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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   29422 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 31, 2023

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The indictments completely killed any momentum Desantis had to build a policy versus showman debate in the primary.

This caused a rally to Trump movement like any movement needs to do when under attack. Like any army you can’t allow your lines to be broken then it’s chaos getting picked off one by one. And the GOP defending themselves against lawfare is a big deal. Maybe Desantis somehow wins but without a United front he would just fall to the next wave of lawfare.

Plus starting to buy that a lot of people like the entertainment and the policy and donor class of the GOP backing Desantis can’t win that.

This caused a rally to Trump movement like any movement needs to do when under attack.

Exactly. The 'vote for DeSantis not Trump' urgings from outside really were intended to split the vote, because I don't think many of the people saying Republican voters should do that want DeSantis as a strong candidate likely to win the primary and maybe even the election. What they want is the hardline vote split, some weaksauce compromise candidate selected that nobody particularly likes or wants, and then the Democrat nominee to cruise home in the final election.

So if they had been content to quash their impulses to try and punish Trump, they might have got their way. But between the True Believers who have been screaming themselves hoarse for four years about COUP! TREASON! DEMOCRACY!!!! and the urge to punish the impudence of the guy who beat It's Her Turn, they couldn't help themselves. Now they've rallied people behind Trump who may not like or want the guy, but like or want even less vindictive lawfare to be established as a precedent.

What they want is the hardline vote split, some weaksauce compromise candidate selected that nobody particularly likes or wants, and then the Democrat nominee to cruise home in the final election.

That, they won't get. It's going to be Trump or De Santis; there isn't a third candidate in a position to take advantage of a split. If one arises (very unlikely) they will have to be a strong candidate, not a weak one. So what the DNC is trying for is to get Trump as the primary candidate, and then beat him (by hook or by crook, mostly the latter) in the general.

But you also want Patton; not general Burnside. DeSantis is practically the only Republican candidate capable of actually fighting back as opposed to merely crying about it.

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