PREACH it, Guv!
As I have always maintained: as far as Presidents of the US go, Ron DeSantis sure makes one hellaciously good Governor of Florida, don’t he? Yes, I get that he has ambitions to higher office, is a career politician deep down, is cordially loathed by some Florida residents who know him better than I do, all that jazz. But still.
While I certainly wish the man no ill in any way, shape, or form, I nevertheless hope he’ll eventually find it in himself to foreswear his yearning for career advancement and just stay put where he can and actually IS making a genuine, meaningful difference—right now, not later on, not someday if/when/perhaps-possibly. In my estimation, not just FLA but the rest of us really can’t afford to lose him as Governor, nor do we wish to have to sit back and watch him become just another blunted needle in the Mordor On The Potomac haystack, so to speak. We already have plenty and to spare of those as it is.
A taste of what I’m talking about:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said people should put Hurricane Milton “in perspective” in response to a reporter’s question about climate change.
At a press conference on Thursday, DeSantis was asked whether “global warming” impacted the hurricane’s intensity after Milton spawned several tornadoes that wreaked havoc in the Sunshine State.
DeSantis rejected the premise that Milton was worse than previous hurricanes, stating, “I think you can go back and find tornadoes for all of human history.”
Compared to previous storms, Milton had a barometric pressure of about 950 millibars when it made landfall, the governor said. “I think if you go back to 1851, there’s probably been about 27 hurricanes that have had lower barometric pressure – so the lower the barometric pressure, the stronger it is.”
The governor noted that 17 hurricanes stronger than Milton made landfall in Florida prior to 1960 and that the strongest hurricane on record since the 1850s was the Labor Day hurricane, which occurred in 1935 and had a barometric pressure of 892 millibars. The most deadly hurricane in Florida history happened in 1928, he added.
“I just think people should put this in perspective there. They tried to take different things that happened with tropical weather and act like it’s something – there’s nothing new under the sun,” DeSantis said.
“I think what’s changed is we’ve got 23 million people. A storm is likely to hit more people and property than it would have 100 years ago. And so the potential for that damage has grown, but what’s also changed is our ability to do the prevention, to pre-stage the assets.”
Dayummm, whodathunk we’d ever hear such plainspoken, unflinching common sense from an American politician in this day and age? No dissembling, no evasion, no throat-clearing, no foot-shuffling; zero tolerance for shitlib dishonesty; just the straight dope backed up by facts, figures, and actual history, all hurled into their very teeth with neither fear nor apology. It’s refreshing, that’s what.
I mean no slight or insult whatsoever when I say that—although far be it from me to call into question Da Guv’s ability to rise to the challenge of the national stage and be outstanding there—his gifts, skills, and experience make DeSantis such a naturally perfect fit for the great state of Florida that there can be no disgrace in contenting himself to continue serving in that (supposedly) lesser role.
Having been a full-throttle embracer of risk-taking my entire life, I well understand the appeal to a man such as DeSantis of rolling the dice on a run at the Presidency, to win or lose it all. If he wasn’t a risk-taker his own self, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion in the first place. In the end, though, is the prize really worth the pursuing? Only DeSantis himself can say, which is only meet and just.
Consider: as Governor, his actions and initiatives have visible, real-world impact, generating effects and consequences that resound well beyond the state line. Conversely, Faux Jaux Bribem’s flailing, floundering, flubbing tenure as ***”pResident”*** exposed the figurehead nature of the American Presidency for all with eyes to see. If we learned anything from his tragicomic reign of error, it’s that the sock-puppet perched behind the Resolute Desk has very little, if anything, to do with how the country is actually run.
Whatever the case may once have been, referring to the President as “The Most Powerful Man On Earth” is mere habit now, nothing more—a rhetorical tic as comfy and familiar as an old pair of slippers, form without meaning. As it has metastasized, the locus of federal power has gradually shifted away from the Oval Office until today it resides elsewhere, wielded by skulking éminences grises without names, faces, or accountability.
Governor D besieged in the White House, subject to the less-than-tender mercies of such as they? Forbid it, Almighty God!
Should DeSantis choose to remain in place as Governor, Amerika v2.0’s loss will be America That Was’s gain. And there ain’t a damned thing wrong with that, either.
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