice as hard because "I know what you will do if you win."
I can hear the absolutely titanic reeing now. I just hope that, if Trump wins, he and his people take a page from DeSantis book when dealing with the media: Dont even bother trying to explain yourself or make them come around to your side. Tell them to bite your ass, and bulldoze through to get the job done. And then let the people rally to your deeds, ignoring the media all together.
Don't forget that Reagan's 2nd term gave way to the beginnings of Neo-Conservativism, and the increasing influence of the former director of the CIA as his VP: George Bush Sr. Even a guy as good as Reagan can be co-opted.
That lesson is good, but there's a better one, which comes from DeSantis showing the explicit material of a 'queer education' text that was in a grade school. It goes back to one of the reasons I actually had no objection with r-WatchPeopleDie on Reddit.
People have no idea how much stuff is actively censored from them, and when done for so long: how badly that alters your capability of receiving reality. When WPD was being shut down, one of the things that I heard from most people who went to the sub was: "This place convinced me to always wear a seat belt." Followed by, "This place taught me to be much more careful."
When you don't see gore, you miss the necessary feedback mechanism in your neurology that teaches you when something is lethally dangerous. One of the saddest things, but most important things, about WPD is that there was hardly any videos where you could think that "if he had just done X during the event, he'd be alive". You will almost never get a chance to fight for your survival, and if you are lucky enough to get that chance, you'll have only seconds, maybe 1, maybe 5, it's a miracle if you get 10; and normally you earned those 10.
See, the time you get to fight for your life is based on the hours, days, or even years of decisions you've been previously making... and you don't totally know it. If there are read flags, they'll be laying on the ground. You don't get warning buzzers, no one's going to try to dissuade you, and it's not going to be readily apparent how dangerous what you're doing is.
People don't know how hard dying is, how tragic it is, how gory it is, and how scary it is. They don't know because they don't see it in their daily life, and it's censored in the news. So when the lethal event happens, the normalcy bias overtakes everything because this is the first time they've ever seen behind the censored video. That's the power of censorship, and it's not even done maliciously.
So, when DeSantis shows, uncensored, on live television, in a public briefing, how a textbook shows children how to use a butt plug; the value in that is showing the face of the evil to normies who never even imagined that anyone would do that; let alone that entire institutions are built to protect the people who are doing that. The value in showing the face of evil and calling it out is something that conservatives don't want to fully commit to; because it's very uncooth, and they have always tended to live in environments which censor immorality.
I mean, that kind of goes back to your point about who you surround yourself with. Reagan was still in that phase where you could supposedly trust those sort of officials, so when they started taking power there wasnt much he could do since he didnt really see the problem (then Dementia happened).
But DeSantis has thus far been excellent in his picks. Some of them even more hardcore on the issues than he is (like the Florida Surgeon General who enjoyed getting into frequent fights with Fauci and the NIH over Covid). In fact, it is one of the point I put so far in his favor for a potential White House run (of course, balanced out by the fact that he would need to get that shit through Congress instead of just saying so).
It certainly took a torpedo to their narrative. I know normies who saw that, saw it get censored for "showing porn", but you could see the cogs turning and them thinking "But it is fine in schools?" But they just cant help themselves, because he put them in a position where it is a lose-lose for them as far as that data is concerned. And that movement only spreads more. Which is why they are trying so hard to make it about "Look at those evil conservatives banning library books." In a desperate hope that it makes people associate with old evils instead of actually looking at the books banned.
At least for a lot I know though, that is starting to change. People always throw around the Dune quote about "When I am weaker, I ask for your principles, when I am stronger, I enforce my principles" as for why the Left does what it does, and why the Right doesnt stop it. But I have seen a new trend growing that can basically be summed up as "Because I know you are a threat to my principles, you will not receive the mercy of them."
It has really been noticeable with gun rights and CRT, where the Left attempts to do some sort of argument about, say, "free speech" to defend CRT. And then the Right says "Did I ask for your opinion? No? Then suck fat nuts! bitchslaps Leftoid" Which thus far has been met with increased election turnout like that seen in Florida (with its 20% margin of victory).