Ron DeSantis' self-immolation as a candidate has been fun to watch. He's always been a mean-spirited homunculus dating back to his time in Congress. The series of public humiliation of one of the worst retail politicians you could hope to see outside a laboratory is just fun.
But what does this tell us about the GOP electorate in the Trump Era?
I did not and do not think Trump is "funny" but there were people who did and do. This is part of the "take him seriously but not literally" crowd. He's just riffing and joking when he says that cities are full of carnage. DeSantis has no sense of humor. None. So, he can't even get the joke that is the RFK, Jr. campaign.
Saying mean and hateful things and then retreating with a "I was just joking. Jeez, typical humorless leftists!" is a long held tactic of authoritarians, as they attempt to get a foothold in democratic politics. The actual Nazis used it all the time. It starts out as a joke, they get swatted on the nose, they say they were only joking around, then before too long, the joke has embedded itself into the political discourse. Think about Trump's wall that Mexico was going to pay for.
The Mini-Trumps running around the GOP don't get the snarky sarcasm that Trump and other proto-fascist politicians use. What's more, I don't think Trump has it anymore, either. I think the crushing avalanche of indictments is damaging his already fragile mental equilibrium. His social media posts are more unhinged. His speeches more ranting. What's more, for many independents, 2017-21 was not funny or fun.
It's one of the reasons why I'm bullish on a post-Trump politics, though not anytime soon. It will require the GOP to get their clock cleaned over a few electoral cycles, and I don't think polarization will allow that. Still, the actuarial table is on the Democrat's side.
No comments:
Post a Comment