That’s going to deflate the boners of some on the other thread....
No, they’ll say it’s weak, doesn’t go far enough, he had to do it to save face, doesn’t name Trump, blah, blah. blah…yaddayaddayadda….
I like Ron. I just don’t think its his time because it seems so obvious that Trump will walk away with the primary.
His supporters do cause me some concern (Paul Ryan?) and I have been pretty frank about that, but I think some of that support is because he is not “Trump”. I do think he is much more his “own man” than most GOP types and I respect him for that. I also like that he can be chippy and call BS on stuff.
He has done a good job in Florida, but he has a really good legislature to work with and everything is easier when you have a good legislature.
Right now, I think Ron is probably the future of the GOP.
However, one thing I am certain about is that it does not help any of us (or them) for him and Trump to get in some kind of media fueled fight in the mud. Trump will be Trump and as much as I hate it we won’t change it. It is miserable at times.
If Ron climbs into the mud with Trump he will end his future political career because MAGA holds a grudge and nobody can roll in the mud better than Trump. Nobody. That might not be fair, but it is real.
If Ron stays above it he will elevate his own stature for the future regardless of Trump’s antics and he could cement his future quite easily if he ignores those who view him as the best hope against Trump.
OTOH -
If Trump alienates DeSantis supporters (he probably would) he cripples his chances of winning in the general because there is no margin for error assuming we can run a cleaner election (it won’t be the Covid 20 again even if there are still lots of problems).
It is obvious that this is and will be a pretty heated fight here on FR and nationally (if Ron declares), but neither side will really “win” anything other than some kind of meaningless smug victory while we endure another 4 years of destruction and DeSantis has the same problem as Trump - if he loses a few percentage points of the base in a failed effort he will not win a national election.
That is my .02 and I hope DeSantis sees it the same. He has a LOT of people I don’t like right now talking him up and regardless of how fair it might be, the MAGA base is NOT the GOP base, but he cannot win in the future without them.
There is no upside for DeSantis to remain in the conversation and the people starting PAC’s for him now are NOT our friends. It’s a bad look and he is losing his chance to elevate his national future the longer it drags out.
It also makes Trump look bad, but that’s Trump and you take the cringe for the win or you stay at home and complain about 4 more years of this. We are not past the point of no return (reconciliation) yet, but the current mudslinging is nothing compared to what it will be.
I hope DeSantis makes the good choice for his future and ours AND I hope he maintains some distance between himself and the Paul Ryan wing.