Category DeSantis AKA “DeSanctimoniou,s”

Apr 24 2023

Sunday Talks – Florida Congressman Steube Explains Why the Congressional Delegation Will Not Support DeSantis


Posted originally on the CTH on April 23, 2023 | Sundance 

An increasingly larger audience is starting to realize what CTH outlined nine months ago as it relates to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  Had he chosen to remain a state leader, hopefully with increased focus on the economic issues that are crushing Floridians, most people would have kept biting their tongue.  However, once he openly began elevating himself beyond his state office, the truth about DeSantis was always going to come out.

In addition to other problems yet to be discussed, the personality characteristics of self-importance, arrogance, grandiosity and dismissal of people he considers less than, are major character defects within people who call themselves ‘leaders’.  Everyone in the orbit of Team DeSantis is disposable if they do not elevate his view of himself.

Florida Republican Congressman Greg Steube joins Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla for an interview about why the congressional delegation does not support DeSantis.  Steube’s outline of how Team DeSantis ignores everyone until they need something from them is the baseline for how Team DeSantis ignored the entire delegation for five years until they became worried about endorsements.  WATCH (prompted to 07:22):

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Apr 23 2023

Billionaire Who Believes Aliens Exist on Earth, Donates $20 Million to Ron DeSantis


Posted on the CTH on April 22, 2023 | Sundance 

Robert Bigelow is a billionaire space industrialist and hotel conglomerate owner.  In addition to his vast wealth, Bigelow believes space aliens are already on earth and we just have not discovered them yet.  Bigelow gives a lot of money to republicans.

Last week the New York Times reported the DeSantis team had raised $30 million in the last month.  Time Magazine is now reporting that $20 million of that financing came from one donor, billionaire Robert Bigelow.

(Via Time) – t’s been a rough two weeks for Ron DeSantis. Members of Congress from his own state have been endorsing Donald Trump in droves. A crippling gas shortage in South Florida coincided with the governor’s travel from South Carolina to South Korea, fueling a spate of negative headlines and “Where’s Ron?” memes. He’s been dropping in the polls. And perhaps most threatening to his presidential ambitions—some of his donors are pulling out.

But none of that is shaking the confidence of Robert Bigelow, the hotel tycoon and aeronautics executive who reveals to TIME that he is the largest donor by far to Never Back Down Inc., a super PAC backing DeSantis’s unofficial campaign for President. Bigelow, who was also the single-largest donor to DeSantis’s 2022 reelection bid, confirms that he has already donated a little more than $20 million to Never Back Down. He says that’s just a start. The super-rich businessman plans to continue putting his wealth behind sending the Florida governor to the Oval Office. “I will give him more money and go without food,” Bigelow says.

His initial donation is a substantial increase from the $10 million contribution he made to DeSantis in the midterms last July. Bigelow, who is based in Las Vegas, says he made the $20 million donation on March 27. A senior Never Back Down official recently told The New York Times that the PAC raised $30 million from March 9 to April 3, meaning two-thirds of those dollars came from Bigelow. (read more)

DeSantis might be filling up the bank accounts, but winning hearts and minds…. not so much.

Former Congressman David Trott (R-MI) – […] “I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” Trott said. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

“I go to my first hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott told Politico. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’” He said he eventually introduced himself to DeSantis.

Trott acknowledged that while DeSantis was talented at pressing his political ambitions, he was not likable.

“He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis,” Trott said.

He added:

He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them. … If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

Trott concluded, “I think he’s an asshole. I don’t think he cares about people.”  (More)

Perhaps this explains why the DeSantis team needs to photoshop handshakes.

Apr 20 2023

The Bloom Is Off The Ruse – President Trump Gains Ten More Florida Republican Congressional Endorsements, DeSantis Has One – Rep Greg Steube Explains Why


Posted originally on the CTH on April 19, 2023 | Sundance 

Another three endorsements for President Trump today from the Florida congressional delegation, bringing the total so far to ten with more anticipated.  Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is in Washington DC seeking support.  DeSantis is warmly greeted, but President Trump gets the endorsements.  What’s going on?

Republican Congressman Greg Steube gives an explanation below about the Ron DeSantis Floridians know, but nationally most do not.

DeSantis is an out-of-touch aloof persona, who generally projects himself as better than others.  In person he projects an arrogance and condescending personality trait also carried by his insta-selfie supporters and ‘influencers.’ It comes through the camera lens.  Everything constructed around DeSantis is fake, even the fake blue-collar handshakes that have to be photo-shopped to give a common man impression.

The donors are pouring in hundreds of millions to pay for the fake DeSantis constructs, Top Gov brand imaging and Madison Avenue illusions, but you cannot purchase authenticity, and you cannot rewrite the history of who DeSantis is.  Greg Steube explains:

[I]n a brief interview last night [Steube noted] that DeSantis has never once reached out to him during his five years in Congress nor replied to his multiple attempts to connect. He recalled a recent news conference dealing with damage from Hurricane Ian where the governor’s aides initially invited him to stand alongside DeSantis, only to tell him that he wouldn’t be part of the event when he showed up.

Trump, on the other hand, was the first person Steube remembers calling him in the ICU to wish him well after he was injured in a January tree-trimming accident. “To this day I have not heard from Gov. DeSantis,” he said.

Things suddenly changed last week, Steube said, as Trump started rolling out his Florida congressional backers. ”For the first time ever, I hear from DeSantis’s political person,” he said, referring to aide RYAN TYSON, who reportedly contacted other Florida Republicans about their endorsements.

For Steube, the outreach was too little, too late. And he continues to have sharp words for DeSantis, criticizing him for his robust political travel schedule amid a busy legislative session and just months after winning a new four-year term.  “Floridians want him focused on Florida,” he said, “which is the job they elected him to do.” (read the entire article)

Like I said last year, once people get to see Ron DeSantis up close, his disdain for people just jumps out at you.  He loves standing at the podium telling you what’s wrong with you, and what is brilliant about himself; however, he just doesn’t like people in an authentic or natural way you would expect from executive leadership.

The same disconnected snobbery applies to everyone his team has recruited.

Ken Cuccinelli and Jeff Roe are two of the biggest self-important jackasses in national politics. They don’t carry an ounce of humility or introspection.  They are always right, and the problem is it just takes too long for everyone to come around to admitting how great they are.  This is the character of DeSantis that flows through everyone he associates with.  Here’s an example from one of the ‘influencers” a few days ago.

This Twitter account is connected to both Representative Thomas Massie and DeSantis campaign official Christina Pushaw:

That tweet encapsulates the worldview of the average Ron DeSantis supporter in Florida.

This is why the overwhelming majority of the Florida Republican delegation, will not endorse him.  These outlooks are toxic and elitist.  Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis did not wear elbow length silk gloves at the noon-time inauguration day event accidentally.  Casey already went shopping with Cindy McCain and has her 2024 tiara picked out.

As I keep saying, there are not enough people who take Instagram pictures of their lunches to make Ron DeSantis a viable candidate. The polo club, cocktail party circuit of people who eat crustless triangle cucumber sandwiches and look down their noses at everyone else, is just not a large enough coalition to win DeSantis the nomination.  It means he will have more money; however, factually, the professional donor class is annoying with the level of self-righteousness and condescension they promote.

WASHINGTON DC – […] In yet another blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s not-yet-official presidential bid, two more Republican members of Congress from his own state are gearing to endorse Donald Trump for another term. Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Carlos Gimenez are each planning to announce their support for the former president this week, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell TIME.

Their pledges continue something of a downward spiral for DeSantis, who has been steadily losing ground in the endorsement battle for legislators from his own backyard. The development is even more noteworthy after his political team recently tried to stop the bleeding by asking Florida Republicans to refrain from endorsing Trump.

Bilirakis and Gimenez have also committed to be at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Thursday night, as the former President hosts members of the Florida delegation who have already endorsed him, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, and Greg Steube. It’s not clear yet whether Reps. Byron Donalds and John Rutherford, who have also endorsed Trump, will be at the gathering.

Neither Bilirakis nor Gimenez responded to requests for comment. Rep. Brian Mast, another Florida Republican, has also told associates he plans to formally back Trump in the coming days. And on Wednesday, Rep. Vern Buchanan officially thew his weight behind Trump. TIME reported last week that Buchanan was planning to endorse Trump in the coming days.

All of their endorsements will bring Trump’s tally of members of Congress from Florida to ten, whereas DeSantis has just one, Rep. Laurel Lee, who announced her support for the governor on Tuesday. Before winning her House seat last year, Lee served as DeSantis’s first Secretary of State. (read more)

Lance Gooden (R-TX) – “Today, after careful consideration and a positive meeting with Governor DeSantis, I have decided to endorse President @realDonaldTrump for 2024.”

Rolling Stone – […] “Over the past few years, the Florida governor has risen to Trump’s top internal rival without even declaring his candidacy. And part of that rise has been fueled by his pull with the GOP’s megadonor class, who prefer him to Trump because, while he brings a similar set of MAGAfied policies, he has not, to date, attempted a coup. That wellspring of financial support has been instrumental in fueling his rise, but the investments are predicated in large part on a belief that he can take down Donald.

That belief seems to be wavering, as the donor revolt has been brewing since at least last month. And it’s not just skittish donors like Richard Uihlein or Thomas Peterffy, who went public with his complaints last week. Several other top donors to DeSantis were livid about the governor referring to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” with at least one major donor calling DeSantis to urge a walk-back, a source with knowledge of the outreach and another person briefed on it say. “My understanding is that the message was: ‘If we wanted a fucking MAGA candidate, we would donate to Donald Trump,’” the second source says.

[…] Those polling troubles may be giving some megadonors second thoughts. Sources familiar with Schlitz Brewing heir and shipping titan Richard Uihlein’s thinking told NBC News that the “brakes are pumped” with the megadonor’s DeSantis giving after the governor’s lackluster polling has given some “pause” about his viability.

Other conservatives have taken to predicting that DeSantis is potentially the second coming of Scott Walker, another Republican governor and conservative-media darling who many thought would be the favored candidate in a presidential primary — only to flame out before any ballots were cast. (read more)

Apr 11 2023

Team DeSantis Focused on Creating Astroturf Attendance for 2024 Campaign Rallies


Posted originally on the CTH on April 10, 2023 | Sundance

As team Ron DeSantis prepares for the national launch of a 2024 presidential bid, one of the campaign’s primary areas of concern is the need to create optics representing support and momentum.

As noted by comments delivered to the Washington Post by DeSantis PAC organizers:

[…] DeSantis allies are acutely aware of Trump’s still-strong influence and appeal in the Republican Party. A senior member of Never Back Down has said the group will be heavily involved in building crowds for DeSantis, in part because of Trump’s fixation on crowd size and the expectation that a front-runner candidate draws big audiences, according to a person familiar with the comments.

“If you’re DeSantis, you have to desperately avoid the small room with Jeb Bush asking attendees to please clap,” the person said, referencing a viral moment from Bush’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016. (read more)

The last several weeks have been very rough for team DeSantis as noted by Politico:

[…] On the same day Trump was indicted in an alleged hush money scheme, the Florida governor was posing with puppies at a pet adoption event as his aides instructed reporters to leave.

“This is deja vu all over again,” said Terry Sullivan, who ran Marco Rubio’s 2016 campaign for president. “Trump dominates media coverage, making it impossible for his competitors to get any coverage or forward traction.”

The Republican presidential primary was always expected to revolve around Trump. But post-indictment, as Republicans rally to his defense — including, crucially, conservative talkers on Fox News — Trump’s opponents are confronting an even more damaging dynamic in race: Their inability to break through at all.

“It feels like fucking 2016,” said a Republican strategist who supports DeSantis and was granted anonymity to speak freely about the dynamics of the race. “Is there anything that can suck up as much political oxygen in the American political landscape as Trump? I don’t think so.” (read more)

FLORIDA – Former president Donald Trump is now leading Florida governor Ron DeSantis in a hypothetical 2024 head-to-head matchup among likely Republican voters in the Sunshine State, according to a new poll from Victory Insights.

The survey shows Trump winning support from 46.6 percent of likely voters, while DeSantis notched support from 31.8 percent of voters. Another 21.6 percent of likely voters said they are undecided. The results mean Trump has enjoyed a 25.7 point swing in his favor since Victory Insights conducted a similar poll in November, when Trump formally announced his campaign and DeSantis was riding high from a landslide reelection win. At the time, polling showed DeSantis with a 10.9-point lead over Trump in Florida.

“Five months later, things have changed substantially,” Victory Insights senior pollster Ben Galbraith said in a statement. “Several other candidates have announced their candidacies, and Trump has been indicted and arrested in a highly politicized move by the Manhattan DA. DeSantis still hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, but his messaging, book tour, and PAC activity certainly point to a presidential run in the coming months.” (more)

Apr 6 2023

Entirely Apropos – Team DeSantis Promote 2024 Endorsement from Thomas Massie that Massie Himself Doesn’t Promote – Because He’s Positioning to Replace the AWOL Mitch McConnell


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

Sometimes the apropos of the thing is just too much fun to notice.  Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is missing in action ever since his slip and fall/concussion a few weeks ago (insert shades of prior HRC issues here).  The conspicuous absence of media questioning his continued absence is a little odd for a DC that loves to notice such things.

Meanwhile, sniffing the possibility of enhanced career aspirations amid the political winds of incapable McConnell, Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, sees Ron DeSantis as a vector to electoral elevation.  Except, there’s a funny thing.

While Erin Perrine of Team DeSantis is quick to promote the endorsement for her managed Florida governor, a review of Representative Massie’s Twitter rapid-fire messaging doesn’t show the endorsement.   Thirsty DeSantis, with slipping polls, contrasts against a teeth-clenched Massie with political aspirations….  We laugh, because it’s, well, perfect!

Meanwhile, moments ago, in other contextual sunlight, Fox News human cabbage patch doll Bret Baier, leads off the GOPe/Murdoch Fox News narrative engineering with the 6:00pm promotion of Glenn Youngkin. LOLOL… These cats are just too transparently funny.

Am I being a little hard on the “conservative leader” Thomas Massie, probably. But the reason is really breaking the cycle of insufferable battered conservative abuse.

Massie was an attendee at the Four Seasons DeSantis three-day donor retreat last month in Palm Beach.  [See tweet from event] Apparently the allure of the Sea Island billionaire funding mechanism can permeate fiscal senses. I digress…

Additionally, Massie likes to rail against government spending, even recently using his opposition to the 2020 Paycheck Protection Program, as an example of his conservative bona-fides.

Now, it is true the urgently rushed PPP program was abused by some 10% of the employers who used it as a tool to defraud the U.S. government amid the urgent spending during the COVID-19 lockdowns and crisis.

However, 90% of the PPP program went directly to honest and earnest small businesses who were shut down and needed a lifeline to help their employees.

When President Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin realized that employees of small businesses were going to get crushed by the lockdowns, most of which were determined in scale, scope and duration by the states, they knew something rapid and urgent was needed to support those employees. Big corporations could take the hit, but small businesses were extremely exposed. The Paycheck Protection Program was the way to help ‘Main Street’.

The PPP program was targeted directly to banks, small banks, local banks and credit unions that support the small businesses. In a brilliant bit of administrative red-tape cutting, Trump and Mnuchin used the FDIC program to backstop the banks and give the banks the ability to lend to the small businesses without risk.

Small businesses were able to go to their local bank and get an immediate infusion of cash to keep their payrolls afloat, while the FDIC program was used as a mechanism to send the funds to the banks. Tens of millions of American employees of small businesses benefited from the continuation of their paychecks during the lockdowns. Without that PPP program, millions of lower to middle-income workers would have no paycheck.

Yes, there was fraud and abuse by lying, scheming and conniving business owners who took advantage of the PPP program for their own financial gains. However, that doesn’t mean the PPP program didn’t protect and support tens of millions of people.

High-horse Thomas Massie would have allowed those people who live paycheck-to-paycheck and are employed by small businesses to be crushed without income. Thankfully, Trump and Mnuchin, together with support from congress – avoided that catastrophic outcome. The quick thinking about how to cut through the bureaucracy was a net benefit.

So yeah, Massie and his principles that would have allowed people to go hungry, can go spit.

Apr 2 2023

Trump v DeSantis


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Apr 1, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: I thought you were supporting DeSantis. Are you switching to Trump?

SH

ANSWER: This is not about Trump even as an individual. A lot of people hate him for being arrogant. Put personal issues aside. If we are civilized, we do not condemn a person because we do not like him. All of that is absurd. True, I was asked to meet with Trump to talk him out of running in 2024. They wanted me to meet with DeSantis and the story was he was a better “administrator.” My reply was that I preferred that DeSantis stay right here for they would eat him for lunch in DC.

Even Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr has criticized the indictment, calling it a “disgrace” and a “political hit job.” Barr was certainly no Trump fan.

True, I did not think Trump would win in 2024. There were just too many people who drank the cool-aid to get rid of him so they could do precisely what they are doing right now – climate and war. I am speaking objectively here and NOT in a political endorsement capacity. The headlines going into 2024 will now be all about Trump. Will that drown out any other potential candidates? These are the serious questions we must deal with. Some Democrats think this will guarantee their win in 2024 even if it is Biden again.

As for all the people who hate Trump and are too blind to look at this objectively, Bragg has crossed the line. This will open the door for Republican prosecutors to do the same to Democrats. This can easily collapse into political civil war at the highest levels. That will only contribute to Socrates’ forecast that the USA will probably not exist as soon as 2028.

This has NOTHING to do with Trump as a person. Open your eyes! This was a VERY dangerous move and it made no sense. All of these charges and investigations about Trump are insane. They will never change the minds of those in both camps. They are preaching to the choir as they say. The Democrats behind all of this should have left Trump alone. He would have faded into the sunset. Constantly attacking him has been also part of the Democratic strategy to tear down the Republic Party as a whole.

What I do not like is what our computer is projecting. All of this leads to just political chaos. Some believe this is a diversion created by the Neocons so they can instigate World War III while people are focused on Trump. All my sources now confirm they have brought their agenda forward for war.

So while you focus your hatred on Trump, they are coming for everything that has been on the Neocon wish list for decades. The arrays are NOT my personal opinion. That is just irrelevant. I have never been able to beat Socrates. The Arrays will be the Arrays whether or not we like the outcome. Also, Socrates has already projected the 2024 election before this absurdity.

DON’T FORGET – the 2024 Election Will Not Be NORMAL!

Apr 2 2023

REMINDER: The Foundation of DeSantis 2024 Is Built on a Ridiculous Lie


Posted originally on the CTH on April 1, 2023 | Sundance 

I had completely forgotten about this, until someone reminded me today. It is worth revisiting.

If you have followed the management and branding efforts of the team around Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the protestations today by campaign official and registered foreign agent Christina Pushaw are quite bizarre.

The Daily Beast wrote an article [SEE HERE] about how Ms. Pushaw organized an astroturf campaign of support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which included the recruitment of several conservative influencers.  The substance of the article is generally well known.

In late 2021, early 2022, Ms. Pushaw invited a group of “influencers” to spend time with Governor DeSantis.  It’s not a debatable event. Factually, the collective group took gleeful pictures of their first visit on January 6, 2022, and continued to post frequent pictures on their social media of events throughout last year.  The group went to the reelection celebration and inauguration of DeSantis earlier this month.

However, for some odd reason, likely more concerned about people realizing the ‘organized‘ nature of the creation, in a bizarre turn of events, Ms. Christina Pushaw is now denying she ever organized the assembly and stating that without any documentary evidence, saying she organized the group is just a conspiracy theory. [Tweet Link]

If Ms. Pushaw is to be believed, the random group of Florida conservative “influencers” just happened to show up at the Governor’s office on January 6, 2022, without any invitation, organization or coordination on her part.

Even lacking the invitation details, hanging your defense on the absence of a paper trail under these circumstances seems like a very odd position to take.

Why does the DeSantis team fear sunlight on the origin of how this outreach and subsequent meetings took place?  Very odd.

I sincerely doubt this group just randomly showed up at Ron DeSantis’ office, on January 6, 2022, without an invitation or organizing.

The same group then continued meeting throughout the year….

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Nothing about their recruitment, continued meet-ups and aggressive promotion of Ron DeSantis for the GOP nomination in 2024, would be that interesting or even noteworthy if Ms. Christina Pushaw didn’t paint them all into a box by denying she ever organized their first assembly.

And there’s the rub…  Why is Christina Pushaw denying that she first organized them on behalf of the political aspirations of her boss, Ron DeSantis?

The only logical reason to make such an outlandish and transparently false claim, is if that original assembly was intended as seed material to use the “influencers” for another purpose, like a 2024 presidential bid.  Yet, Ron DeSantis hasn’t announced a 2024 presidential bid…. so that issue is a nonstarter, unless that announcement is eventually going to come forth.

If Ron DeSantis is going to announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination, then suddenly all these background moves look like proactive steps on behalf of the management team.  The January 6, 2022 meeting would then infer the presidential aspirations as far back as December 2021.

In combination with the $200+ million in Wall Street money assembled by DeSantis, perhaps that 2024 plan is the risk necessitating the absurd denial.

[Daily Beast Article Here]

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They all just randomly showed up to hang out with DeSantis.  Yep, that’s the story and Pushaw is sticking to it.

For those interested, central planning and organization is the difference between “organic support” and “astroturf.”

Slava Ukraine!

Apr 1 2023

Team DeSantis Expand Astroturf Operations – Hire Team Cruz and Team Youngkin, Immediately Begin Fake Push Polls


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

Everything about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is shallow fakery and manipulative astroturf.

The term “astroturf” is given whenever a political operation attempts to generate the illusion of support where little to no support exists.   Astroturf politics is pure fabrication and highlights the smallness of the candidate for whom the astroturf operation is conducted.

In republican national politics we saw astroturf operations around Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz in 2016, so it doesn’t come as a surprise to see the same individual’s surface again as hired by Team DeSantis to create his 2024 astroturf campaign.  Yesterday’s trip by the meatball to Georgia was pure astroturf, complete with free DeSantis ’24 swag, t-shirts, and various freebies in order to support the artificial optics of the campaign [see video at end].

With the support of Jeb Bush and Karl Rove, team Meatball has hired former Cruz and Youngkin campaign officials to help generate and enhance his illusion.  They even hired people skilled in manufactured polling [WPA intel] to create false data for media to promote. This action comes on the heels of the meatball’s instructions to state senate allies for them to change Florida law, thus permitting him to run without resigning.

WASHINGTON – […] The upper ranks of Never Back Down, a group founded by former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, will include top strategists to Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign, a top adviser to Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 Virginia gubernatorial campaign and senior communications aides involved in former president Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential run, according to a person familiar with the plans, who, like others in this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private arrangements.

The sheer firepower of the senior team suggests that Never Back Down — which will be able to accept donations of unlimited value and transfers from DeSantis’s state political committee — will have a more expansive role in the 2024 campaign than past presidential super PACs, which have traditionally focused almost exclusively on television and digital advertising.

[…] Phil Cox, a senior adviser to the 2022 DeSantis reelection campaign who has been a point of contact for Republicans hoping to support a White House bid, will serve as a senior adviser to Never Back Down, the person familiar with the plans said. He will work with Axiom Strategies President Jeff Roe, the architect of the 2016 Cruz campaign and the 2021 Youngkin campaign, whose role with the group was disclosed last week.

Kristin Davison, an Axiom consultant who has worked as a top adviser to Youngkin, will join the group as chief operating officer, working with Chris Jankowski — a Virginia strategist who has worked with Cox — who has taken the title of chief executive.

[…] Chris Wilson, a Republican pollster at WPA Intelligence, will lead the data efforts for Never Back Down. He worked on Youngkin’s gubernatorial campaign, and served as director of research, analytics and digital strategy for the 2016 Cruz presidential campaign.

David Polyansky, Axiom’s chief strategy officer, will also join Never Back Down as a senior adviser. He previously worked as a senior adviser to the 2016 GOP presidential campaign of former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, as top adviser to the Cruz presidential campaign and as a Senate chief of staff to Cruz.

[…] On Monday, Matt Wolking, a deputy communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign who works at Axiom, announced on Twitter that he was joining the group. (read more)

Right on cue, today Meatball spox Matt Wolking starts promoting a Meatball WPA Intelligence poll for NBC to promote.

The coordinated astroturf effort is extremely visible, and makes the meatball look smaller than a spaghetti-o.

Next up is an exceptional video explanation by Randy of what happened in Georgia yesterday.

Everything noted in the ‘on-the-ground’ video in Georgia is describing pure astroturf.

If Casey DeSantis had any shame or humility, she would be embarrassed for her Meatball.  However, as Casey takes counsel from Cindy McCain while shopping for tiaras and drapes, the general optics are that Mrs. Meatball is one of the biggest pushers of the 2024 enterprise.

Mar 31 2023

Bad Timing – Today Florida Senate Schedules “Resign to Run” Legislative Change to Support Ron DeSantis 2024 Announcement


Posted originally on the CTH on March 30, 2023 | Sundance

Timing is everything, and the timing here is simultaneously transparent and inappropriate.

Today the Florida Senate scheduled a change via committee vote of the “Resign to Run” law for next Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 2:00pm.   The intent of the change is almost certainly to permit Governor Ron DeSantis to formally announce his 2024 candidacy without having to resign his job as governor.

Source Links: [FL Senate 7050 Legislative Bill]   – [ Bill pdf Here]

Irony: Florida law change scheduled today, same date as Trump indictment announced. Florida law change committee vote scheduled Tuesday 4/4/23, same date as Trump traveling to Manhattan for his arraignment.

Mar 31 2023

Bunker Boy Gets a Redo


Posted originally on the CTH on March 30, 2023 | Sundance 

Before entering his latibulate phase, Bunker Boy Ron DeSantis transmits his political redo:

(Source)

A couple of notes.  First, notice how the statement is an assembly of every point Bunker Boy was previously criticized for not making (good job Karl).  Second, notice the account he used this time (good job Pushaw).   Lastly, SAY HIS NAME!

It was not part of their blood,
It came to them very late,
With long arrears to make good,
When the Saxon began to hate.

They were not easily moved,
They were icy — willing to wait,
Till every count should be proved,
Ere the Saxon began to hate.

Their voices were even and low.
Their eyes were level and straight.
There was neither sign nor show
When the Saxon began to hate.

It was not preached to the crowd.
It was not taught by the state.
No man spoke it aloud
When the Saxon began to hate.

It was not suddenly bred.
It will not swiftly abate.
Through the chilled years ahead,
When Time shall count from the date
That the Saxon began to hate.

~ Rudyard Kipling