Sheesh, 20 House Republicans Join With Democrats to Stop Censure of the Insufferable Adam Schiff


Posted originally on the CTH on June 15, 2023 | Sundance 

Good grief, who needs Democrat firepower when you can always count on Republicans to shoot themselves to save their enemies.  Twenty House Republicans joined with House Democrats to defeat a censure motion that would have triggered an investigation of the notoriously corrupt Adam Schiff (CA).

Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who really does seem to be a great MAGA addition to the House, created a censure motion that she advanced on Tuesday. Luna’s measure would have formally reprimanded Schiff for his conduct while Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), where he lied about Trump-Russia intelligence. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked Schiff from the HPSCI this year and Luna’s measure would have established an ethics investigation that could have resulted in a $16,000,000 fine if they found he committed the infractions. 

As ridiculous as this sounds, 20 House Republicans came quickly to Adam Schiff’s defense.  Current “Republican” HPSCI Chairman Mike Turner (OH) was one of the GOP members who supported Schiff along with Republican Thomas Massie (KY) who recently endorsed Ron DeSantis.  What a bunch of knuckleheads.

(WASHINGTON DC) – Republicans joined most Democrats in voting to table a measure to censure Rep. Adam Schiff for his previous leadership of the House Intelligence Committee and probes into former President Donald Trump.

The vote: The measure was tabled by a 225-196 vote, with 20 Republicans voting alongside most Democrats. Other Democratic lawmakers were lined up ready to defend the Californian on the floor, but Wednesday’s vote stops the effort from advancing to a full House vote.

Schiff’s response: “It’s a continuation of a downward spiral. There are a number of members here now who are just kind of ugly performance artists. It’s all about getting attention, doesn’t matter whether it’s good attention or bad attention, it’s all about the notoriety,” Schiff told reporters after the vote.

Republicans from districts won by President Joe Biden like Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and the current chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner (R-Ohio), were among the Republicans who voted with Democrats to defeat the measure.

Seven lawmakers voted present on the measure, including all five Democratic members of the House Ethics Committee and Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). Democratic ethics panel members generally vote present on any ethics matters that come before the House. (more)

Republicans 2024


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

A person who was a teenager when Obamacare was debated and passed is now around 30 years old.  Put another way, if you were 15 years old when We The People defeated Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley with Scott Brown and took the Kennedy senate seat, you are about to turn 30.  Think about the context of modern Republican politics and time.

This context reminds us that a large portion of the generally distracted population has no foundational understanding of modern Republican politics.

This context is also the baseline behind ‘battered conservative syndrome‘.

You will never, not ever, see a professional Republican politician attack a Democrat with the same level of vitriol, hatred, bitterness and anger as they do toward their own base voter.

The Democrat party fears their base; the Republican party despises their base.  The truth of this very visible reality will never change. Professional Republican politicians are not ideologues to principle or policy; they are interested in one thing, money.  That’s it.

If you peel the core of any issue involving conflict with the Republican Party, you will find money at the center of it.  Current Democrat politicians focus on advancing an ideological agenda; they swing for the fences in an effort to maximize control and power.  Current Republican politicians are focused, to the detriment of all other facets, on their personal wealth.

When you introduce a newly elected ‘conservative‘ to the DC world of republicanism, it is like sending a new guy/gal into the room to talk policy, only to be met with every face around the table staring back quizzically and dismissively while replying, “We don’t do that here – we are talking about money.”

Once you reset the Schoolhouse Rocks mindset and accept this is the truth of the thing, then everything else that puzzled you about Republican politics reconciles.

Ballot harvesting doesn’t generate money, so why do it?  We can make just as much money in the minority railing against ‘them’, so why be focused on a majority?  Donald Trump is threatening the financial position of our benefactors, so we hate him.  These are the simple truths of modern Republicans.

This is also the context to look at the institutions of professional Republican politics (RNC, RGA, NRSCC, etc) as well as the politicians who operate inside the business of professional republicanism.   Defending the trough is the goal – nothing is more important.  Removing any threat to the billionaires and multinationals who feed the trough, is a priority.  If defending the money means eliminating a pesky conservative thinker, so be it – destroy them.  That’s where the bitterness and anger come from.

If we do not accept this reality, we are doomed to repeat the cycle of abuse.

We can never make a professional Republican a perfect sandwich that will stop him/her from abusing us. Quit trying.

With this in mind, and understanding the nature of our corrupt two-party system controlled by two private corporations, the DNC and RNC, Donald Trump selected the RNC as the best available option to bring a new set of economic priorities back to the forefront.

Making America Great Again is a threat to modern republicanism, because MAGA has a core America-First economic agenda that runs counter to the priorities of the Republican party. {Go Deep}

Every professional Republican politician who enters the 2024 race for the Republican nomination is working toward this goal.  None of them are working on any other goal.  The removal of MAGA from mechanics of the Republican Party is their mission priority.  There is no other higher priority, including election outcomes.

Monmouth has a new poll released yesterday [article here – data pdf here] that was taken just before and during the time Ron DeSantis launched his candidacy.

When you look at the results, you can see why the people managing the Florida governor pulled the trigger a little earlier than anticipated.

DeSantis was scheduled in a very clear and strategic roadmap to launch as the ‘last’ candidate in the 2024 race.  However, despite his national politicking and “book tour”, his support was dropping every week.  They couldn’t wait any longer out of fear the principal would lose all support and the 2024 effort would be useless before they even got out of the gate.

The background managers pushed DeSantis into the race, and now we will see the last set of professional Republicans follow.  Each candidate will have a role and responsibility on behalf of the party.

Chris Christie and Nikki Haley will team up to play the lead role in the party attack against Donald Trump.

Notice how we are not seeing any post-DeSantis announcement polling?   Ron DeSantis launched on May 23rd and May 24th.  Sometimes it is the absence of the thing that tells you a lot about the substance of the thing.

[Monmouth Article Here]

Why would a candidate at 1%, 2%, 3% etc., stay or even launch into the race?  Stop pretending.  They do not have any chance of winning and they are not in the race to win.  They are in the race to defend the interests of the professional Republican apparatus.

They are in the race to destroy MAGA and the American First agenda.

Yet pundits and battered conservatives demand the non-pretending people stop talking about the truth of it and maintain their illusion.

It is all nonsense.

Battered Conservative No More!

Lara Logan, Texas Republican Politicians Working Against Border Security


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

Resident of Texas, Lara Logan, appears on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast to discuss the illegal alien invasion that is happening right now in the lone star state.  {Direct Rumble Link}  Logan notes that Texas republican politicians are actively working to keep the border open with migration flows controlled but not stopped.  As CTH has long documented, illegal mass immigration is a policy that both wings of the UniParty support.

Logan reports that Texas republicans, the Bush wing of the professional republican apparatus that controls Texas politics, recently blocked a state border security effort in order to keep the immigration flow in place.   This is a remarkable interview with details to support the baseline as discussed.  The website citation Lara Logan discusses is AVAILABLE HERE for review.  WATCH:

If you look at the lawlessness that is happening right now which includes extreme Latin American gang violence, what you discover is that major metropolitan areas in the United States are beginning to show the first signs of organized, gang-affiliated cartel activity. Essentially, the cartel gangs are assembling in major cities and the violence that happens in Mexico is being replicated on the Streets of U.S. urban areas.

There is every reason to believe this criminal activity will continue to worsen as millions of illegal aliens continue to pour through the U.S. southern border. Metropolitain areas are now seeing gang-on-gang crimes, similar to the streets of Mexico. Tribal warfare breaking out, while the police are overwhelmed by the graphic and violent nature of the criminal activity.

“Tensions are running high. Eight people were killed at a bus stop outside a migrant shelter in Brownsville. The driver who plowed into them has been charged with manslaughter. Police haven’t cited a motive so far, but migrant advocates say antagonism is boiling and they suspect it was a hate crime.” (link)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a Socialist in Disguise


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted May 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Robert F Kennedy Jr spoke out against the COVID pandemic and demanded a serious investigation into those who promoted the worldwide panic. “Just to be clear, I will prosecute any official who engaged in criminal wrongdoing during the pandemic. Corrupt individuals are a small part of the problem. Our agencies have been captured by corporate power, but the vast majority of their staff are decent people. We need to get corporate influence out of *all* regulatory agencies so that they can serve the people honestly,” Bobby wrote on his Twitter. While he may be more moderate than Biden, do not be fooled—he is not presidential material.

Jailing one’s opponents is one of the oldest political strategies in the book. Many may cheer that Robert F Kennedy Jr. wants to jail those responsible for COVID, but looking back on his prior remarks, he wants to jail everyone who disagrees with him. In the video above, Kennedy calls for “three hots and a cot” for anyone who dares to question climate change. This directly violates the First Amendment and is a dangerous road to go down. These climate change idiots are all seething with anger.

His website mentions his political promises and top priorities but barely touches on the economy. “Government assistance to the nation’s most vulnerable is a high priority,” he writes under his “revitalization” promise that makes absolutely no mention of inflation. Instead, he discusses wealth redistribution and highlights the “wealth gap” while adding in that minorities are more prone to poverty to divide the people further.

“We will rebuild the industrial infrastructure, ruined by forty years of off-shoring and misguided “free trade” schemes…We will break up “too-big-to-fail” banks and monopolies, and when crisis strikes, bail out the homeowners, debtors, and small business owners instead.” Clearly, he does not understand the basics of banking or free trade and wants the people to rely on government assistance rather than the free market. He also loosely mentions wanting to change the healthcare system but does not offer a clear solution.

Bobby is simply another socialist in disguise pushing for the same agenda as all the other Democrats, minus his stance on COVID. His eagerness to jail his political opponents is very alarming. Luckily, the Democrats won’t let anyone challenge Biden, who has no views or original thoughts to question the establishment.

Florida Senate Pass Bill 28-12 Allowing DeSantis to Run Without Resigning, NBC Reports Announcement Coming Mid-May


Posted originally on the CTH on April 26, 2023 | Sundance 

As expected, the Florida Senate has passed the Ron DeSantis is a liar law, permitting the Florida Governor to run without resigning, by a vote of 28-12.

The previously created Ron DeSantis media group, Florida’s Voice, celebrates the news:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – The Florida Senate approved an election overhaul bill Wednesday 28-12, which included a clarification to the “resign-to-run” law. The change would exempt officeholders seeking the position of U.S. president or vice president from the state’s “resign-to-run” law. (read more)

Florida’s Voice was proactively created and funded by billionaire donors, during their prior planning phase.  The Florida media outlet was created at the same time the ‘social media influencer’ program was put into the DeSantis plan.  This is all part of one very long continuum over multiple years.  The people who put the plan together simply followed the advice of Johnathan Gruber and “relied upon the stupidity of the Florida voter” not to notice it.

Meanwhile, NBC is breaking exclusive news the Ron DeSantis team plan to launch the official announcement mid-May.  Several weeks ago, after one of the official campaign contractors was hired, CTH shared what NBC is now confirming.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to jump into the presidential fray as soon as mid-May, four GOP operatives familiar with the conversations told NBC News.

One of the sources emphasized that it would be an exploratory committee, with the official launch coming soon after.

Some of his backers are urging him to declare as early as May 11, in an effort to counter the creeping national narrative that former President Donald Trump is the overwhelming front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination. Others in the governor’s orbit, however, have argued that that date would be too soon, according to two of those sources. All emphasized, however, that mid-May is the target.

[…] In a clear sign of movement on the campaign front, national political vendors descended on Tallahassee this week, vying for work on DeSantis’ forthcoming campaign.

“There has been an influx of national firms in town over the last few days,” said one of the Florida Republican operatives familiar with the meetings. “It feels like a team that is staffing up, not scaling down.”

A second operative said they signal a likely presidential launch sooner than some expect, even as DeSantis has increasingly faced headwinds and fledgling poll numbers in recent months.  “Large campaigns require in-house planning, and this has been ‘vendors: assemble’ week in Tallahassee,” said a third source familiar with the meetings. (read more)

Ron DeSantis is not a nice person. Actually, he is very shallow and not liked by the people in his orbit.  It will be very easy to get information from the campaign folks, because they are only in it for the money.  The RdS campaign will leak like the Cruz team did in 2016, same dynamic.  The discovery of this is why many of the Sea Island billionaires are now pulling back from their full-throated support.d

[…]Republican megadonor Ken Griffin is reportedly hedging his bets on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ potential 2024 presidential campaign. […]  Ken Griffin has since privately expressed concerns over some of DeSantis’ positions, including his quiet signing into law of the state’s strict, six-week abortion ban and his comments downplaying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to The Times.

Griffin, the Citadel CEO with a reported fortune of almost $30 billion, has met in private with DeSantis and will “still likely” donate to him once the governor officially launches his campaign, one source predicted to the newspaper. But he may also “give to other candidates” who appear able to beat Trump, the source added. (link)

Another report:

[…] John Catsimatidis, CEO of Gristedes, knocked DeSantis’s communication skills, telling the Washington Examiner that DeSantis does not even return his phone calls. “Why would I support somebody to become president of the United States that doesn’t return phone calls?” he asked.

[…] Top Republican donor billionaire Thomas Peterffy is among mega donors who has openly put support for DeSantis “on hold” as well.

“Because of his stance on abortion and book banning . . . myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our powder dry,” he said, adding that other donors are “waiting to see who among the primary candidates is most likely to be able to win the general, and then put all of our firepower behind them.”

Republican megadonor Ken Langone has also voiced concerns about backing DeSantis. (link)

As more voters get to see the inauthentic nature of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is generally not a very astute person and likely more driven by the tiara dreams of his wife Casey, we can expect to see his current status of around 20 to 25% remain his floor and ceiling.   Additionally, as the Florida voters feel the economic crisis that DeSantis has left unattended in his quest for aggrandizement, he will likely lose his home state.

With Ron DeSantis playing the role of Ted Cruz, Mike Pence will play the role of John Kasich and Nikki Haley will play the role of Carly Fiorina as the 2016 history rhymes.

Keep in mind, the SuperPACs are fat with cash, they will drag this DeSantis run out until the coffers are empty.  The consultants will all be paid from the RdS funding mechanisms, and with the RNC pumping money into stupid indulgency stuff, DeSantis represents the only campaign that can facilitate the scale of the consultant grift at the national level they demand.

The variable this time is the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) who show every indication this time around of manipulating all their state voting systems to undermine Trump and support the DNC nominee if needed.

Ronna McDaniel Reveals the 2024 Secret Weapon the RNC Constructed to Defeat the Ballot Harvesting Process


Posted originally on the CTH on April 26, 2023 | Sundance | 305 Comments

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, appears with freshly enhanced duck lips on Fox News this morning to unveil the secret weapon the RNC has been constructing to defeat the national ballot harvesting efforts of the DNC.

A new Fact Checking website that will solve all the RNC challenges for 2024. Seriously…. THIS is what they have put money, time and effort into, and Ronna is so proud.  WATCH:

The DNC is ideologically motivated.  The RNC is financially motivated.  The DNC uses money to get power, the RNC uses power to get money.  The ideology of the DNC drives their donor activity, while the donor activity of the RNC drives their political ideology.   This is the primary difference between the two corporations.

Everything the RNC does, and that includes everything within the apparatus of the professional Republican establishment, is created to facilitate access to the maximum amount of money possible.  The RNC doesn’t have ideological goals or objectives – their quest, and the objective of the donors who control it, is the assembly of money.

From that position, everything else takes on a dimension of clarity.   The multinational corporations who weaponize the Republican political apparatus, do so in the quest for coin, bigger and bigger vaults of wealth.   Because the goal of money drives their ideology, the RNC carries no social, economic, or cultural platform that is not in alignment with the assembly of finance, and they don’t care about ballot collection/harvesting.

Any questions?

Thoughts on Tucker Carlson’s Firing


Posted originally on the CTH on April 24, 2023 | Sundance 

This is a context you won’t find elsewhere {smiles}. The phone has been blowing up….  Context and some details matter.

First, Carlson was being paid about $20 million a year by Murdoch.  He had about 3 years left on his contract and will be paid the full contract amount.  Carlson found out about 10 minutes before Fox Corp made the announcement.  They did not “part ways,” Tucker Carlson was fired.

(Via WSJ) – Mr. Carlson, whose contract was renewed in 2021, will be paid out for the rest of his contract, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Carlson is paid about $20 million a year, one of the people said. Mr. Carlson found out he was being let go about 10 minutes before the network announced his departure, the people said. (link)

For financial context, remember Rupert Murdoch paid Megyn Kelly $15 million (Via Harper Collins) for the 2015/2016 operation against Donald Trump.  Paying $60 to $100 million to get rid of Carlson’s antagonistic voice is small money to Murdoch Inc. in the grand scheme of things. [Murdoch has also paid for Ron DeSantis to oppose Trump]

Carlson will not be asked to sign an NDA, is not bound by a “non-compete” clause following the contract nullification by Fox Corp, and will be free to do anything he wants in any venture.  Additionally, he will be free to say whatever he wants about the issues at Fox and speak freely, or not, without any legal or contractual constraints.  Keep all of that in mind.

Prior to 2021, Tucker Carlson was what you might call a Fox News loyalist.  He was very loyal to the organization.  During the COVID-19 era, Tucker Carlson moved his physical location away from Washington DC to his home in Maine.  Fox built him a studio, and Carlson manifest his own destiny free from most production constraints.

Over the past 18+/- months, viewers have watched Tucker Carlson essentially red pill himself each evening.  As he enjoyed the proximity freedom far away from the Eye of Sauron (DC’s control mechanism), Carlson’s eyes opened further to the reality of the situation that blankets our national consciousness.

Disconnected from the machine, free-range in his abilities, and with the intellectual curiosity of the average person, Tucker Carlson started to see the U.S. system as it is, not as media pretend it to be.  This is the increasing red pill absorption you have noted daily.  Along with that came a more pragmatic and brutally honest production quality to the content he shared.

Carlson’s influence grew as the audience grew; the more truth he spoke, the larger the audience.  That free-range influence became a liability to the system operators that hold power, including Rupert Murdoch who is a part of that control system.  In essence, and in the big picture, that’s what led to this event today.

Timing and Fox Digital.  Fox had just settled a lawsuit with Dominion Systems that has been widely reported.  The decision to fire Carlson had only one aspect connected to the Dominion settlement, financial timing.

Fox Corp is going to take a big hit in second quarter (Q2) earnings as part of the Dominion settlement.  If you are going to take a big financial hit, it’s better to go ahead and clear the decks of all financial hits at the same time.

Paying out Carlson simply gets all the big hits in the same quarter.

Digital is where the action is.  Digital subscriber services is where the future of all content is focused.   Understanding this reality gives you a scale of the darkness in the opposition elements facing our nation.  Fox News digital is Fox Nation.  Tucker Carlson and the show Tucker Carlson Today was the anchor of Fox Nation digital.

Fox Nation was struggling prior to Tucker Carlson’s long show broadcasts.  The entire Fox Corp digital streaming service, Fox Nation, was anchored around the Tucker Carlson Today digital streaming service.   Fox News has just torpedoed their anchor, shot their lead dog, destroyed the digital brand.  That gives you some scale and scope to how the elements viewed the threat of influence that Tucker Carlson had become.

Fox Corp, and Murdoch’s stenographers at the Wall Street Journal (SEE HERE), will try to frame the Carlson firing as something of a palate cleansing.  Claims of adversarial viewpoints, controversial views and conflicts with other Fox loyalists on the inside, will be used to frame the narrative.   However, all of those false frameworks are just that, false.  The source of the issue that led to the firing was 100% ideological.

During Tucker’s red pill absorption phase, he changed views on a variety of subjects from the FBI to the Fourth Branch of Government, to vaccination and COVID-19, to his views on Donald Trump as a disruption to an increasingly admitted corrupt political machine.

Context in the Tucker worldview expanded and he began to frame the conflict in a big picture of Good -vs- Evil.  Unfortunately for Carlson, this view was from inside a multinational corporate system spreading the darkness.   He had to be removed.

This is the reality of the situation as it unfolded.   Accept it or not, it matters not.  This is the Carlson reality.

Carlson was connecting the dots of manipulation beyond media, beyond social battles and constructs, and into the realm of finance, economics and ultimately behind the Potemkin Village of UniParty politics.  Blackrock has an increased stake in Fox Corp.

Talking about what happens behind the false front of the DC village is always a threat.   It is in the research and acceptance of the darkest pretending constructs that you realize how the illusions of choice are presented.

Tucker Carlson was no longer selling the illusions.

There are trillions at stake.

He was removed.

Tucker is free.

Welcome to the rebellion my friend!

Only One Question Remains as Susan Rice, Biden’s Shadow President, Leaves the White House


Posted originally on the CTH on April 24, 2023 | Sundance 

In the game of test-match cricket, a game that can last three days at peak professional level, you have to ‘get out‘ to ‘get in‘.   You have to ‘get out‘ of the clubhouse in order to ‘get in‘ to the game.  The same is true for this story about Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan Rice, leaving the Biden administration.   Rice has to get out of the administration in order to get in to the 2024 game.

Readers here will likely remember all previous discussion about the likely Democrat field for 2024.  Susan Rice and Gavin Newsom are both key players in the DNC big club game.  There is only one question at the core of the dynamic you need to ask, how will they off-ramp Joe Biden?

First, the White House announcement: […] “As the only person to serve as both National Security Advisor and Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan’s record of public service makes history. But what sets her apart as a leader and colleague is the seriousness with which she takes her role and the urgency and tenacity she brings, her bias towards action and results, and the integrity, humility and humor with which she does this work. I thank Susan for her service, her counsel and her friendship. I will miss her.” (link)

Susan Rice is the pliable foot soldier, the protege’ of the Lightbringer, Chicago Jesus.  Rice is the female version of the entire apparatus of the Obama team.  Susan Rice is Barack Obama in female form, and as Ric Grenell said eloquently, Susan Rice is “the shadow president.”

A Newsom/Rice or Rice/Newsom ticket is a no brainer.  Both are foot soldiers for the Lightbringer movement’s fundamental change agenda, although Rice is the apex player and Newsom is the ideological, intellectual and cognitive equivalent of John Fetterman with better style.  Most people still do not understand that Barack Obama is not just a person, he is a complete political construct -a movement in a box- consisting of multiple component groups all working in synergy.

The focus of the Obama movement is domestic and ideological.  The “fundamental change“, as outlined previously by the front man for the group, is domestic – exclusively domestic.  The Lightbringer doesn’t care about foreign policy stuff; all of that angle is sold to the multinationals and highest bidders.

Foreign policy is not a thing for Teh One true bringer of enlightenment; their focus is USA domestically centered. In her capacity as Domestic Policy Advisor, Susan Rice was the guiding hand behind every element of Biden domestic policy.

The microphone from the Obama basement does not transmit into the earpiece of Biden; it communicates into the two-way radio of Rice.

If Susan Rice is departing, the question becomes how the club removes Biden from the 2024 race?  There are a multitude of approaches and leverages available for the Lightbringer’s team, which includes Deputy AG Lisa Monaco at Main Justice.

The criminal activity of Hunter Biden, and the potential for outcomes – or lack therein, can be leveraged.  The direct connection to the action of the principal, “the big guy” Joe Biden, could be leveraged.

The Biden administration’s interference in any number of related investigations can be leveraged, and… keep in mind…. it is not coincidental the evidence of the interference is manifest by the same team that would remove the principal.  Yeah, think about that for a moment.

Put aside the 2024 contest participants for a moment (ie. the shiny things), and instead focus on what peripheral risks exist to Joe Biden that could be deployed at any moment to push him to a graceful off ramp.

There are many club-installed insurance policies, political landmines all around Joe Biden.  Which one will they show him?

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)

Video – For The Professional Republicans Who Say “Candidate Quality” Matters, John Fetterman Returned to the Senate Today


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

Watching Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman return to work in the Senate reminded me today of all those professional republican voices who shout about ‘candidate quality’ when explaining GOP election losses.

Here’s the video as an audio/visual exclamation point about the irrelevance of “candidate quality.” WATCH (30 secs)

It’s the Envelopes, Stupid!

Nothing, not one single thing….  about candidates, debates, endorsements, media support, branding, imaging, leadership, effectiveness, policy, polling, communications, digital outreach, social media platforms, rallies or love of country matters in the 2024 election.  None of it matters.  The outcome of the 2024 presidential contest will be determined by ONLY ONE THING…. ….ENVELOPES!

Book sales, TV ads, legislative accomplishments, cultural wokeism, school choice, education policy, fiscal policy, foreign policy, debates, political experience, candidate qualifications, polls, rallies, crowd sizes, endorsements, not one single part of any of that matters in this electoral combat.

There is only one thing that matters,…. collecting the most envelopes.