Yes, Virginia, There is No DeSantis Clause

On Monday – it being Memorial Day, of course, the day we honor those who gave their lives defending democracy – Ron DeSantis was a guest on Fox & Friends.  He was asked about running for the Republican nomination and having to defeat Trump who Republicans have already voted for twice.  As part of his answer, he said –
 
"Because everyone knows if I'm the nominee, I will beat Biden, and I will serve two terms and I will be able to, uh, destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology in the dustbin of history."
 
Happy Memorial Day.  Happy “Meet Today’s Republican Party” Day.

And even more, meet yet another reason why Ron DeSantis is not likely to be elected president, even if he gets the GOP nomination which is an uphill climb at the moment being 31 points down to someone convicted of sexual abuse, indicted and the party leader. 

Most candidates who go “scorched earth extreme” during their party’s primary to win the nomination then do their best to move to the middle and contend that, no, I really didn’t mean what you’re attributing to me, and I’ve also evolved.  The huge problem for DeSantis is that he can’t do that – his positions aren’t mere “opinions” that he can slide away from without notice.  They’re laws.  It’s just really incredibly hard to say your earlier statements are being misinterpreted when you’ve turned them into laws – and have sued your opponents.
 
So, when you say something like you will be able to “destroy leftism” and “leave woke ideology in the dustbin of history,” it’s hard to evolve from that when it fits like a glove into all the bills you’ve passed.  And defines your position that you’ve been trying to promote to your fascist, intolerant base.  Indeed, not only does it define your position to your base, but the very last thing your base wants to hear from you at this point is that you have evolved from that and no longer believe these things.  The very reason DeSantis has the (limited) support he does in the country is because of the certainty from his supporters that he believes this garbage with his heart and soul.
 
Further, the problem for him is that the people who don’t want to hear this is most everyone else.  And that includes most of independents.  Because, being independents, they don’t hate the left and right.  They just aren’t sure which side they support on any particular issue.  They might end up voting left, they might in the end vote right – so, they certainly don’t want either to be “destroyed.”  Nor, it follows, do they hate things that are “woke” (nor know exactly, like most people, including those who use the word, what “woke” precisely is) and don’t want to see it put in the dustbin of history.  And without independents, no presidential candidate can with the election. 
 
This also points to one of the huge differences between Democrats and today’s Republican Party.
 
Democrats won’t to defeat Republicans with every fiber of their being, defeat them so badly at the ballot box that most Republicans who are not on the extreme right will see that this is a horrible political path to be on, since the public has spoken loudly and rejected the extreme fascism of the party.  That’s part of the message of the 2022 Midterms, when the GOP ran extreme-right candidates, and they did so badly that Republicans lost the Senate, and barely held on to the House by seats when they were expected a majority of 40-60 members.  And lost more state houses than they expected to.  But this can only be accomplished by winning huge on Election Day.  Democrats have learned that they are not going to change entrenched ideology.  But what they can change is the perception among Republicans that extreme-right fascism is the way to win elections.
 
On the other hand, the philosophy as expressed by Ron DeSantis, that echoes much of today’s Republican base, is to “destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology in the dustbin of history."

That’s extremism.  And is a near-perfect example of why so many describe today’s GOP as fascism, as much as Republicans hate being called fascists.  (Side note:  my response is always that if you don’t like being called “fascist” don’t act like fascists.)
 
There are three core tenets of fascism: wanting to obliterate other sources of power, xenophobic hatred of others who are different, and the use of violence.  DeSantis, in one simple sentence, encompasses all three.
 
The biggest power source opposing Republicans is Democrats, and DeSantis doesn’t just want to beat them at the ballot box, the core of democracy, he wants to destroy leftism.
 
And the biggest concern about the indeterminate concept of “woke” is that, whatever it is, it is something that wants to help others who are different, in need, foreign.  Minorities, immigrants, gay, poor, transgender children who require healthcare.  DeSantis wants to leave the ideology to help these people in the dustbin.
 
And DeSantis doesn’t just want his beliefs to be favored by most people, or get more votes at elections, no, he wants destruction, he wants to destroy leftism, which is about as violent as you can get.
 
This is all who Ron DeSantis is.  In his own words.  His own laws.  His own lawsuits.
 
And it’s who the Republican today is.  In most everything they do, support and enable.