Category DeSantis a RNC Deception

May 21 2023

Ron DeSantis Plots Politics with Chris Sununu in New Hampshire


May 20, 2023 | Sundance 

The upcoming week or two should provide more clarity on 2024 candidate field as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott are all likely to make their enlistment official.  Of course, most eyes will be on the Jeb! lane for 2024 which is currently occupied by Ron DeSantis.

Current Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, another approved Republican, is in a holding pattern above the race in the event that DeSantis does a big stupid.  Meanwhile, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is now pushing himself into the foray, while simultaneously meeting with DeSantis to talk shop.

Things are starting to become clearer as we look at the approved Republican field and the intents of the people who control the real dynamic in GOPe politics, the BIG CLUB donors.   Remember, GOPe politics is all about money, not ideology.  The ideological framework of republican politics is a false front, where ‘social issues’ are used as the retained illusion inside the theater keeping the audience distracted, while the people who construct the performance take the loot from the coat check room out the back door.

Once you understand the real baseline of corporation run party politics inside the USA, all of the moves – past and present – make sense, and the ‘ah-ha’ moments just keep flooding in. {GO DEEP}

The boardroom of the Democrat private corporation (DNC) wants power. The boardroom of the Republican private corporation (RNC) wants money.  The Democrats use money to get power, ultimately control over people; while the Republicans use power to get money, whatever happens to the people is irrelevant.

The DNC wants fundamental change; the RNC wants to be paid and control wealth while it happens.  The core issue to understand republican politics is to look at how the people in control, the billionaires and multinational corporations, position for wealth.  This is why the DNC weaponize voting systems (policy outcomes), while the RNC just want to be paid off while it takes place.

The focus on money is why we do not see policy at the forefront. Inside the internecine system of modern republican politics, the focus is always on the money.

The billionaires, multinational corporations, Wall Street hedge fund managers, and institutional wealth systems create the ‘acceptable republican‘ system, and as an outcome create the illusion of choice; however, each candidate delivers the same outcome to the people behind them – except Donald Trump and his America First agenda.  That’s also why the entire assembly of GOPe candidates are against ‘MAGAnomics’.

The GOPe club know the illusion of choice begins with control over the first set of Republican states during the primary.  Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are important and highly visible not because those states magnanimously represent the interest of the national assembly, but rather as an outcome of the 2024 primary calendar.

For the 2024 primary, we are starting to get a clearer perspective on the ‘illusion of choice’ roadmap.  Asa Hutchinson and Mike Pence are considered important to the Iowa caucus system and the ‘evangelical’ values angle in the club dynamic.  Keeping Ron DeSantis in a top tier outcome is the goal of all other non-Trump candidates.

The RGA is very important this cycle.  Current Republican Governors Association (RGA) chairwoman, Kim Reynolds, is not accidentally also the Iowa Governor.  Ron DeSantis 2024 is filling the role of Jeb Bush in 2016, with club modifications using the RGA to –more than slightly– change the controlled approach.

The RGA is going to play a big role in 2024.  CTH could see this modified 2024 approach starting to map out last year; now we are gaining clarity.

Chris Sununu and Ron DeSantis mapping out New Hampshire success is a no brainer.  Again, if those who control the Potemkin Village in Washington DC (the people in control of money), cannot take out Trump through a weaponized legal system, they need overwhelming strategic placements to break apart the voting blocs.   New Hampshire and South Carolina become critical as the sequential #2 and #3 primary.

(Via NBC) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu in the first primary state Friday afternoon in Concord, Sununu’s office confirmed.

“Governor Sununu is ready and willing to meet with all potential candidates who come to New Hampshire, and was happy to meet with Governor DeSantis for an hour today at his office in the State House, where they discussed a wide range of issues, including how to do well in the New Hampshire primary,” Sununu spokesman Ben Vihstadt told NBC News in a statement. (more)

For South Carolina, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott become important to those donors who control the RGA and RNC.   We now see the Stop-Trump constructs assembling in real time.  At the end of all the illusions is a total field supporting Ron DeSantis who was selected a long time ago as the best hope for the Stop-Trump agenda.

[Sidebar – Remember, for those who control Republican politics, stopping Trump is the objective – not winning the 2024 election.  The status of the financial class will remain untouched if the Democrat wing of the corporate apparatus succeeds.  As long as Trump is not the President, the club wins regardless of whose flag is atop the spire.]

The same people funding the Stop-Trump candidates are the same people funding the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Republican Governors Association (RGA).  These are institutions of influence within the corporate controlled political system.  The candidates, RNC and RGA, are all funded by the same people. This is the root of their commonality.

When the people behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis used the influence of the office to create legislative policy for the Florida lawmakers, you might have heard about the ESG (Environmental and Social Governance) confrontation.   DeSantis confronted ESG investments by leveraging Florida taxpayer funds and pension plans.

Florida pension money was shifted out of Blackrock type financial institutions and spread around “non-ESG” smaller investment groups.  Those non-ESG financial groups then increased their financial donations to the Republican Governors Association (RGA).   The RGA then turned around and put $21 million extra money in the DeSantis political fund.  Can you see the convenience of the financial laundry?

DeSantis gets anti-wokeism credit for confronting ESG investment, and simultaneously DeSantis gets more donations as an outcome of the state money he diverted from ESG investments.  [Good Article on the process here]  This is an example of how the ‘illusion of choice’ aligns with the best interests of the Sea Island Billionaires, and it’s a pretty smart approach, confirming a process of how the RGA will be used this cycle.

Once you see the strings on the marionettes you can never go back to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.  While we have awakened many people to the ‘illusion of choice’ system by predicting the moves in advance, the enemy is cunning, and they know how to weaponize the feeling of desperation.

We are in an abusive relationship with our government, and that cycle of abuse is created by the background financial institutions who control government.

[We Shall Keep Watching]

Posted i

May 18 2023

DeSantis Loses Hometown Election to Democrat – Mayoral Candidate Donna Deegan Flips Jacksonville from Red to Blue


Posted originally on the CTH on May 17, 2023 | Sundance 

Perhaps it’s the Ron DeSantis national pretending 2024 campaign driven by a “book tour.”  Perhaps it’s the international travel that distracts a sitting governor from supporting a Republican candidate in the largest geographic metropolitan area in the state.  Whatever the reason, the Jacksonville Florida mayoral contest was won by a Democrat, Donna Deegan.

I have warned, against some of the most vitriolic pushback, that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is setting up the state of Florida for some major problems in the future. There are lots of granular points that I can reference, but the bigger picture they create is one that will be very damaging in the future.  The class division in Florida, the distance between the haves and have-nots, is growing exponentially.

Lower and middle-income Floridians are being crushed as the ‘Instagram selfie-my-lunch’ crowd, the largest coalition of support for Ron DeSantis, ignores it.

Believe me on this, DeSantis Republicans representing the financially elite and being condescendingly dismissive of the non-elite, is not a path to future Republican electoral victory.  From my perspective the backlash is visible. It only takes a few thousand voters staying home in protest to make a difference.

Those same enforcement police, newly empowered with tools against ANTIFA woke protests, will hold those same tools when it’s Joe the plumber protesting his economic status.

JACKSONVILLE – Democrat Donna Deegan won the Jacksonville mayor’s race Tuesday night, a shocking upset that hands Florida Democrats a major shot of energy less than six months after they were trounced in the 2022 midterms and considered left for dead by the national party.

Deegan came into Election Day as the decided underdog against Republican Daniel Davis, who is the head of the city’s Chamber of Commerce and had a significant fundraising advantage. He was endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, but that support was lukewarm. DeSantis did not do events with Davis or put his political muscle behind his candidacy. 

With all of the city’s 186 precincts reporting, Deegan had a 52% to 48% advantage over Davis, who was vying to replace current Republican Mayor Lenny Curry, who was term-limited.  “Everyone said it could not be done in Jacksonville, Florida,” Deegan said, according to video of her victory speech. “We did it because we brought the people inside.” (read more)

Ron DeSantis has checked-out of his job in Florida.  A tiara dreaming Casey DeSantis is measuring the drapes in the White House.  The billionaire donors are pumping them both up.

The Florida middle class is being destroyed at the fastest rate in the state’s history.   The lower socioeconomic group is looking for snorkel extensions, and the illegal alien workers, who support the lifestyle indulgences of the affluent class, are being targeted for removal.

The class divide in the state has grown more in the past three years than the quarter century that preceded it.  Wokeism is not a priority when you are struggling paycheck to paycheck to survive.

Keep in mind, Donald Trump is a major employer in the state.  President Trump, a very generous employer to all of his people, can see the struggle and pain on the face of his Trump Inc. employees.  This is not some esoteric political issue for those being impacted.

May 13 2023

DeSantis Quietly Signs New Law Sealing All of His Travel Records From Public, the Law Applies Retroactively


May 12, 2023 | Sundance 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis always makes a big deal about signing all of the Florida laws that stem from new legislation the people behind his administration submit from his office.  However, when he signed the new law that sealed all his travel records [Previously Discussed Here], he did so quietly.

The Ron DeSantis reelection was all a big con job… all of it. Florida was duped, and I have had a lot of people begging me not to point it out and talk about it.  Too bad.  The Truth Has No Agenda here!

The not pretending reason for the exclusive DeSantis new law is to stop anyone from tracing the background of his travel, and the billionaire special interests and donors who funded it, as he launches his 2024 presidential campaign.  As I have been saying since last summer, the DeSantis ’24 campaign was planned years ago – long before anyone else was paying attention.

Ron DeSantis ’24 is 100%, guaranteed to be an absolute construct of the billionaires, multinationals, and hedge fund managers who must stop Donald Trump and the America First platform.  Look backward at the professional Republican outcomes in 2018, 2020 and 2022 to see the background of what this is all about.

FLORIDA – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Thursday that would hide records about his past and future travel, as well as powerful people he meets with, at a time when he’s widely expected to be on the cusp of announcing he’ll run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

DeSantis signed the bill into law unceremoniously on Thursday afternoon, among more than 35 other bills. His office sent an email to the press that listed the bills that were now law.

Under the new law, details about the governor’s trips — whether on state planes or private, chartered flights — will be retracted, including names of staff and family members that travel with DeSantis. Visitor logs to the governor’s mansion and his office also will be hidden.

The retraction will shield information not just from journalists but from DeSantis’s political opponents, who would likely compile droves of research to use against the governor for public scrutiny. Chief among these could be instances in which DeSantis traveled with lobbyists or others who might have been trying to curry favor with him. (read more)

If we stop playing this silly game of pretending, we will accept the billionaire donors who are funding the ‘STOP TRUMP’ operation are likely the same donors who are funding the ‘BOOK TOUR’; who are the same donors who funded the new branding and consulting group in 2022; who are the same donors funding the apparatus of the DeSantis stealth campaign.  More succinctly, his control handlers.

The need for control is a reaction to fear.

The professional Republican apparatus in Florida needs to control what is visible about the construct of Ron DeSantis 2024.  If you ask my opinion, I will tell you from all appearances this fear is connected to a reality that Ron DeSantis ’24 was planned long, long ago.  Likely before the 2020 presidential election year.

As a result of decades of grassroots activist work in the state of Florida, much of it led by the patriotic Tea Party movement, the sunshine state has/had some of the most transparent public information laws in the country.  Florida is/was well known for the ability of citizens and media to keep government officials in check through public records requests.  I have personally used them and will attest to the sunlight process that was always available.

Ever since the people behind Governor Ron DeSantis began conducting a stealth presidential campaign based on fraud, deception, brand imagery and pretense, those same Florida Sunlight Laws are viewed as a risk.   The arc of this DeSantis legacy, including the legislative changes he champions as good for the state, does not end in a good place.

If you follow the process to its natural conclusion, what’s predictable is a voter swing in the other direction. Then Democrats will have a lot of powerful tools they can weaponize against their opposition.  Tools, currently created by DeSantis, will be used by a host of carpetbagging non and new-Floridians who are putting the state on a path for future misery.

Ron DeSantis is the counterfeit $100 bill on a fishing line that was dragged through the MAGAhood by the professional Republican politicians who need to stop the takeover of the party.

More to follow….  Keep watching.

May 10 2023

Steve Cortes Announces He Took “National Spokesman” Job (Money) From DeSantis PAC, Now Supports Ron DeSantis


Posted originally on the CTH on May 9, 2023 | Sundance 

Do not let these transparently corrupt political grifters like Republican strategist Steve Cortes raise your blood pressure; instead, mock them mercilessly wherever and whenever you see them.

Former Trump ally Steve Cortes announced today he has taken a job with the Never Back Down PAC that supports Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. As a result, he is reversing all his prior points of advocacy to endorse Ron DeSantis for 2024.

[Pictured left, Cortes with fellow grifting scumbags John Cardillo and Matthew Tyrmand (the architect of the Project Veritas attack on O’Keefe) as they attend a pro-Desantis effort earlier this year.]

The shallow character of these income chasers is pathetic. However, the Sea Island billionaires are pouring money into the DeSantis camp for exactly this purpose.

The goal of the stop Trump corporate donors is to retain their own financial status; Cortes is simply accepting their money and displaying his own character, nothing more.  We said last year, 2024 would be the opportunity to see what prices people put on their allegiances.  Today, is just another reveal.

There’s no merit or value in looking at Cortes, other than just to accept his objective – to enrich himself.

Meanwhile back in Florida, Ron DeSantis has separated himself legally from his state political action committee (PAC) Friends of Ron DeSantis, which now creates the mechanism for his remaining $85 million to transfer into the Super PAC ‘Never Back Down’, the same organization that just hired Cortes.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis severed his connection to his long-standing state political committee and the tens of millions of dollars that it now controls, a step he needs to take ahead of a presidential campaign.

The Republican governor is expected to jump into the race for president soon and the move to rebrand his Florida political committee — called Friends of Ron DeSantis — is the most concrete sign so far that his candidacy is imminent.

The website for the committee was changed on Tuesday morning to say that its mission is “committed to advancing the Freedom Agenda and keeping Florida free.” But more importantly, the website says that the committee is associated with state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia and not DeSantis. The committee on Tuesday also filed paperwork that says Ingoglia is replacing a Tampa accountant as the official chair of the organization.

Ingoglia is a Republican ally of DeSantis who sponsored several of the governor’s key legislative priorities during the recently concluded legislative session, including a crackdown on illegal immigration that includes $12 million for the governor’s controversial migrant relocation program.

A spokesperson with DeSantis’ political operation did not comment on the shift and Ingoglia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DeSantis first set up his committee back in 2018 and he used it to raise a record amount of money for his re-election campaign last year as he pulled in donations from many major Republican donors. Current campaign finance records show that the committee has nearly $86 million in the bank.

But DeSantis cannot use money raised for Friends of Ron DeSantis in a federal race because state law does not limit how much someone can give to the political committee or the source of the donations. But that money could be shifted to a super PAC that backs DeSantis if the governor is no longer connected to the political committee. While some have questioned the legality of such a move, the Federal Elections Commission deadlocked over a similar strategy that was used by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). (read more)

There is still no indication how the DeSantis handlers are going to navigate the reality that once they make their official campaign announcement, it will be transparent to everyone that Ron DeSantis was lying about his intentions during his reelection pretense.   In my opinion, recognizing that everything DeSantis is built upon fraud and lies, will likely make even people stop supporting him.

The insufferable pretending of the “Book Tour” and national branding effort to avoid the Florida “resign to run” law, shows just how corrupt and conniving the network is. Nothing they do now will erase that fundamental problem.

Ron DeSantis has been planning this 2024 effort for several years, and yet people who supported him denied it.  Now that admissions will come, and the character of the governor will take center stage, it is very likely that fewer voters will accept his candidacy regardless of how many hundreds of billions are handed out to illicit endorsements, influence and support.

Cortes just becomes the latest in a long line of masks to drop as we see the financial corruption that exists within our national political constructs.  There will be more, because there is so much money on the table.   For the Sea Island billionaires that are buying the pundits, there are Trillions At Stake.

Steve Cortes was a senior advisor to Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He now serves as National Spokesman for the pro-DeSantis PAC, Never Back Down. (link)

Gee, I wonder what changed?…

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1655961480146165765&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconservativetreehouse.com%2Fblog%2F2023%2F05%2F09%2Fsteve-cortes-announces-he-took-job-money-from-desantis-pac-now-supports-ron-desantis%2F&sessionId=fbb6e44b44731349779a1222562957130179bd9f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=500px

May 9 2023

DeSantis Owners Not Happy, Wall Street Worried That Too Much Woke Stuff Lessens the Value of Their Candidate to Defeat Trump and Retain Affluence


Posted originally on the CTH on May 8, 2023 | Sundance 

The reality was/is that both political corporations do the bidding of their financiers, Wall Street.  The battle against the UniParty is always a battle of Main Street -vs- Wall Street.

Wall St funds the acceptable candidates from either wing of the UniParty; the candidates best suited to maintain the status quo and keep the elite class in control of the economy and finance.  Donald J Trump is the only threat to their interests, so the Wall Street control group fund anyone who can remove the threat.

Against this backdrop the Wall Street billionaires and multinational corporations selected Ron DeSantis as their best hope, and they poured tens of millions into his various accounts to help construct the campaign against Trump.

However, the campaign strategy, the actual blueprint to defeat President Trump, isn’t working.

First, the astroturf and games of the pretending not to run has just worn people out.  The fakery that is the Ron DeSantis campaign is leading to people looking at the candidate in a new light.  Why the fraud, fakery, manufactured branding and so much emphasis on denying the obvious.  These are the tell-tale signs of a heavily controlled GOPe operation.  People now see through the smokescreen the DeSantis handlers created.

Second, the campaign is constructed around getting the base to love their candidate’s position on social issues.  The fight against Wokeism is a tool and technique to lift the candidate.  However, too much emphasis on the social stuff leaves the candidate narrowing their base of support.  Put the two issues together and the viability of DeSantis starts dropping.  The cherry on the fail-cake is the weak character of the wind-testing principal.  It’s all an illusion.

The donors from Wall Street now see the program isn’t working.

WASHINGTON –  Wall Street is firmly in the Never Trump camp. Finding a Republican who can make “never” happen is another question.  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had been seen as the top pick to lock down the support of financial titans who have already pumped millions into his state campaigns.

But as he stumbles through gaffes over everything from his personal demeanor and stance on Ukraine to his snacking habits, Wall Street donors are keeping the door open to his competitors, according to more than a dozen bankers, attorneys and political consultants interviewed for this story.

Where Wall Street puts its money matters because financial industry executives are among the biggest donors in presidential elections. And while bankers and asset managers generally favor lower taxes and lighter-touch regulation, they also value stability and experience — and they spread their money around to candidates of both parties, meaning they’re very much in play in each cycle.

On paper, that should give DeSantis an advantage. People close to Wall Street donors said his national profile and powerhouse fundraising operation that has included support from hedge fund titans like Ken Griffin and Jeff Yass had positioned him as most able to survive a primary with former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis’ gubernatorial reelection campaign is still loaded with cash, giving him big advantages over possible competitors. But many now say he no longer seems so formidable — at least on Wall Street. (read more)

In the bigger picture, the issue for Wall Street is that people are starting to see the DC political construct is really just a Potemkin Village created to obscure the real nature of who is in power over government.  As more people awaken to the financial and economics of the issue, the multinational corporation, billionaire donors and agents they conscript as influencers no longer have the ability to sway voters.

Social issues are a tool to keep people focused on the puppet show.  However, once you see the strings on the marionettes, you can never go back to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.  Ultimately, this is the DeSantis problem, and it extends well beyond the Florida governor.

May 6 2023

Report, DeSantis Will Skip 2024 Exploratory Committee Phase and Enter Training Camp for Facial Expressions


Posted originally on the CTH on May 5, 2023 | Sundance 

Ever since we pointed out the branding and image consultants hired by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in April, 2022 as part of his national rebranding launch, we have faced some criticism from non-believers.  [Go Deep]   However, the truth has no agenda.  The reality of the situation exists regardless of our comfort level.

ABC News is now reporting that Ron DeSantis will skip the exploratory committee phase and go straight into full campaign mode.  However, the best part of the information provided from within the DeSantis operation is this, “the team has been paying close attention to how to help manage the governor’s facial reactions in the upcoming debate.”  Too funny.  Nothing screams authenticity quite like taking political lessons in controlling your facial expressions.

Everything about this DeSantis construct is astroturf, fake, manufactured and inauthentic. It’s the major Achilles heel they just cannot overcome.

(Via ABC) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is moving more aggressively toward making his 2024 presidential campaign official, with sources telling ABC News the governor’s team is leaning toward skipping the launch of an exploratory committee altogether and is instead expected to launch a full presidential campaign next month.

The decision to skip the exploratory committee comes as DeSantis caps off an aggressive legislative session that saw him push a hard-line conservative agenda and dive head-first into numerous culture wars, while facing increasing attacks from his likely opponent, former President Donald Trump.

Sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News the decision to skip the exploratory committee comes as the governor is itching to start making his argument to voters by touting his accomplishments and to start pushing back against Trump’s numerous attacks.

[…] Sources said earlier this week that Trump plans to skip one or both of the first two Republican primary debates. But those close to DeSantis emphasized that they are preparing for either scenario, and are skeptical that the pair would not ultimately face off on the debate stage.

Still, sources said the governor’s strategy heading into the debates will be more focused on introducing the governor on a national stage rather than getting into a sparring match with the former president. However, the team has been paying close attention to how to help manage the governor’s facial reactions in the upcoming debate, sources said. (read more)

It has always been this way…. Club branding is subtle on the image front, but very clear on the substantive messaging side. Social issues selected to maximize camp coalition and influence base.

Consistently present is political messaging where the Republican voter base can say “yes.” Keep the “yes” messaging at the forefront (social emphasis). Focus on values. Schools, kids, safety, woke pushback, media bias etc, keep the audiences nodding yes.  Ultimately, it’s a sales technique. Identify with the target to influence their decisions.

Issues around multinational & corporate economics, hard economic and trade issues, foreign policy, all these things must be avoided – except in general terms.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is not to be challenged, not really.  Keep the message social and build the emotional connection. It is harder to break an emotional bond than a logical or cognitive bond.

These are the political techniques of Lee Atwater that still make up the bulk of the GOPe Club playbook.   The greatest skill of the professionally Republican is to present the illusion of choice in such a way as the voters do not see it.

Keep in mind, back in Washington DC both clubs are collaborating on the Trump removal program, because both clubs benefit.

Gotta work on those facial expressions Ron.

May 3 2023

Why Now? Florida Republican Legislature Sealing Ron DeSantis Travel Records from Public Review


Posted originally on the CTH on May 2, 2023 | Sundance 

The easiest way to cut through the pretending nonsense is to ask the obvious question, ‘Why now?‘

The Florida Republican Legislature is changing the Sunshine Laws in Florida to block people from reviewing the travel records of the Florida Governor. [HB1495 Link]

The claimed justification is security, to protect the governor and high-ranking state officials.  However, the obvious timing of Ron DeSantis pending run for the White House, in combination with his administration refusing to give details on who/how the funding for his private charter flights have been taking place during the “book tour,” makes the new law much more suspicious as constructed.

As noted within a Politico article on this subject: […] flight tracking records show that a private chartered jet last week flew from Austin, Texas, to Japan to South Korea to Israel to London and then, over the weekend, stopped in Boston before finally winding up in Tallahassee. Those stops coincide with the governor’s movements for the past week.

No reply at all — It has been previously stated that this trip is being paid by private donations to Enterprise Florida, the public-private economic development agency that is about to be dismantled by the Legislature. But a spokesperson for Enterprise Florida has not responded to questions as to why a chartered jet — which is likely to be tremendously expensive — was used for DeSantis’ trip. The agency was also asked about how much this will ultimately cost.  (read more)

If we stop playing this silly game of pretending, we will accept the billionaire donors who are funding the ‘STOP TRUMP’ operation are likely the same donors who are funding the ‘BOOK TOUR’; who are the same donors who funded the new branding and consulting group in 2022; who are the same donors funding the apparatus of the DeSantis stealth campaign.  More succinctly, his control handlers.

The need for control is a reaction to fear.

The professional Republican apparatus in Florida needs to control what is visible about the construct of Ron DeSantis 2024.  If you ask my opinion, I will tell you from all appearances this fear is connected to a reality that Ron DeSantis ’24 was planned long, long ago.  Likely before the 2020 presidential election year.

As a result of decades of grassroots activist work in the state of Florida, much of it led by the patriotic Tea Party movement, the sunshine state has/had some of the most transparent public information laws in the country.  Florida is/was well known for the ability of citizens and media to keep government officials in check through public records requests.  I have personally used them and will attest to the sunlight process that was always available.

Ever since the people behind Governor Ron DeSantis began conducting a stealth presidential campaign based on fraud, deception, brand imagery and pretense, those same Florida Sunlight Laws are viewed as a risk.   The arc of this DeSantis legacy, including the legislative changes he champions as good for the state, does not end in a good place.

If you follow the process to its natural conclusion, what’s predictable is a voter swing in the other direction. Then Democrats will have a lot of powerful tools they can weaponize against their opposition.  Tools, currently created by DeSantis, will be used by a host of carpetbagging non and new-Floridians who are putting the state on a path for future misery.

You only need to look at what took place on the floor of the Florida House of Representatives today to get a sense of the legislative crisis they are gleefully creating.  This is what DeSantis leadership in the state looks like right now:

Apr 30 2023

U.K. Business Leaders Unimpressed With Ron DeSantis Visit and London Leg of Book Tour


Posted originally on the CTH on April 29, 2023 | Sundance 

As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finishes up his long-scheduled foreign policy tour, he finishes the trip on a down note in London, England.  Apparently, the political and business leaders were unimpressed by the diminutive stature of the Top-Gov and had lots of uncomplimentary things to say about him.

Meanwhile, on the domestic front, the most recent Trump -vs- DeSantis poll shows another slip for the DeSantis brand managers, despite the considerable lifts they put in his shoes to assist the optics.  President Trump now leads Ron DeSantis 62% to 16% in polling, a 46-point advantage {link}.

Governor DeSantis is scheduled to arrive back in Florida this week as the consultants organize bill signing ceremonies for legislation completed during his absence.  The bills will include a change to the Florida election laws permitting Ron to start officially campaigning for president instead of pretending not to run.  The ‘official’ announcement, which appears to have been planned for several years, is scheduled for mid-May next month.

LONDON — He hopes to win the hearts and minds of devoted Donald Trump supporters ahead of next year’s U.S. election.

But Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis failed to impress British business chiefs at a high-profile London event Friday, in a tired performance described variously as “horrendous,” “low-wattage” and “like the end of an overseas trip.”

The Florida governor, expected to launch his bid next month to challenge Trump as the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential race, met with more than 50 representatives of major U.K. firms and business lobbying groups as a part of a four-country “trade mission” ending in London Friday.

For several of those present, however, the statesmanship was lacking.

One U.K. business figure said DeSantis “looked bored” and “stared at his feet” as he met with titans of British industry in an event co-hosted by Lloyd’s of London — the world’s largest insurance marketplace.

“He had been to five different countries in five days and he definitely looked spent, but his message wasn’t presidential,” they told POLITICO. “He was horrendous.”

A second business figure who was in the room said it was a “low-wattage” performance and that “nobody in the room was left thinking, ‘this man’s going places’.”

They said: “It felt really a bit like we were watching a state-level politician. I wouldn’t be surprised if [people in attendance] came out thinking ‘that’s not the guy’.” “There wasn’t any stardust.” (Read More)

Please clap…

Apr 29 2023

Florida House Passes Bill Allowing DeSantis to Run in 2024 Without Resigning – Heads to Governor Desk for Signature, After He Returns from Overseas Tour


Posted originally on the CTH on April 28, 2023 | Sundance 

The Senate bill that permits Governor Ron DeSantis to run for the GOP nomination in 2024 has now passed the Florida House and awaits the governor signature after return from his overseas ‘book tour.’  The bill passed the House by a vote of 76-34.   DeSantis is expected to announce his official campaign mid-May.

Meanwhile, the details of DeSantis campaign team are starting to emerge along with details of how the Florida Republican Party has been paying for the team to assemble quietly without attention.

“The leadership roster remains subject to change since the campaign – which could launch as soon as the start of next month – does not yet technically exist and most salaries are being paid, for the moment, through the state Republican party.”  This construct once again, proves my 9-month-long point about the deception operation behind DeSantis.

I have long ago accepted this DeSantis construct has been several years in the making, and it is a demonstrable certainty that all of the action since late 2021 was done to lay the stage for a massive deception upon the voters of Florida.  This campaign operation, and the astroturf assembled to assist it, has been a GOPe operation for a long time.  The assembled team is a who’s-who of GOPe operatives and DC professional republicans.  There’s not a single outsider among them.

[FLORIDA] –  Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, is quietly assembling a senior staff for an expected 2024 presidential campaign that will be headed by his top political adviser, Generra Peck, and around seven other Republican operatives serving as top advisers, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The leadership roster remains subject to change since the campaign – which could launch as soon as the start of next month – does not yet technically exist and most salaries are being paid, for the moment, through the state Republican party.

But some of the senior staff have started to move in recent weeks to the campaign’s base in Tallahassee, the people said, as DeSantis prepares to announce his presidential ambitions as perhaps the closest challenger to Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.

[…] The campaign manager is expected to be Peck, one of DeSantis’s most trusted advisers, who most recently shepherded his 2022 re-election effort for Florida governor, which saw him defeat the Democratic challenger and former governor Charlie Crist by almost 20 percentage points.

Peck is considered a highly adept political operator – notably including by Trump’s own team – who associates say earned the trust of DeSantis and his wife, Casey. At the governor’s inauguration, Peck was one of the people he thanked for his success.

The political director is expected to be Ryan Tyson, another top DeSantis adviser and one of the best-known Republican pollsters, who has been tasked with turning DeSantis’s legislative record in Florida into campaign policy that could work for a national audience.

[…] The policy team is expected to be headed by Dustin Carmack, DeSantis’s chief of staff when he was a member of Congress, from 2013 until 2018, before he ran for Florida governor. Carmack was also the chief of staff for the director of national intelligence during the Trump administration.

The communications team is expected to be headed by David Abrams, who came over from the Republican State Leadership Committee. Abrams previously worked for the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and the New Hampshire governor, Chris Sununu – both potential 2024 candidates.

Also a senior adviser for press is Christina Pushaw, responsible for rapid response. Pushaw came under scrutiny last year when the justice department directed her to retroactively register as a foreign agent for her work on behalf of the former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili from 2018 until 2020.

In a reflection of Casey DeSantis’s influence on her husband’s political career, her top aide, Melissa Peters, is also expected to serve as a senior adviser, with the title of chief financial officer overseeing operations, acting effectively as “the voice” of the would-be first lady on the campaign.

The chief technology officer is expected to be Carl Sceusa, who helped set up the WinRed platform, which generated more than $1bn in digital fundraising for Republican candidates in the 2020 election in only 15 months. He is expected to work with Ethan Eilon, who is heading the digital team.

DeSantis had discussed having Heather Barker run the finance operation, but last month, she joined Never Back Down Pac – the main fundraising vehicle for the DeSantis campaign. Barker’s deputy, Tucker Obenshain, is now expected to lead the advance team.

Also regarded as senior staff is Jason Johnson, the former chief strategist for Senator Ted Cruz, though it was unclear whether he will be leading a specific team or whether he will take on a broader top advisory role with the campaign. (read more)

.

Richard Baris: DeSantis shouldn’t run

.

Baris: I don’t know what DeSantis is going to do

.

Apr 28 2023

Collapsing at Home, DeSantis Travels to Israel and Proclaims He Moved U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Not President Trump


Posted originally on the CTH on April 27, 2023 | Sundance 

This should be embarrassing, even for a seriously self-centered politician so filled with hubris and visions of grandeur that he cannot see anything except his own magnanimity.  Alas, for the Narcissus Top Gov and the branding organization behind him, no scale of hubris exclaimed is excessive enough.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was in Israel Thursday, doing the obligatory indulgency tour all Republican presidential candidates must undertake before they officially announce.  During his pre-planned events, DeSantis took credit for moving the U.S-Israel embassy to Jerusalem.

[…] DeSantis presented the Trump administration’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as his own achievement, saying he worked to “cajole” the former president to make the move. He didn’t mention former President Trump by name. (link)

.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had no independent source of wealth, prior to this 2024 endeavor and collaborative operation.  Together with the multinational financing operation around him, in combination with the Murdoch book deal and advance payment, the $300k Governor is now worth millions.  Funny how that happens.  It’s no wonder Casey is tiara shopping while Florida residents are crushed by skyrocketing housing, insurance, taxes, energy and other unavoidable costs of living.

“Bumped into”…. 

January 6, 2022