#Governor of Florida

[deadpresidents]

If for some reason George W Bush had run against Jeb Bush for the republican nomination who would have won?

That's a pretty great idea for a topic for historians to debate.

I think people forget how effective of a campaigner that George W. Bush was. Yes, he was pretty goofy at times and a master of malapropisms. But he was pretty incredible on the campaign trail in front of smaller crowds and as a one-on-one retail politician. Much like Lyndon B. Johnson, those skills did not translate to television and, on many occasions, it reinforced the idea that Bush was dumb. But simply believing that Bush was dumb is one of the reasons why so many people underestimated him -- and that made him a very dangerous opponent for pretty much everybody that he ran against beginning with Ann Richards in his first race for Governor of Texas to John McCain and Al Gore in 2000 and finally to John Kerry in 2004. That was evident in his Presidential debate performances. In my opinion, Bush probably lost the first of his three debates to John Kerry in 2004, but I've always felt that he won the other two debates against Kerry and all three debates against Al Gore in 2000.

George W. Bush was also one of the most disciplined leading Presidential candidates of the past 40-50 years. He stayed on message, no matter where he was campaigning, who he was campaigning against, or what other news might have been seeping into coverage of him at the time. That was a credit to his enormously talented political teams over the years, but it was also the result of hard work. He'd still say something odd or mangle a few sentences at every campaign stop, but you never had to guess where he stood on the positions he built his campaigns upon.

While he was certainly no Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama when it came to charisma, George W. Bush did have his own unique brand of charisma. Despite his background and the privileges he had from day one due to his family name and his father's accomplishments, Bush had a real ability to connect with people while campaigning. People genuinely liked him. I mean, that's even better understood now when you hear about his relationship with his surprise BFF Michelle Obama or with fellow Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Many of his political opponents have noted in interviews or books that they've found it hard not to like him once they got to know him. Again, that's an attribute that doesn't translate well to television, but it was clearly a strength when he was meeting folks while campaigning. He made a lot of people want to vote for him -- as opposed to John Kerry, whose personality didn't inspire a whole lot of fervent supporters in 2004 (I say that with personal experience).

Jeb Bush was a more serious, wonky politician -- with a personality more similar to that of their father whereas George W. famously took after his outspoken, direct mother. Jeb did not easily connect with voters, and was a more naturally cautious politician while George W. was more emotional and decisive (for better and worse). One example of Jeb's cautious nature is demonstrated by the poor timing of his eventual candidacy for President. Once Jeb finally decided to run for President in 2016 he was nearly 10 years removed from the end of his term as Governor of Florida. He jumped into a crowded field where it was difficult to distinguish himself despite his famous last name (and the exclamation point behind his first name on his campaign logo) and was steamrolled by Donald Trump. I think George W. probably would have defended himself and his family against Trump's attacks better than Jeb did if George W. had been the candidate in 2016 instead of an ex-President in retirement. Jeb's 2016 campaign was almost sad in how timid he came across at times against Trump.

Both brothers were born with more advantages than most people will ever have come their way in a lifetime. But I do think George W. tried to be someone other than his father's son more than Jeb ever did. George W. ran for Governor of Texas in 1994 despite the fact that his opponent was the legendary Governor Ann Richards. Jeb ran for Governor of Florida the same year, and their parents believed that Jeb was the Bush son with the real political future and kind of saw George W.'s candidacy as a hopeless cause. But on Election night in 1994, George W. was victorious and Jeb was not. I think that Jeb Bush wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, but George W. wanted to surpass George H.W. Bush's legacy. He didn't in terms of the quality of his Presidency, but George W. Bush did get reelected as President while George H.W. Bush was only a one-term President.

So, in a head-to-head race, I think George W. would probably smoke Jeb. He was just that much more skilled as a politician. Plus, a brother vs. brother matchup would probably be emotionally difficult for anybody and I think George W. clearly had more of a killer instinct than Jeb ever did (that's probably a perfect setup for a drone strike or war crimes comment). Bush had no problem running a ruthless campaign, either. If you don't know what I mean, look up the 2000 South Carolina GOP primary campaign against McCain and the Swift Boat ads against Kerry in '04 (he was also one of the hatchet men for his father during the 1988 campaign against Michael Dukakis, which was one of the nastiest campaigns in American history up to that point). Anyway, I just think George W. was a better politician than Jeb ever hoped to be. In fact, from a purely political perspective -- as a campaigner out on the trail, as a one-on-one retail politician, even as a debater -- George W. was probably a more talented politician than his father. Of course, George W. was nowhere near as experienced or competent as George H.W. Bush was as President. But George W. would easily defeat his brother in a one-on-one campaign and I think he'd even give his father some trouble on the trail in a one-on-one race between them. And then if he was elected, he'd promptly become the really bad President we all remember him as!

Great question and interesting thought experiment!

#Presidents #History #Politics #George W. Bush #Jeb Bush #George H.W. Bush #President Bush #Bush Family #First Families #Elections #Political History #Campaigns #What if? #1994 Gubernatorial Elections #Governor of Texas #Governor of Florida #2000 Election #2004 Election #John Kerry #Al Gore #Presidential History #Presidential Politics #Bush 41 #Bush 43 #Jeb!

[deebrisbyfish]

Some folks would prefer that I keep politics OUT of my comic strip, but... uh... it's a comic about my life as a transgender woman, and it's KINDA hard to not be a smidge political when one party keeps pushing and passing laws that make it a crime for me to exist.  So, sorry if you feel this is unfair, but it feels pretty frickin' unfair to be labeled a literal criminal for existing. 

#transgender #trans #anti-lgbtq #bathroombills #governor desantis #florida #megacon #comic #comcicon #comic convention #ron desantis #ron deathsantis #lgbtq #lgbtqia #transgirl #transition #anti trans bills

[strawlessandbraless]

As a Floridian, this is one of the funnier headlines I’ve read ☀️🌴🐊

Ron DeSantis Tanks in the Polls As Voters Get to Know Him

#ron desantis #ron desatan #DeSantis #trans rights #ron desanctimonious #Florida #news #us politics #history #disney #politics #DeSatan #meatball ron #disney vs desantis #florida governor ron desantis

[o-kurwa]

Interesting legal conundrum in the state run by anti-abortionists

#florida #governor DeSantis #abortion

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Illegal immigrants aren't "stealing our jobs". Construction labor. Farm labor. Etc. It's jobs most US citizens can't do because it's highly skilled and highly specialized labor. Shit, the pay is so shit that most Americans won't even accept these jobs because they know it's exploitive (the immigrants know they're being exploited to but they know they're also being taken advantage of because they're immigrants).

That's not to mention it's literally back-breaking labor in sweltering temperatures and most citizens can't handle the physical labor or the heat.

DeSantis banning immigration labor is going to

Cause prices to go up because American citizens won't do back-breaking labor for less than minimum wage.

Cause a labor shortage because most Americans just can't fucking handle the work he immigrants do.

Cause a produce shortage because they can't get anyone out to harvest the crops and truck drivers are refusing to travel to Florida because this law will cause any Hispanic person trying to work in Florida to be harassed.

Don't ever fucking tell me this shit is unskilled labor.

(This isn't to say immigrants deserve the exploitation they're receiving. They're human and should be treated as such. This is just to say our economy depends on immigrants because they're the only ones that have the fucking skills to do it efficiently.)

-fae

#florida #ron desantis #governor desantis #DeSantis #immigration

[niallsblckgirlfriend]

If I were Disney I’d just tweet this photo with the caption “This You?” and call it a day.

#LIKE PULL UP THR INVOICE FROM THEIR WEDDING PLEASE #THIS JS THE BEST NEWS IVE HEARD IN DAYS 😂😂😂😂😂😂 #governor desantis #Florida #Disney #disney vs desantis

[liberalsarecool]

DeSantis is an abuser.

His policies towards children and LGBTQ community are vulgar. His climate denial is monstrous in a vulnerable state like Florida. His immigrant stunts should give him immense shame but he is an abuser, afterall.

Vote for Charlie Crist.

#RemoveRon

#florida man #ron desantis #charlie crist #governor

[mylionheart2]

Fascist Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is Worse Than Trump!

#desantis #ron desantis #governor desantis #florida #trump #donald trump #abortion rights #gun reform #ban assault weapons #gun control #womens rights

[cyarskj1899]

#BlackHistoryMonth ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏿 #Black history #us history #black history month #civil rights #civil rights movement #black history 365 #black history continued 2021 #black history matters #black lives matter #black history 2022 #Black history month #black lives fucking matter #black lives movement #ron deathsantis #gov. ron desantis #ron desatanist #ron desanctimonious #ron desantis #florida governor ron desantis

[eretzyisrael]

by Dion J. Pierre

The State University System of Florida has at least two institutions with active National SJP chapters, according to Rodrigues. Citing state law that deems the knowing provision of material support to a terrorist group as a felony, he said that the two chapters cannot continue operating.

“These chapters exist under the headship of the National Students for Justice in Palestine, who distributed a toolkit identifying themselves as part of the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” the memo stated. “Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated. These two student chapters may form another organization that complies with Florida state statutes and university policies. The two institutions should grant these two chapters a waiver for the fall deadlines, should reapplication take place.”

The measure will affect SJP chapters at the University of North Florida, located in Jacksonville, and Florida State University, located in Tallahassee.

Support for terrorism against Israeli civilians among SJP chapters is not new. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), for example, reported that SJP expressed on at least 10 occasions last year admiration for Leila Khaled, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a US-designated terror group. She is known for previously hijacking two planes.

Other SJP chapters at the University of Texas, Dallas, New York University Law School, and the University of Massachusetts posted violent images containing PLFP’s logo and guns. In January, the University of Chicago’s SJP chapter honored Khairy Alqam — who murdered seven Israeli civilians exiting a synagogue in Jerusalem — in a collage titled “Honoring the Martyrs.”

DeSantis has taken previous steps to crack down on anti-Israel activity in Florida.

#florida #desantis #governor desantis #sjp #students for justice in palestine #support for terrorism

[mysharona1987]

The least shocking twist of all time.

#ron desantis #news #florida #desantis #fuck desantis #democrats #republicans #politics #woc #books #donald trump #poc #governor desantis

[catfindr]

#petfinder #catfinder #cat #kitten #kitty #the governor #fl #florida

[defiantart]

#disney #lgbtq community #villians #desantisdestroysflorida #governor desantis #mickey and friends #dark Mickey rises #florida #orlando #disney vs desantis

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

-fae

#immigration #florida #governor desantis #ron desantis #DeSantis

[chipster-321]

Never mess with Disney’s legal department. Ever.

Disney just pulled the ULTIMATE POWER MOVE on DeSantis in response to him trying to bully them for being “Woke”. Basically they used Rules against perpetuities to include a clause that granted them free creative land and management over all of their land aside from road management until, and I quote, “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England,”. So, essentially days before DeSantis signed the law and installed his hand picked board to “Oversee and manage” Disney, Disney, in quietly and in plain sight, kneecapped Desantis’ board and stripped it of all power. So it means that DeSantis signed a law that gave him NO power and means the government now has to foot the bill until at the very least 2044. Granted, it will be longer since the youngest current living descendant, Lilibet, is only 1.

This is all completely legal and legit. DeSantis can complain and whine all he wants but it’s on him for not keeping a closer eye on what the ol’ House of Mouse was up to. Guess that’s why they’ve been so quiet about this thing.

#disney #governor desantis #fuck desantis #one of life’s classic blunders #never get involved with a land war in Asia or mess with Disney’s legal team #gop #Florida #disney world #power move

[wcrpbubble]

Good news: finally got my board of education certification to become a teacher

Bad news: I live in Florida.

#niche florida content #in case you dont know our governor is insane and his laws for schools these days are insane #but im also miserable at my current job and i want to teach drama 🥺