DeSantis Team Downsizing, Focus on South Carolina


Posted originally on the CTH on January 18, 2024 | Sundance 

There comes a time in every failing presidential campaign when the political consultants reorganize to take advantage of the smaller bucket of cash.  Team DeSantis is not trying to win in New Hampshire, they have decided to put all remaining resources into South Carolina.

Additionally, with DeSantis failing in the objective to win Iowa, it looks like the Christina Pushaw group of online influencers, herself included, have been dropped as a priority from the campaign strategy.

(Via New York Times) – […] As Mr. DeSantis’s team licked its wounds on Wednesday, his super PAC, Never Back Down, trimmed operations in several places, including Nevada. Other staff members were also laid off, including almost the entire online “war room” team, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Those who were cut had their email accounts immediately suspended. It was unclear how many people in all lost their jobs.

Mr. DeSantis also began moving a majority of his campaign staff — a separate group — to South Carolina to prepare for its Feb. 24 primary, according to a senior campaign official, who insisted on anonymity. And rather than campaign exclusively in New Hampshire this week, the final stretch before the primary election on Jan. 23, Mr. DeSantis will stump in South Carolina over the weekend, hoping that his conservative message will better align with primary voters.

His campaign on Wednesday framed the decision as a chance to deal a knockout blow to Ms. Haley.

“When Nikki Haley fails to win her home state, she’ll be finished and this will be a two-person race,” Andrew Romeo, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement. “We’re wasting no time in taking the fight directly to Haley on her home turf.”

But the move showed that Mr. DeSantis was all but giving up on competing in New Hampshire, where his poll numbers have been abysmal, trailing in the single digits far behind Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley. (read more)

The previous record for spending on a political campaign without benefit belonged to Jeb Bush.  I suspect when DeSantis fails in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, he will take the title from Jeb.

The Ron DeSantis Closing Message to Iowa is a Perfect Encapsulation of Ron DeSantis


Posted originally on the CTH on January 15, 2024 | Sundance 

I doubt this guy is going to come in second place, maybe third; yet there’s a possibility he could even drop to a devastating fourth.  The short answer about why is in this closing message.  The Florida governor shows who he is.

Giving his closing message to Iowa voters, Ron DeSantis attacks Donald Trump by saying, “if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful.  You can be the strongest, most dynamic successful Republican and conservative in America, but if you don’t kiss that ring, then he’ll try to trash you.”  This comes after Ron DeSantis was desperate in 2018 and likely to lose the Florida governor race to a drug fueled porn addict, so his team begged Donald Trump for assistance.

American voters are not stupid.  The labeling and attacking do not work when it is full of fraud, sanctimony and hypocrisy.  That said, this is also why DeSantis has very few friends and even fewer endorsements amid those in the Florida delegation who know him best. WATCH:

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You know what the strange thing is…. I doubt strongly that Ron DeSantis has any idea just how much damage he has done to himself with this campaign.  The echo-chamber around DeSantis is so necessarily isolating, only after he drops out will he personally begin to absorb just how small, pathetic and insignificant he has become.

DeSantis Responds to Ramaswamy Challenge to Pull Out of Colorado – Saying: No Way, Those Delegates Are Now Mine


Posted originally on the CTH on December 20, 2023 | Sundance 

Folks, before getting to the substance of what you are about to see and hear, let me point out something very serious.

When you listen to the gleeful whispers of demons on your shoulder, something physically begins to manifest.  Look at Ron DeSantis carefully.  I mean, really look at him.  Do you see it?  Notice the absence of light, joy and happiness around him.  The Florida Governor is traveling in a very dark psychological place, and it shows.

In this interview (prompted), Ron DeSantis is asked about the challenge by Vivek Ramaswamy for all candidates to pull out of the Colorado primary after the state supreme court decided to use black-robed political power in an effort to remove President Donald Trump from the ballot.  DeSantis, dancing with demons, says he is not withdrawing from Colorado, because those precious delegates will now be his.  WATCH:

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DeSantis on War with the Bahamas? Re-Posted Nov 14, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 


DeSantis initially attempted to remain a bit vague on where he stands on America’s participation in foreign wars. He redacted a statement made early on in his campaign about America’s involvement in Ukraine, saying they are, in fact, deserving of US resources. Ron DeSantis did a good job as the governor of Florida by putting Florida first, but would he put America first as president?

DeSantis showed great leadership when he sent two planes into an active warzone to retrieve American citizens. He has vowed to deport pro-Hamas protestors, which is at least a US-related issue. Ron went overseas to visit Netanyahu, who called him a “friend of Israel.” “We didn’t talk about American politics,” Netanyahu said. “I have enough politics here.” Once again, a US politician is failing to put America first.

DeSantis is now saying that Israel’s response to the attack by Hamas is inevitable. “What are you supposed to do? I mean, I used to say even when they would just fire the normal rockets because they’ve been firing these rockets for years and years. And I thought to myself, like, if the Bahamas were firing rockets into Fort Lauderdale, like, we would not accept that for, like, one minute. I mean, we would just level it. We would never be willing to live like that as Americans,” DeSantis said.

Now, the Bahamas has no plans to attack Florida, and the analogy is a bit ridiculous. Florida-Bahama tensions are non-existent. But most importantly, DeSantis is showing that he would pledge full support to Israel if elected president and escalate this war in accordance with the globalist agenda.

The presidential hopeful has stated that America is responsible for protecting Israel. He is ramping up fears of nuclear war to explain America’s involvement. “Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons creates a risk like you’ve not seen in this region,” DeSantis said. “It’s an existential threat to the state of Israel and to the United States of America.” The media loves the old “weapons of mass destruction” tactic.

Now, this is the man who once called the war in Ukraine a “territorial dispute” before changing his mind and condemning Putin as a war criminal. He is not coming out as a blatant Neocon like Haley, but make no mistake about it: DeSantis is a pro-war candidate.

Shrinking Ron DeSantis Goes Shopping for a Lift With MSNBC, Morning Joe, Viewers


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

The guy gets more pathetic with every poll that shows him shrinking.  The latest strategy to garner Republican support is for the Florida governor to appear on MSNBC “Morning Joe” to participate in the orange man bad conversation.

The devolution of DeSantis is actually quite funny; it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of visible desperation.  We all knew this was going to happen, but it’s still pathetic to watch it play out in real time.  In the big picture, the arc of this collapsing narrative was very predictable, because Ron DeSantis winning the 2024 GOP nomination is not the goal of the people who funded and talked him into this mission.  The real goal is to stop Trump, and that brings forth all of the silly desperation as Trump keeps dominating.

As Ron DeSantis brags on his electability, MSNBC runs graphics showing how badly his campaign is doing.  Too funny.  Additionally, Ron DeSantis now pushes the narrative that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election and took nuclear secrets to his home in Mar-a-Lago.  WATCH:

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Longer excerpt below.

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Too Funny – The Most Media Coverage Ever Recorded for Ron DeSantis Is All About His Boot Lifts


Posted originally on the CTH on October 31, 2023 | Sundance

You know things have collapsed into an unserious candidacy when this is the predominate conversation about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  However, it is a little more than just ordinarily funny; it’s factually well-deserved snark.

The issue of Ron DeSantis wearing weird boots and lifts, to give himself the illusion of greater physical stature, has been building over time on various internet discussion formats.  Yesterday, podcaster Patrick Bet-David took the issue directly to the source.  The discomfort on DeSantis’ face was clear and palpable – even as he claims he is 5′ 11″ at the end of the clip.  WATCH:

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Politico even did a forensic and expert analysis using three experts in shoes, boots and lifts [READ HERE].  Seriously, it’s their #1 most read article. lolol   The determination by the experts is that Ron DeSantis DOES wear lifts.  Everything about this story is hilarious and has become viral internet meme fuel.

Unfortunately, once the meme momentum gains this level of popularity, it sticks.

My sincere apologies in advance, but I must confess to my nonstop laughter.


Local Florida News Station Broadcasts Reality of DeSantis Campaign


Posted originally on the CTH on October 6, 2023 | Sundance

WFLA news broadcasts in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.  Recapping Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign trip in the area, the broadcasters were brutally honest.

According to the reporter on the ground, about 200 people showed up for DeSantis, and things get worse as the political analyst explains the status of nonexistent campaign funds and donors pulling away from the governor in his doomed bid to reestablish the Bush era in national politics.  WATCH:

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DeSantis haz sad….

Desperate DeSantis Appears on Bill Maher Show to Defend Joe Biden from 2020 Election Questioning


Posted originally on the CTH September 30, 2023 | Sundance 

With Donald Trump holding an unbreakable majority lead with the base voters, and with Nikki Haley now surging to take the lead over the Never Trump Republicans, Ron DeSantis is watching his lane disappear.

Last night, in a desperate move to appeal to the left, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on HBO with Bill Maher to defend Joe Biden from criticism.   Mr. Maher was more than happy to bring up the issue of 2020 “election deniers” like Kari Lake, and DeSantis was more than willing to join the Maher parade.

Amid DeSantis’ 12% support system, there was likely a percentage of Trump supporters who were willing to grant benefit of doubt; that segment will likely now disappear. WATCH:

Think about it….  DeSantis claims, without evidence, that he alone would have possessed the fortitude and determination to push back against the entire global professional medical establishment during the 2020 COVID-19 madness, and yet he buckles on the soft ball about the 2020 election fraud.  This guy is as phony as the Sea Island/Jeb Bush operation behind him.

Club For Growth Cries Uncle – McIntosh Tells Donors No Attack Effort Against Trump Is Working


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

It is important, VERY IMPORTANT, to remember the Club for Growth (CfG) is the Ron DeSantis career financial vehicle.  Ever since his first steps into Congress, CfG has been the primary financial sponsor for the now Florida Governor.  There is no moment in the political career of DeSantis where CfG does not exist.

While the DeSantis SuperPAC Never Back Down is the mechanics of the DeSantis election strategy, CfG is the well invested advising side, and David McIntosh has been the source of DeSantis’ career guidance for a decade.  That’s how intrinsically connected Club for Growth is to Ron and Casey DeSantis.

CfG has also opposed Donald Trump for his “America First” economic plan from the moment they realized Trump was serious about economic nationalism, control over immigration, a renewal of the American manufacturing sector, balanced trade and reciprocal tariffs.  All of these policy points are against the interests of McIntosh and the larger Club for Growth agenda.  The CfG has been working against Trump since 2016.

That is the appropriate context for a memo written by David McIntosh to those who fund Club for Growth, as reported by the New York Times.  McIntosh writes a brutally honest letter to the professionally Republican donor class, saying all of their efforts against Trump have been futile, and there is no effective strategy that will break the bond the American middle-class voter has with President Donald Trump.

(New York Times) – A well-funded group of anti-Trump conservatives has sent its donors a remarkably candid memo that reveals how resilient former President Donald J. Trump has been against millions of dollars of negative ads the group deployed against him in two early-voting states.

The political action committee, called Win It Back, has close ties to the influential fiscally conservative group Club for Growth. It has already spent more than $4 million trying to lower Mr. Trump’s support among Republican voters in Iowa and nearly $2 million more trying to damage him in South Carolina.

But in the memo — dated Thursday and obtained by The New York Times — the head of Win It Back PAC, David McIntosh, acknowledges to donors that after extensive testing of more than 40 anti-Trump television ads, “all attempts to undermine his conservative credentials on specific issues were ineffective.”

[…] “Even when you show video to Republican primary voters — with complete context — of President Trump saying something otherwise objectionable to primary voters, they find a way to rationalize and dismiss it,” Mr. McIntosh states in the “key learnings” section of the memo.

“Every traditional postproduction ad attacking President Trump either backfired or produced no impact on his ballot support and favorability,” Mr. McIntosh adds. “This includes ads that primarily feature video of him saying liberal or stupid comments from his own mouth.”

[…] The memo says this of Win It Back’s most promising pandemic-themed ad: “This ad was our best creative on the pandemic and vaccines that we tested in focus group settings, but it still produced a backlash in our online randomized controlled experiment — improving President Trump’s ballot support by four points and net favorability by 11 points.”

Win It Back did not bother running ads focused on Mr. Trump as an instigator of political violence or as a threat to democracy. The group tested in a focus group and online panel an ad called “Risk,” narrated by former Representative Liz Cheney, that focused on Mr. Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021. But the group found that the Cheney ad helped Mr. Trump with the Republican voters, according to Mr. McIntosh. (read more)

Ron DeSantis Drops to Fifth Place in Latest New Hampshire Polling


Posted originally on the CTH on September 20, 2023 | Sundance 

One week ago, a poll of South Carolina voters showed that Ron DeSantis had dropped to fourth place with only 9% support, far behind President Trump at 46% {LINK}. Today a poll out of New Hampshire shows DeSantis dropping to fifth place with 10% support. {LINK}  To give some scale to the collapse, this represents a drop of more than 75% of DeSantis’ original support since mid-January of this year. [From 43% to 10%]

The New Hampshire University Poll [SEE DATA HERE] also shows, while he doesn’t carry much support, the very specific demographics of DeSantis supporters are old, rich, white men who listen to Buck Sexton on the radio. This demographic pattern repeats in just about every poll; it’s quite remarkable.  I will admit to finding it funny, when the predictions from a year ago show up with such clarity.

[Data Source]

New Hampshire – Thirty-nine percent of likely primary voters’ support Trump, followed by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (13%), former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (12%), former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (11%), and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (10%). Six percent support South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, 2% support former Vice President Mike Pence, and 1% or less support North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (1%), former Texas Congressman Will Hurd (1%), former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (<1%), or talk show host Larry Elder (<1%). Less than 1% support another candidate while 6% are unsure whom they would support. (more)