Yesterday, the Washington Post’s Max Boot gave us the column we’d been waiting for:
DeSantis reminds me not of Trump but of Nixon. A Yale teammates said he was “smart” but also “the biggest d—k we knew.” A former House colleague said: “He’s a little reclusive, a bit of an odd duck … but he’s just incredibly disciplined.”https://t.co/P7e2QD6Fs3
— Max Boot 🇺🇦 (@MaxBoot) July 6, 2022
Ron DeSantis is even more dangerous than Donald Trump? Looks like we’re officially off to the races!
The test for "NeverTrump" intellecuals is where they stand on DeSantis. He should be their guy: elite education, military background, leadership experience, impeccable character. If they can't get behind him, the takeaway is clear: it's not about principles; they serve the Left.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) July 6, 2022
The QTs are in: the opinions of Max Boot, Joe Walsh, and Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen are virtually indistinguishable from those of New York Magazine's resident lunatic Jonathan Chait. It might have been about principles in the beginning, but now it's pure grift. pic.twitter.com/MEy7whhbYg
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) July 7, 2022
Hey, speaking of New York Magazine’s resident lunatic Jonathan Chait, look who’s here:
DeSantis is a deeply authoritarian figure who is consolidating the fringe right-wing groups Trump brought into the party https://t.co/FVimA59f4j https://t.co/Ngu6xGgUGT
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) July 7, 2022
The Trump-skeptical conservatives who love DeSantis are distrustful of Trump's incompetence, not his authoritarianism. They prefer a more competent authoritarian, which DeSantis is.
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) July 7, 2022
You keep using this word “authoritarian,” Jonathan. We do not think it means what you think it means.
Hysterical when media activists call @GovRonDeSantis an “authoritarian” because he enacted protections for workers from corporate vaccine mandates. Apparently the non-authoritarian thing to do would be to allow government/corporate collusion to deprive citizens of medical freedom https://t.co/8Or4WMdfHI
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 7, 2022
When today's left-wingers call you an "authoritarian," what they really mean is "you're stealing the authority that should belong to the Left alone."
Devolving power to the states and people counts as "authoritarianism" under that definition. https://t.co/yxoQdUKLs0
— John Hayward (@Doc_0) July 7, 2022
If he's an authoritarian, what's that make Gov. Newsom? The guy who wouldn't impose government lockdowns on businesses or schools in his state is somehow the authoritarian.
— AA7YA🇺🇸 (@AA7YA) July 7, 2022
"But that's different"™
— Redcloak the Unruly 🍊 (@BrewingAle) July 7, 2022
You mean (D)ifferent.
Seriously, Chait et al. love to toss “authoritarian” around with regard to Ron DeSantis, but if they were even remotely interested in being intellectually honest, they’d acknowledge that DeSantis’ actual record as Florida Governor is actually pretty anti-authoritarian.
DeSantis is not "deeply authoritarian"
During the pandemic, he worked with red and blue politicians alike & the urban pandemic restrictions were tougher than rural ones b/c that's what those counties preferred. https://t.co/59qyUa29tw
— PoliMath (@politicalmath) July 7, 2022
DeSantis put his foot down a couple times
1) He insisted for the 21-22 school year that all schools have an in-person option
2) He insisted that counties could not close businesses or reduce restaurant capacity below 50% without a waiverhttps://t.co/VYtOxqYUVf
— PoliMath (@politicalmath) July 7, 2022
DeSantis insisted that private businesses could not have a vaccine mandate for employees, but that was because none of them were making exceptions for natural immunity (which has historically been accepted in place of a vaccine)…
— PoliMath (@politicalmath) July 7, 2022
But he also got ahead of the curve on this. He understood that allowing a vaccine mandate for employees could easily translate into a booster mandate or a second booster mandate or a "new version of the vaccine" mandate.
He wanted to nip that in the bud.
He was right.
— PoliMath (@politicalmath) July 7, 2022
Such authoritarian, huh?
If you really want to look at authoritarian policies, look to Gavin Newsom, who overruled parents and school boards to force children to wear masks when he himself wasn't wearing themhttps://t.co/wZBJmOz1k3
— PoliMath (@politicalmath) July 7, 2022
Where are Jonathan Chait’s Twitter threads about Gavin Newsom’s authoritarian rule over the State of California? We’ve scoured the interwebs high and low and have come up empty.
The guy who wouldn't impose government lockdowns on businesses or schools in his state is the authoritarian.
Have fun with that one guys.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 7, 2022
Oh, they’re having plenty of fun with it. They’re just making complete asses of themselves in the process.
Let's translate:
DeSantis is not doing what we want. Furthermore, he seems to be popular with the other people who don't do what we want. This could be a problem.
Oh yeah – and "orange man bad," too.
— Keith Burgin – The Toxic Something Podcast (@KeithBurgin) July 7, 2022
Nailed it.
— susan price (@sbprice) July 7, 2022
We’ll leave you with this oldie-but-goodie from Chait:
— The Only Gary Johnson Stan (@colorblindk1d) July 7, 2022
***
Related:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member