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November 11, 2022

Underwhelming is, perhaps, the most polite way to describe the midterm election results for Republicans. Around 70% of the public believe that the country is going in the wrong direction. Inflation has stripped thousands of dollars out of everyone’s wallet. Alphabet soup sexual insanity has completely disgusted most people. And yet, as of this writing, it’s not certain that Republicans will gain ground in the Senate. Many supposedly competitive races simply…weren’t.

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Harris Faulkner commented on November 9 that her election night focus group largely agreed with the above list of voter discontent, but didn’t vote Republican because “We weren’t sure what you [Republicans] were going to do for us.” My wife puts it a bit more graphically, saying, “Republicans promise they’ll do wonders and poop cucumbers. When they get elected they do nothing.”

Mostly, my wife has been right. Then, my governor, Ron DeSantis, showed up. He didn’t run to get elected. He ran to do good things for Florida.

David Horowitz presents more detail, but a nugget or two should be sufficient. Four years ago, in several parts of Florida, Ron DeSantis either lost or won by a whisker. In this election, most of those places swung a full twenty points in his favor.

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There’s one simple reason: Governor DeSantis keeps his promises. He looked at the data, consulted with experts familiar with the data, and opened Florida for business while most other states were cowering in irrational fear of a virus they could not see, could not avoid, and that was unlikely to injure them. With Florida open for business, half a million people left blue states for the Sunshine State, seeking freedom and opportunity.

Image: Ron DeSantis. YouTube screen grab (cropped).

DeSantis was just as bold on legal and social issues. When Attorney General Merrick “Javert” Garland said he’d send election monitors to Florida, DeSantis told him those unlawful intruders would be ushered out, in cuffs if necessary. When the Hillsborough County State Attorney refused to do his job, DeSantis revoked his paycheck and computer password. Local school boards introducing the sexual perversion of the day into elementary classrooms were met with a new statute introducing them to the crossbar hotel if they continued. Media labels like “Don’t Say Gay” went nowhere because the statute had nothing to do with being homosexual. The governor would not back down. When he was accused of political favoritism because Publix supermarket pharmacies were chosen for COVID vaccine distribution, the reporter learned that it was important to do her homework. Even Democrat officials shut her lies down.

In short, my Governor takes no prisoners. He doesn’t mean tweet like Donald Trump. Instead, he’s a master communicator and a great troll on social media. If you cross him on a matter of importance, you’d better be ready to take the heat. His willingness to stay up front and center with service to Floridians won him a second term in a walk.

For decades a lot of people knew that the Democrats are bat-crap crazy. But instead of presenting a real alternative, historically most Republicans have tried to be “electable.” We recall how much that benefited John McCain and Mittens Romney. And if some managed to get elected, they tried to stay “electable,” leading to a strong impression in the base that…. Oh…wait. My wife already said it.

When politicians act like politicians, they destroy any credibility that might attach to their campaign promises. And because the Republican Party is led by such stalwart chameleons as Mitch McConnell, it has proven the validity of this assessment. It should be no surprise that the stench rubs off on everyone, even true patriots ready to take up arms against the entrenched power brokers.

In Arizona, a weak response to the flood of illegals and obvious election shenanigans by Republican Governor Doug Ducey unfairly tainted Kari Lake, leading to a razor-thin race with Katie Hobbs, the Secretary of State who obstructed the Maricopa County 2020 election audit. Lake had no track record in office, so to the average voter, she wasn’t much of a contrast to either Ducey or Hobbs.