Campaign Right In The Primaries, Tack Center In The General Election. But Not If His Own Legislature Won’t LET Him!

The title is the classic political adage for campaigning in any kind of election, local, county, state, or national. Tack hard to the left or right to woo your most rabid, primary voting base, and then immediately tack back to the middle after victory to pick up the moderate and independent voters you need to win in the general election.

The one exception to that rule was Traitor Tot, who in 2016 not only didn’t tack back to the middle, he rode his far right popularity even more to the right in the general election, using his bravado and image to dazzle disaffected voters. But you’ll notice that since the Russian Miracle of 2016, that strategy hasn’t worked so well, either for FrankenTrump, or anybody else in the GOP either.

I wrote recently that Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis had a possible landmine in his bid to become the first American President who strode into the White House with his right hand thrust into his vest. And that problem was that his totally owned GOP legislature was becoming so extreme in their lawmaking that they could turn off moderates and independents.

It turns out that I’m not the only one. In reporting on Politico today, they are also seeing signs that some GOP power players who like DeSanctis’ chances in November are starting to get worried that his own legislature may much it up before the primaries are even over.

One example they chose was the fact that Pissantis is now backing a far right restrictive 6 week abortion ban in Florida. That even prompted a response from Amy Tarkanian, former Nevada GOP state chair, and spouse of perpetual GOP loser Danny Tarkanian. Just before a Pissantis visit to Nevada, Tarkanian said I heard that and my first thought was WOW!. Most women don’t even know they’re pregnant at six weeks. That’s not going to play very well well outside of deep red states.

But what’s the problem for DeSantis here? I mean, Hell, every candidate runs as far to the right in the primaries to energize the base troglodytes, and then immediately tacks back to the center after the primaries. The simple fact of the matter is that it’s all bullshit, and moderates and independents aren’t paying attention to primary bullshit, since they have no intention of showing up anyway.

But here’s where the Florida GOP legislature bones the bow-wow for Pissantis. As I said, everybody knows that primary rhetoric is bullshit, and nobody pays attention, especially after the primaries are over. But Pissantis is in an extremely rare position. Because DeSantis is the only GOP candidate that has his own janissary legislature that can turn all of that bullshit into reality!

And right now, the Florida GOP legislature is going balls-to-the-wall to turn Florida into a national petri dish for Pissantis’ far right fetishes. As we speak they already have

• DeSantis already has a personal Gestapo running around trying to find brown and black people to hassle over taking advantage of their newly restored voting rights after serving their prison sentences
• His Don’t Say Gay Law prohibiting any mention from either teachers or students regarding same sex households got such rave reviews his drone legislature is now trying to extend it to k-8 grade
• Pissantis wants any bloggers located in the state of Florida to be required to register with the state, so that their content can be monitored by the state, and they can be fined or sued if they dare to speak up against the Tallahassee Twit
• Pissantis already has a personally selected board of experts who monitor and rate Florida public school and university teachers to ensure their compliance with the non reality curriculum DeSantis advocates
• He also has a Turd Ribbon Panel that is examining every textbook that is used in the Free (lol) state of Florida public schools to ensure that they bear no resemblance to reality when it comes to anything possibly considered as uncomfortable for far right redneck mofos
• He’s already launched a full out campaign to strip public libraries of any books or authors that he considers as being too controversial in their opinions on race and sexuality

That last one is already giving DeSantis heartburn, since he belatedly realized that banning books has nothing to do with freedom. He’s trying to distance himself from that one without taking any steps to reverse the damn thing.

But you see the point here. It’s one thing for a candidate to bluster away about banning books, banning LGBTQ recognition, banning cultural or racial diversity when it’s all bullshit, and everybody knows you can’t follow through on it. It’s a whole different ball game when opponents can show that your zombie legislature is actually following through on your bullshit.

But here’s my favorite potential landmine for DeSantis going forward, and boy!, talk about being hoist on your own petard. As I wrote earlier, Pissantis used the word WOKE! more than 400 times in two speeches in Iowa. For DeSantis and the GOP, WOKE! means anything that doesn’t conform to the far rights racist, recidivist agenda. If it ain’t MAGA, it’s WOKE!

According to a USA Today poll, 63% of Americans outside of Florida actually think that the word WOKE means, being aware and informed of social, sexual, and racial issues, and being responsive to them. Which is exactly the opposite of what DeSantis and the rest of the GOP wants it to mean!

Because that 63% is right, and that’s the problem. That 63% is exactly what DeSantis and the rest of the far right morons are screaming about. They’re the ones actually capable of independent thought and opinions, and not the good soldier ants marching along to the GOP mantra. But when there are 63% of them, what does that say for your election chances?

Look, the GOP base of all stripes is sick to death of losing. They got shellacked in 2018, lost the White House and Senate in 2020, and barely held serve in the House in 2022. They are looking for the Messiah that can put a win on the board. But the way this is going, it may turn out that Ron DeSantis is the only one in  the GOP with more baggage than Trump. Don’t touch that dial.