There was a guy named Bernie Sanders, a not-Democrat who liked to run in the Dems' presidential primaries. In February 2020, after Iowa and New Hampshire, he was the Democratic frontrunner and the major media couldn't have been happier. Feb. 22 NPR headline, Sanders Wins Nevada Caucus, Solidifying Front-Runner Status, for example. The Guardian March 15: How Sanders Went From Frontrunner to the Last-Chance Saloon.
I think Bulwark writers, and based on the comments its readers, are under estimating DeSantis. There's a reason, you hear Republicans describe him as 'Trump with Brains'. Republicans voters largely like Trump, DeSantis has the ability to appeal to the Trump base and the traditional republican establishment. Like all parties, they want to win, and right now at least on paper DeSantis gives them the best chance. And DeSantis is shrewd enough to be able to use the Florida Governership to stay relevant among Repbulican primary voters by picking fights with the 'right' enemies.
Republican pols care nothing about the country or anything except themselves. They’ll eat each other alive for the presidency. Stefanik is my rep and a perfect example of the amorality.
Re:Walker. Anybody running on union busting was never going to get my vote. Of course, this was pre-pivot to being the party of the working class. (Sorry, the lolz of that has my eyes streaming.) That he was a front-runner due to that is reason #3,457 that I’ll never be a Republican again.
Maybe because he’s a Republican is why I find Ron DeSantis deeply unlikeable. What has he done for the working class? The only thing that comes to mind is bringing everything and especially schools out of lockdown so soon. Of course, it killed a few more people but hey, there are always trade offs especially when it is not me and mine. He’s a front runner because of what he represents and not what kind of a person and politician he is.
I’m sick and tired of the culture war from both sides of the aisle; both have the words and tired catchphrases which drum up base support and they all (Dem or R) sound like windup marionettes to me. I wish Biden wouldn’t run again but if he does, I hope he talks bipartisanship/cooling the divide from the get go.
DeSantis has the charm of a coat rack and some neurodivergence that renders him unable to meet other people’s eyes. As GOP presidential nominees go, he’ll be a governor for at least four more years.
A hand-wringer on Daily Kos commented that, in a Biden-Desantis matchup, all voters will see is a doddering 80-year old and a 45-year old. Why, I asked, would they not see a straight shooter vs. a guy who couldn’t look anyone in the eye if his kids’ lives depended on it? Or someone who cares vs. someone who sneers? I’m not a Republican, so take this for what it’s worth, but it’s hard to see Desantis succeeding in the retail politics crucible of the early primaries and caucuses.
It's just one more demonstration why obsession on polls is a terrible mistake for news organizations to make. Increasingly over the years, the reporting on polls by news organizations has become the dominant driver of news coverage. It masks (or tries to) the fact that no real reporting is going on. A reporter or columnist can sit back at his desk and write stories based on polls and never set foot on the ground where the real news is happening. It's one thing to use polls to advise you what to look for. It's another to make them the news. Hire more real reporters and get them out there pounding their beat. And the beat isn't a poll.
There was a guy named Bernie Sanders, a not-Democrat who liked to run in the Dems' presidential primaries. In February 2020, after Iowa and New Hampshire, he was the Democratic frontrunner and the major media couldn't have been happier. Feb. 22 NPR headline, Sanders Wins Nevada Caucus, Solidifying Front-Runner Status, for example. The Guardian March 15: How Sanders Went From Frontrunner to the Last-Chance Saloon.
Just Google Sanders and frontrunner.
This was so entertaining that I loved re-reading it in a new timeframe!
Hope you're very merry, Charlie. Joyeux Noel!
I think Bulwark writers, and based on the comments its readers, are under estimating DeSantis. There's a reason, you hear Republicans describe him as 'Trump with Brains'. Republicans voters largely like Trump, DeSantis has the ability to appeal to the Trump base and the traditional republican establishment. Like all parties, they want to win, and right now at least on paper DeSantis gives them the best chance. And DeSantis is shrewd enough to be able to use the Florida Governership to stay relevant among Repbulican primary voters by picking fights with the 'right' enemies.
Republican pols care nothing about the country or anything except themselves. They’ll eat each other alive for the presidency. Stefanik is my rep and a perfect example of the amorality.
Re:Walker. Anybody running on union busting was never going to get my vote. Of course, this was pre-pivot to being the party of the working class. (Sorry, the lolz of that has my eyes streaming.) That he was a front-runner due to that is reason #3,457 that I’ll never be a Republican again.
Maybe because he’s a Republican is why I find Ron DeSantis deeply unlikeable. What has he done for the working class? The only thing that comes to mind is bringing everything and especially schools out of lockdown so soon. Of course, it killed a few more people but hey, there are always trade offs especially when it is not me and mine. He’s a front runner because of what he represents and not what kind of a person and politician he is.
I’m sick and tired of the culture war from both sides of the aisle; both have the words and tired catchphrases which drum up base support and they all (Dem or R) sound like windup marionettes to me. I wish Biden wouldn’t run again but if he does, I hope he talks bipartisanship/cooling the divide from the get go.
DeSantis has the charm of a coat rack and some neurodivergence that renders him unable to meet other people’s eyes. As GOP presidential nominees go, he’ll be a governor for at least four more years.
A hand-wringer on Daily Kos commented that, in a Biden-Desantis matchup, all voters will see is a doddering 80-year old and a 45-year old. Why, I asked, would they not see a straight shooter vs. a guy who couldn’t look anyone in the eye if his kids’ lives depended on it? Or someone who cares vs. someone who sneers? I’m not a Republican, so take this for what it’s worth, but it’s hard to see Desantis succeeding in the retail politics crucible of the early primaries and caucuses.
It's just one more demonstration why obsession on polls is a terrible mistake for news organizations to make. Increasingly over the years, the reporting on polls by news organizations has become the dominant driver of news coverage. It masks (or tries to) the fact that no real reporting is going on. A reporter or columnist can sit back at his desk and write stories based on polls and never set foot on the ground where the real news is happening. It's one thing to use polls to advise you what to look for. It's another to make them the news. Hire more real reporters and get them out there pounding their beat. And the beat isn't a poll.