Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

As we look at the Republicans who are vying to take Donald Trump’s place in the White House, as of right now, it is no contest. There are big names thrown in the hat, names that are easily recognizable in conservative politics. But alas, none of the last names are spelled T-R-U-M-P. And that to our conservative friends is gold in Republican circles. How else can one explain the tight grip that Trump wields over the Republican Party in Washington and across America, even as he is in the legal fight of his life his base is firmly supportive of what he is saying at campaign rallies and even Fox has welcomed him back. As we look at the Republican race for the nomination, something is missing. History has shown us that every now and then, the vice president gets to succeed his boss in office somewhere down the line. George Bush succeeded Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden is sitting in the White House four-plus years after serving with Barack Obama. Where does that place Mike Pence? Pence, like the rest of the pretenders, er, contenders, are still in the starter’s gate. There is only one candidate who has led many conservatives to believe that he is the one who can not only replace Trump at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but also defeat Joe Biden. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis who is in his second term as governor must have decided that there is nothing else in Florida that excites him, so he is going after the “big fish” (not a marlin), that of being president of the U.S. However, someone should have told him that running is one thing and that winning is something else. This is a case where one’s reputation far out ceded what he thought that he could do on a bigger stage. Yes, DeSantis has transformed Florida into his own mini kingdom with Republicans in the state house giving him everything that he asked. And if he didn’t (or doesn’t) get what he wants, he will blame everything on “wokeness”. It is perhaps only a matter of time before DeSantis blames his faltering campaign somehow on wokeness. He is a distant (way back) second to Trump in the nomination race and not even one primary has been held. Still true to form, DeSantis has a reason why his campaign has been lackluster starting with that disastrous beginning on social media. That may have been the biggest dud for a nationally known candidate campaign start since Ross Perot. DeSantis was on Fox recently and was asked why his campaign seems to be stuck in park. Instead of being honest saying that his campaign has “hit” a few bumps, DeSantis blamed his troubles on the media. That’s right, the media. When all else fails, blame the “narratives” coming from the media, because they “don’t want” him to be the nominee. Why the media doesn’t want DeSantis to be the nominee? Because “they know” that he can't beat Joe Biden. Someone should tell him, that as of right now, he can’t beat Donald Trump.

The lastest poll shows Trump leading DeSantis by 34 points. Not even close. That warning in the automobile passenger’s side mirror, “Objects are closer than they appear” could be a campaign slogan for DeSantis, because anything else as far as he is concerned, “is being woke”. DeSantis said that he “is looking forward” to the debates later on in the year. Perhaps he should spend a few hours looking at the 2016 debates among Republican contenders. Trump took their lunch. Ask Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio. If this was a boxing match between Trump and DeSantis, the referee would stop the fight and DeSantis is no “Rocky”. There is no such thing as a “clean fight”, as the goal is to win. If DeSantis’ goal is to win the White House, he needs to channel some negative energy towards Trump and not Mickey Mouse or CRT. If not, Trump will add him to the list of those he has steamrolled. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.