When I first learned about the proposed debate between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom, moderated by Sean Hannity, it seemed hard to imagine. No one would confuse Sean Hannity with being moderate about anything. It is hard to imagine why Gavin Newsom thought this was a good idea.
Gavin Newsom was already in serious trouble because, well, California is in serious trouble. When we moved from California to Florida in May of last year, our moving company could not find a truck driver willing to make the trip. Getting someone to leave California to go to Florida is easy. Convincing them to make a return trip is a major challenge. Incredibly, this was so bad our “moving truck” ended up being shipped on a train. There is reportedly a similar trouble with U-Haul trucks. Lot of them leaving California, not so many returning.
A lot of people underestimate Ron DeSantis. We saw him personally while he was campaigning for re-election as governor of Florida. He is a lot better speaker and debater than is portrayed in the MSM. I didn’t want DeSantis to run for President for two reasons. One is that we wanted to keep him as our Governor. The second is that he is too young. He is only 45 years old. If he wins election and serves 8 years as President, he will be in his early 50s, with no place left to go. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
But he is running and that means Republicans must choose between Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, or someone else, or in other words, Nikki Haley. Democrats are desperate to get rid of Trump and if they could replace him with Nikki Haley, win-win. She is the ideal Republican candidate. Almost certain to lose, and if she did win, certain to cave on principles to compromise with Democrats. The person they fear is DeSantis. They are doing everything possible to bring him down, including the usual distortions of his record and ridiculous insults. When you see those polls showing him in decline, always remember who does those polls and consider how accurate they have been in previous elections.
The debate was remarkable. It was a welcome relief from the previous fiascos masquerading as rational debate. Hannity allowed too much silly bickering between the two candidates, but it still provided the opportunity to make their case. Newsom was better than I expected, but he had a serious problems. One, he was trying to pretend Joe Biden is doing a good job. That alone was a bridge too far. Another was that he really believes Democratic talking points are based on actual evidence. They aren’t. The only people who believe Democratic talking points are people too stupid to matter. Finally it is impossible to ignore the stench of the mess he has created in California. The result was that DeSantis absolutely skewered him on several occasions. Hannity said they both would stay another 20 minutes, only to come back after a commercial break to say they both had prior commitments. Seriously who bought that? There are reports that it was Newsom’s wife who called an end to the debate. Although Gavin thought he did great, she knew better and took action to convince him to get up off the floor and stop the bleeding.
If you watched any of the snippets from the debate the vast majority are of Ron DeSantis sticking it too Newsom. Granted he had the easier task because there were so many targets of opportunity. Then Newsom did something guaranteed to elevate Ron DeSantis in the polls. He suggested DeSantis withdraw so Nikki Haley could defeat Donald Trump. Republicans are often stupid, but seldom dumb enough to take advice from someone like Gavin Newsom regarding who should be our the Republican nominee. What’s next, an endorsement from Putin?
The bottom line is that Newsom should go home, try to fix “something” in California and hope that he can put enough time and distance beyond this disaster to try and rescue the last remaining shreds of his once promising political career. He went from the inside track to the outhouse, and he was put there by a man he considers to be intellectually inferior.
DeSantis did miss an opportunity. When Newsom said he was following the science; DeSantis should have said the results prove Newsom can’t even define science. He keeps doing the same things, proven to be ineffective, over and over again, only to be shocked when he gets the exact same results. That is not the definition of science, it is the definition of insanity.
TDM