July 15, 2021

"CPAC did two straw polls: One with former President Donald Trump included and one without him."

"In the first, Trump crushed with 70%, which, if you've followed politics over the past, say, five years, will not surprise you. DeSantis came in second with 21%, the ONLY candidate not named Trump who got more than 1% in the straw poll. In the second straw poll -- without Trump -- DeSantis took 68%(!) of the vote. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came in second with 5% followed by Donald Trump Jr. and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 4% and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem at 3%."

From "The leader of the Republican Party *not* named Donald Trump" from Chris Cillizza (CNN). 

Meanwhile, about that "Don't Fauci My Florida" campaign merchandise — which we talked about yesterday — there's "Ron DeSantis' Anti-Fauci Florida Merchandise Prompts Outrage: 'This Is Madness'" (from Newsweek): 

The [former] governor of Vermont, Howard Dean, was among those to criticize his Florida counterpart over the sale of such items. He tweeted: "DeSantis is a well educated crackpot with no allegiance to our country, his constituency or the truth."...

MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid was similarly scathing, sharing a link to The Washington Post's report on the merchandise alongside the quip: "Siri: show me an ignorant ghoul..."

They really are helping him sell more merchandise.

7 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Temujin writes:

"Maybe the brilliant Joy Reid and the effervescent Howard Dean can explain why Fauci directed US tax dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for gain of function research, then claimed the virus came from pangolins or bats in the wet markets, then denied he had funded this research, until it was found that he had.

"I'm pretty sure this is more important than T-Shirts DeSantis is hawking. I'm pretty sure that anybody who has watched Fauci tell us there's nothing to this virus, then there was but you didn't need a mask, then you did, then you needed 3 masks and had to stay home for a year, or more (while he attends ball games)- I'm pretty sure anybody who has watched this, and now understands that Fauci paid for this virus to be developed, is not going to view him as a saint. Might even view him as a fit for prison. And further, understanding that he's the highest paid government employee? When you watch him smugly lying, or denying what is now known, it kinda makes you want to go out and buy a T-shirt that says, 'Don't Fauci my Florida'.

"Frankly, after the last few years of watching our Congress, the FBI, CIA, NSA, DIA, State Dept, and our judiciary, we're not surprised at Fauci's behaviour. He's pretty typical for a government employee. Full of himself, above the laws and the truth, and viewing the citizenry as the opponent, or in some cases, as the enemy.

"We're in good hands."

Ann Althouse said...

Jack writes:

"We are about to see the rage machine of the Democrats and their operatives aimed at DeSantis. Trump Derangement Syndrome was never just about Trump - it is focused at the most threatening political opponents. Soon DeSantis will no longer be who he is. He’ll be Hitler, the most racist governor since the Civil War, the most undemocratic autocrat since Julius Caesar ended the Roman Republic, an existential threat to our democracy, “literally’ according to Joe Biden. The sad thing is that the sophisticated rubes on the left will be brainwashed by the leftist media to believe all of the pejoratives are true, “literally”. Got to get that rage-infused dopamine hit!"

Ann Althouse said...

Scott writes:

"Dr. Linda Girgis, clinical assistant professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Editor-in-Chief of Physician Weekly, who simply wrote "this is madness."

"At least she didn't say "crazy"."

Ann Althouse said...

Bruce writes:

"I think that DeSantis, at least right now, is the one to beat, at least if Trump bows out. For one thing, he makes the right enemies - including, not surprisingly, most of those quoted by Newsweek. He doesn’t have Trump’s pzzaz, but instead has a solid record governing a very diverse state. One of the things that singles him out from the crowd is that he has a somewhat similar touch to Trump’s of hitting the enemy where it hurts. The merchandise sales are brilliant. The View moonbat who said: "Like in +40 other states, COVID cases in FL, have increased by over 50% in last two weeks. We're trending in the wrong direction," completely misses why DeSantis is increasingly popular. We are tired of “experts” (of whom Fauci is the poster boy) and useless, self destructive shutdowns. One of the things that the 50% increase misses is that the increase was from a very low level. More - it likely means that the much less deadly (CFR probably between 1/8 and 1/10) but more infectious Delta variant is pushing out the much deadlier Alpha variant. DeSantis making fun of Fauci, is ridiculing the entire left, that is desperately refusing to give up the control over everyone’s lives that they seized starting a year and a half ago. That is a very good place to be for a Republican."

Ann Althouse said...

Wilbur writes:

"As a longtime South Florida resident, I've been watching DeSantis for several years now, before he became governor. He's impressive, makes a good appearance and has an innate common touch that reaches out to people.

"What I like most about him is that he has absolutely no illusions about the nature of his leftist opponents. He has no interest in trying to "reach across the aisle", knowing that is a fool's errand. He says what he thinks, in the knowledge that no matter what he says or does he'll be excoriated by the left and their water carriers in the media. That puts him ahead of the game, and it's a great improvement over the Jeb Bush type of Republican."

Ann Althouse said...

Tim writes:

"Possibly as important as Trump 70% and De Santis 68% is this entry: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem at 3%.

"Not so long ago, Noem was a rising star and legitimate contender for the 2024 nomination. Then she vetoed the transgender sports bill and, overnight, her national potential was done. She had her explanations, but all the right heard was, "she will fold when the going gets tough." DeSantis is at 68% without Trump because he can take the pressure. He seems smart enough to understand the lesson of Trump that Noem had to learn the hard way."

Ann Althouse said...

Skeptical Voter writes:

"I was amused by Howard Dean’s description of Ron DeSantis as a “well educated crackpot”. I spent most of my working life surrounded by highly credentialled people. There were some fools among those highly credentialled people—lacking judgment and or “common sense”, but I would never have described any of them as “crackpots’. Education and career wise DeSantis ticks all the boxes for our political elite. Yale undergrad, magna cum laude—check. Add “captain of the Yale baseball team” for a plus. Harvard law cum laude—check. He spent time in the military and had a combat tour as a Navy Seal—check. Bronze Star—double check. Time as a federal prosecutor. A term or two in Congress. Now at age 42, he’s the youngest state governor in the country. And not of a small state like say, Vermont. Nope, governor of Florida which ranks fourth in the nation in population.

"All of that is the sort of background building that led to the Presidency for JFK and the two George Bush’s. So why does Dr. Howard “Primal Scream” Dean—himself an undergrad Yalie and then on to med school, call DeSantis a “crackpot”? Well DeSantis is guilty of wrong think—and he’s a Republican. I don’t know where DeSantis’s career will go from here. But at age 42 he’s likely to be around for quite a while—crackpot or not."