Here’s a hearty thanks from me to Ron.
Ron DeSantis. Yes, That Ron.
RIP, GOP · Posted by Hamish Joy
Apparently, he’s as shocked about it as I am.
It’s not a sarcastic thanks. It’s one awash in sincerity.
Lest you think I’ve transformed into a lunatic, idiot, or a (ugh) Republican, let me put your mind at ease first – Ron DeSantis is a phenomenally bad governor and probably a worse human being. I’m not disputing any of that. So you can keep those thoughts and prayers holstered away for a rainy day.

My thanks to ol’ Ronnie is pretty tactical in nature.
You see, Rhondy Sandy started out on the wrong foot, and then progressively doubled down on his imbecility with every passing day. He somehow got it into his head that he could emulate the evil of Trump and focus on ‘owning the libs’ at any cost. He started with his draconian ‘don’t say gay’ bill

[1], and when the biggest employer in his state
[3], he targeted Disney
[4] for it – something people actually familiar with the constitution would find unconstitutional
[5]. He tried to ban critiques against him
[6], he has targeted the LGBT community
[7], has enacted blatantly bigoted policies
[9] and impeded healthcare access
[10].
And he’s losing at every front. Disney has treated him like they would any classic Disney villain – and fought back. They have fought back in the courts, fought back with the support of public opinion, are divesting their investments out of Florida, they outmaneuvered him legally
[11] to thwart his feeble attacks , and is suing the pants off Rhondy
[12] so he’d look even more like Donald Duck than before.
And that’s just Disney. He’s getting rogered across the board, kicked and thrashed about by repercussions to his actions.

It is a glorious spectacle. I should maybe be thankful for that – but that’s not why I’m thanking him in this post. No, no, no… I’ve got a more substantial reason for expressing gratitude.
Conservative policies
There may be some classic conservative policies that would actually help the country. Policies that would keep the ‘other side’ in check, the yin to the yang of unchecked liberal excess. However, that has not been the case for at least a decade now. There are no ‘classical conservative policies’ in America anymore (other than the ones espoused by mainstream Democrats).
Conservative ideology as it plays today in American politics – are centered around ‘how much they can hurt the other guy’. It’s the cult of hate – against trans people, against women, against other religions, against poor people, against education, against minorities, against heathcare access, against homeless people, against democracy, against truth, against compassion… all in the service of the one percenters.
If conservative policies were enacted in society today, it would result in the wholesale degradation of society – hurting vulnerable people and marginalizing those in need. The collateral damage would be strong not just amongst liberals/ regular people, but also amongst their own fold. Incredibly, their fold is ok with that. They feel that they’re voting their guys in specifically to hurt people, not help them.
I’ve always maintained that it truly is a fantastic machine of PR and propaganda that the GOP has cultivated over the years – that makes those vulnerable folks vote against their own interests.
Conservatives focus on hurting ‘the other guys’, and are comfortable with a lot of their own side getting hurt in the process. Liberals focus on helping as many people as possible – across both sides.
Fortunately, conservatives spend more time campainging than governing. They produce a lot of rhetoric, slogans and rally cries to rile up their base, but when they try to enact policies that hurt people, Dems have generally either stopped them or at least mitigated the worst effects of those policies. As a result, true conservative policies have not been unleashed into the public so far.
Until Rhondy, of course.
Florida is suffering.
Immensely.
Yugely.
Rhondy doesn’t care – partly because he’s a conservative tool that generally doesn’t care about people. But also partly because he’s more concerned about building his image at a national stage as an anti-woke antifa-killer drinking liberal tears.
It doesn’t matter that his state is getting devastated and torn apart directly as a result of his policies. It doesn’t matter because the average MAGAmoron in America doesn’t care. Sure, the people directly in Florida would care when they lose their livelihood… Florida loses out on corporate supporters, loses out on tourism (the NAACP has issued a travel advisory against Florida
[13] because it is now openly hostile to Black Americans), loses revenue from Disney (over 2000 well paying jobs lost
[14]from Florida), they’re running short of physicians
[16]and all of this is only going to get worse.
Florida was poor on education to start with, but it’s rapidly descending from even that low bar. The anti-immigration policies are already showing results with construction and agriculture grinding to a near halt due to lack of labor
[17]. This will undoubtedly culminate in rocketing cost of living that will further damage the state and impact the very redhatted nutters in FL that gleefully cheered on Rhondy as he burnt down the house.
Even from an ideology stand point, Rhondy’s knee jerk policies are against the ostensibly conservative policies of limited government, freedom of speech, corporate support… His anti-trans policies further endanger kids by allowing ‘legal kidnapping’ from their families
[18]. None of these resonate with the classical GOP (not that it exists anymore).
As a result, he is losing favor even amongst Republicans
[19]. However, as stupid as his plans are, remember that it’s hurting people – and that means there will always be some Republicans who support him. But that’s not from within the state. Florida senators know how the party is losing ground with the stupid, oh-so-stupid vanity war he has enaged with Disney.
[20] All of this, as a strategic step to run against Trump for the presidency – a plan that makes no sense even to GOP strategists
[21].
In the face of such heavy repercussions, and when your own party has been advising you about the damage not just to the state (who cares about that, right?), but to the party’s viability (oh, now that stings); faced with that, an ordinary man – and perhaps even a marginally stupid governor – would have caved. But not Ronny. He’ll keep doubling down.
Democrats will save the state if they can, but the way the politics are tied up there, they have no real power to protect the state from itself. If Rhondy keeps doubling down, the state will keep doubling down in pain… and perhaps, even in the hate riddled, lonely unexercised brain cell in Florida carefully concealed under a bright MAGA hat, a little bit of sense might accidentally leak through… and the rest of the country may finally get a chance to see the real damage of conservative politics.
For that, I thank Ron.
Sure, it sucks that an entire state may suffer a blow so hard it may take literal decades to reover from. And it sucks that some good folks will be caught in the crossfire and may have to exit the hellscape to stay alive. But IF a state had to suffer, I’m not particularly sad that it’s Florida.
Footnotes
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/1089221657/dont-say-gay-florida-desantis
Disney World Is the World’s Largest Single-Site Employer
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/08/1085130633/disney-response-florida-bill-dont-say-gay
DeSantis targets Disney’s self-governing status in escalation over ‘Don’t Say Gay’
Florida’s war on Disney violates First Amendment
Ron DeSantis has his next target in his sights: freedom of the press | Trevor Timm
DeSantis signs bills targeting drag shows, transgender kids and the use of bathrooms and pronouns
FULL LISTS: Books removed from South Florida schools as Gov. DeSantis defends bans
Disney blocks Ron DeSantis’ Florida power play with a royal family clause
Disney sues Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, alleges political effort to hurt its business
NAACP issues travel advisory for Florida, says state “has become hostile to Black Americans”
Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus, mass employee relocation amid DeSantis feud
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article259064333.html
Report: Florida ranks 48th in nation in teacher pay
Ron DeSantis’s immigration law is already leading to worker shortages
Florida Passes Bill That Allows for “Legal Kidnapping” of Transgender Children
Ron DeSantis faces Republican criticism from all sides
Florida’s GOP senators issue warnings to Ron DeSantis
GOP strategist laughs at Ron DeSantis’s campaign strategy: “No sense”
Featured In

Follow
Posted by
Understanding Ron DeFascist