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Notes -
Why I compared him to Newsom is "being talked up by his own side, is young in political terms, but what has he really done?" Newsom at least demonstrated that he has the national party at his back when they pulled out the stops to help him during recall. DeSantis doesn't have that same level of support that I can see.
Both of them, this is a bad election if they're going to run. Newsom I don't see as potential anything, yeah he's Governor of California, has a very good close friend in the Getty family and has the national party willing to run interference for him, but outside of that as president I struggle to think what policies if any he has in mind (apart from the general liberal-progressive Dem stuff).
DeSantis, I think this is the wrong election for him. It's still Trump-Biden fallout needing to be cleared away, and getting in the middle of that risks relegating him to the also-rans. He's done a lot more than Newsom as a governor of a state, and I do think he should wait it out, win his fights with Disney (where I think he has a good chance of victory) and wait for the anti-woke backlash (if it really exists) to mature then ride that wave in 2028 as a strong, credible Republican candidate.
But right now? Trump is still casting a shadow, and it's Biden/maybe Harris on the Democrat side. I think there would be just enough "no to DeathSantis" sentiment to get Joe a second term, especially with the usual scaremongering about abortion, LGBT* etc., and not enough pro-DeSantis on the Republican side to get him anywhere. Going as a failed candidate ('couldn't even beat a geriatric Sleepy Joe') in 2028 would, I think, hurt his chances even more.
*The travel advisory is side-splitting:
Oh no, you have an accent? The Gestapo will haul you off to the Florida deathcamps the second you open your gob! Meanwhile, in my own country, there's travel advisory about "be careful in Dublin because you're liable to be hospitalised by feral little scumbags robbing tourists in broad daylight on main streets".
Why not make your will, make sure you are in a state of grace, and arrange your funeral before you go, while you're at it? 🙄
Indeed, there's two of them, the latter about "don't be black in Florida".
But don't worry, immigrant queer Black and brown persons, God is gonna get him!
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