Desantis has all the charisma of a walnut

[Joe Cool]

and such a whiny voice.

Why does anyone think he's all that and a bag of chips?

[roamer65]

1. That's insulting to all self-respecting walnuts everywhere.

DeSatan is half of that name, though. He’s nuts.

[FBaggins]

2. Because he just won FL by the largest margin in 40 years?

A state that was purple until recently.

[Joe Cool]

3. Shapiro got the most votes in history for a PA governor

and he actually has some charisma so your point is what exactly?

Rubio won by a large margin in Florida. Does that mean he's all that and a bag of chips?

[FBaggins]

11. Populations increase over time

He didn’t win by a larger percentage or margin of votes compared to even the most recent governor’s race in PA.

Saying we don’t find someone charismatic really doesn’t mean anything when it’s clear that loads of others do. (Or at least enough so to vote for him enthusiastically). A republicans who breaks even among women 18-29? Who wins Miami Dade outright? Who wins by double digits among Hispanics?

Yeah… we’re going to have to do much better than spread the word that he isn’t charismatic.

[Joe Cool]

16. Tom Wolf won by less than 10% in 2014

against a really unpopular incumbent governor in his first election.

Shapiro won by almost 15% in his first try.

Desantis won by about 30k his first election.

Is Desantis paying you to promote him? Geez.

[Joe Cool]

18. PA's population hasn't dramatically increased from 2018 to 2022.

You are really grasping for straws in defending Desantis.

[FBaggins]

46. You're the one grasping

TFG got more votes in 2020 than any presidential candidate in history (other than Biden of course). Does that mean he's more charismatic than HClinton/Obama/BClinton?

No... there were more people voting. In a democracy, victories are measured by the gap in votes (by raw numbers and by percentages)... not by how many votes the person received compared to some prior year.

Nobody here is "defending Desantis". Just pointing out that we aren't going to get anywhere by claiming that we don't like someone's hair or that they aren't warm and personable - when it has been clearly shown that it's either incorrect or at the very least doesn't impact people voting for him. Trump is the one who seems to think that Desantis' charisma (or lack thereof) is a winning issue... just like he thought it would win against Fetterman... and Biden before that. I'll leave that strategy to him and oppose it when I see it here.

[dchill]

13. *See Mander, Gerry.

Industrial scale.

[FBaggins]

15. Gerrymandering isn't an issue in statewide races

[Genki Hikari]

47. Actually, it is

If you live in a district gerrymandered so that your preferred party can't win the important down-ballot races likely to have a direct impact on your life, then you're a lot less likely to vote at all. Why bother, when you know who most of the winners will be?

That's how gerrymandering kills voting in statewide rices--one partisan-drawn district at a time.

[FBaggins]

49. Sorry. That doesn't make any sense

Last edited Tue Nov 22, 2022, 05:08 PM - Edit history (2)

First - they're called "down-ballot" races for a reason. People in the overwhelming number of cases show up for the "top of the ticket" races and it benefits/harms those "down ballot"... not the other way around. That's why there were 1.6 million fewer votes cast in PA than two years ago. That's one of the reasons that PA runs their gubernatorial races on this cadence... they encourage people to show up and vote for those down-ballot races who otherwise might not show up because their House race is the highest on the ballot.

Second - even if that were true, it still doesn't make sense. "Partisan-drawn" districts don't create voters out of thin air. Making one district redder makes some other district bluer. The net effect across the state is negligible. Nor is it usually gerrymandering that makes districts uncompetitive. You can draw AOC's district any way you want and we'll still have lots of "wasted" votes.

Third - even if we ignore the two points above - we're talking about PA here... which is slightly less-gerrymandered now than it was for the last two gubernatorial elections. So it couldn't explain his record-setting vote.

[Joe Cool]

5. I could go on about governors who won by large margins

so what makes Desantis so special again?

Again, he has zero charisma and a whiny voice.

He campaigned for Mastriano in PA. Mastriano lost big time so obviously Desantis did not help him at all.

[Walleye]

10. I agree with you. He's almost as obnoxious as Trump particularly his speech

And he doesn’t have any of that billionaire mystique to carry him through his low class performance. He may have brains but he doesn’t use them right. I get strong misogynist vibes off of him

[genxlib]

22. Three things

1. Charlie Crist was not really more interesting himself and as a warmed over Republican didn't actually put up much of a fight.

2. Democratic turnout in Florida was terrible. Not clear why but they just stayed home.

3. Hurricane Ian was a gift to him. Tons of free air time fronting for people doing the real work. Spending other people's money to benefit voters. It had the side benefit of erasing the immigrant kidnapping story from the news.

Still a terrible result. But I do wonder how well he will appeal to a non-GOP audience nationwide.

[Joe Cool]

27. Desantis campaigned for Mastriano in PA

That didn't turn out very well.
The only people interested in Desantis being in PA were hardcore Republicans. Everyone else pretty much didn't care. Heck, there was even a dearth of comments online about Desantis coming to PA so he pretty much made zero impact in the state.

[FBaggins]

45. Obama campaigned for Crist in FL

Does that mean President Obama lacks charisma?

[Joe Cool]

51. Obama was elected twice as President.

How much is Desantis paying you to
post on DU?

[FBaggins]

52. You're really just running yourself around in circles, aren't you?

Desantis was twice elected as governor, but he isn't charismatic because someone he campaigned for lost by a large margin... but Obama campaigned for someone who lost by an even larger margin but it doesn't mean he isn't charismatic because he was twice elected?

How much is Desantis paying you to post on DU?

Says the poster who hasn't been here two months yet and is parroting Trump's position?

[global1]

34. Now That You Mentioned H.Ian - How Was.....

voter turnout in the areas hit by Ian?

[genxlib]

37. I don't know but I do know that he made special rules to accomodate them

A similar question is that we had a hurricane come ashore the day after election day. Much of the state was under Hurricane/Tropical Storm Warnings and Watches. It was a huge distraction leading up to the election.

No excuse for it to affect Democrats more than Republicans but it could have had an impact.

[Casady1]

26. The voter registration has

500,000 more republicans.

[FBaggins]

43. And we were up by 250,000 when he took office

That's a huge swing in just four years for someone with no charisma.

And, of course, he won by 1.5 million, not .5

Yeah... we'll just keep telling ourselves that people don't actually like him. That's sure to work.

[Joe Cool]

50. He campaigned for Mastriano in PA

No one seemed to care that he showed up in Pennsylvania except for Mastriano’s family and staff. Mastriano lost big time.

[FBaggins]

53. It couldn't possibly be that Mastriano isn't charismatic and Shapiro is, right?

Nah! That Shapiro character may also have been elected statewide twice and had the fortune of running against a nutcase... but once Desantis shows up once in mid-August the race became a referendum on his charisma!

[hlthe2b]

4. He's Trump without being Trump

Of course, his "creators" and promoters will eventually find that he has no charisma-- which as hard as it is for me to type, Trump (in some demented minds) does-- but by then he will have been heralded as the "second coming." And the fools (base) will eat it up.

[Joe Cool]

14. A friend's parents met Trump in Trump Tower during the early 1990sish

They were big gamblers who would travel to New Jersey a few times a year to gamble in the casinos before it became legal in PA. Long story short, they won a free night's stay in Trump Tower. They were in the lobby area during their free stay when they heard this voice say something to the effect of "How do you like my building?" It was Trump and he started talking to them about the building. They said he was 'loud but likable' and, even though he was talking to them, he seemed to be addressing everyone in the lobby.

Desantis doesn't come across as someone who is likable. He's just kind of there.

[underpants]

6. His voice

[DET]

48. Perfect

One of the best episodes of Seinfeld. Loved that show. And DeSatan sounds just like the rabbi.

[mcar]

7. He's got a good image team

Never goes anywhere without his adoring posse, doesn't let any but RW media into his press conferences/events.

Plus, Florida has become much more Red in the last couple years with all those Republicans "up north" moving here at the rate of 1000 people per day. He could be nothing but a bag of chips and they'd think he's the Second Coming.

[JI7]

8. I agree, I think he is overrated when it comes to National Politics

Trump had the entertainment factor which is why people like him more than Pence and others who are long time right wingers.

DeSantis just comes off miserable all the time.

[PatSeg]

25. I remember when Scott Walker

was the republican party's next golden boy, sure to be a great presidential candidate. Well Walker also had the charisma of a dishrag. The republican party definitely has a shortage of appealing candidates and the few who are appealing tend to be clowns and carnival barkers. What is bizarre and also alarming is that so many people vote for these crappy candidates.

[lark]

9. Don't demean walnuts this way, they are a wonderful food and very good for you.

Death Sentence has zero redeeming qualities and is a net negative on this world.

[overleft]

23. Yeah, desatan is last years rotten walnut.

[lark]

29. That I totally agree with!

[Hotler]

12. All he needs is a little black mustache. nt

[Strelnikov_]

17. I remember, at this stage in the '08 cycle, the pundits were presenting as a fait accompli

the Hillary/Giuliani cage match. A fight for the ages.

Then, after 'America's Mayor'TM flamed out, the next great one was to be Fred Thompson.

[childfreebychoice]

19. Simple, he hates the same ppl and things, that t* cult does. nt

[Ocelot II]

20. I like walnuts. They're great in chocolate chip cookies.

I do not like DeSatan in anything except maybe prison.

[Bettie]

21. My thing is that he always looks confused

like he has no idea what's going on around him.

[Jade Fox]

33. 👆👆

[Peacetrain]

24. ROFL... good one

[Hortensis]

28. :) Well, of course DeSantis has charisma. We just don't LIKE him.

How many LW followers would charismatic leader Bernie Sanders have drawn if he were a RW populist leader and MAGA types had been cheering at his rallies? Actually some, and we have figures for that, but a large majority would despise and be immune to him.

I disliked admitting that DeSantis was looking rather impressive on the screen during the primaries. But I could see that he did. #1 in the far-out projections for our 2024 nightmare.

[Bleacher Creature]

30. What did a walnut ever do to you?!?

[Joinfortmill]

31. LOL

[Tribetime]

32. That's what I always thought what do people see and

He seems like the kid that was beat up for his lunch money all his childhood. Does not project strength at all. I don't know what R see in him.

[Jack the Greater]

35. He rocks a pair of white patent leather disco boots

[Sneederbunk]

36. I was thinking wheat paste.

[TheBlackAdder]

38. More like a Chest Nut but I'll keep this PG-13 in the fututre.

[Phoenix61]

40. The Florida Democratic Party is a nightmare.

That’s the simple truth. It’s beyond embarrassing. Manny Diaz, the Pres of the party, was to the mayor of Miami for 8 years and we lost it. WTF!!! All I have where I live is the Democratic Women’s Club. They refuse to hold meetings in the evening because they don’t want to have to drive in the dark. There doesn’t seem to be any interaction with the state office. I haven’t heard a thing out of Manny since he was first elected. Heard lots of promises then but no follow up at all. How effing hard is it to make a video cheering your team along? Just pathetic.

[PortTack]

41. Great description! If the choices for the gqp are tfg or this idiot...OMG!

[patphil]

42. Hey, some of my best friends are nuts!

Walnuts have food value, but DeSantis has no redeeming social value whatsoever.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

44. DeathSantis is a whiny spoiled child