There is a saying that in making military preparation, generals often make the mistake of trying to fight the last war. That they are backward looking instead of properly looking at new technologies and circumstances.
It is looking increasingly likely that Governor Ron DeSantis will emerge as the front runner for the 2024 race. It is doubtful that he would be any kind of improvement over Trump. In fact, some argue that he is a smarter harder working version of Trump, and therefore even more dangerous. Clearly, a person who needs to be better understood it Democrats hope to fight off a Republican victory in 2024.
DeSantis’ Policies Are Terrible for Moms. He Convinced Them Otherwise
by Kierra Butler
November 10, 2022
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) On Election Day, the much-hyped red wave didn’t crest quite as high as some polls predicted it would, with Democrats scoring key victories in several states. Yet it was far from a total wash for Republicans—and in a few places, they made historic advances. In Florida, for instance, incumbent Governor (and likely presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis crushed Democratic opponent Charlie Crist, winning the Republican vote even in traditionally deep blue counties.
The forces behind DeSantis’ victory are many and complex. The fact that he was an incumbent naturally gave him an edge. In addition, he spent much of the last four years positioning himself as the more-MAGA-than-Trump candidate. He jeered at the Biden administration, railed against pandemic protections, and made an over-the-top and roundly criticized show of cracking down on migrants from the southern border (who were from Texas, not Florida). With these strategies, he has broadened his Republican base and made inroads into previously Democratic-leaning blocs, including Latin Americans and millennial and Gen-Z Floridians.
But another group of Florida voters he has strategically cultivated may have been especially significant. In the online Florida politics journal Sayfie Review, political analyst Susan McManus noted that in the last year, more than twice as many Florida women have switched parties from Democrat to Republican than the reverse—some 51,000 in the former category, compared to 20,000 in the latter. Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis boasted last week that 1.1 million women had signed on to her Mamas for DeSantis campaign group. “If that number’s correct,” says Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, “that’s pretty impressive.” Especially considering the fact that by many measures—maternal and child health, family leave, and pay equity, to name but a few—life for women and children in Florida is not going particularly well. Ron DeSantis has managed to convince women that his brand of family values is good for them—despite abundant evidence to the contrary.
A central—if not the central—part of DeSantis’ approach has been to cater to the growing number of women who have demonstrated their support for what they call parents’ rights.
Read more here:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... therwise/
caltrek's comment: I know it can be exhausting and frustrating to be thinking of 2024 when we still haven't even wrapped up the 2022 elections. The truism comes to mind that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
Don't mourn, organize.
-Joe Hill