# Ron DeSantis - Another Trump Authoritarian Type **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 21, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347 "2022-11-21T23:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/21 "2022-11-23T00:07:12Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If DeSantis wins, and he might, it will be as a Bush Republican. He might try to be Trump, but he’s not nearly a big enough asshole, a big enough clown, and a big enough ham. Bush was the President who had his Vice President running a secret shadow government, started a war despite knowing his reasons for that war were a lie, established secret bases where he locked up and tortured his enemies, funneled government money to conservative churches, bungled the economy, and botched the response to a major natural disaster. The main difference between being a Bush Republican and a Trump Republican seems to be that a Bush Republican puts more effort into hiding the worst aspects of what he’s doing. Bush wouldn’t brag about being able to murder somebody in the street; he would have somebody arrested on fabricated charges and then killed quietly in some hidden location. Some people like this because a Bush Republican makes it easy to look the other way and pretend the terrible things aren’t happening. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/22 "2022-11-23T00:13:57Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > That’s already happening from the financial front. > > . . . > > They’re pledging that they will support DeSantis instead of Trump. That’s going to give Ron a massive advantage. 2016, Clinton outspent Trump almost 2-1, and Trump won. 2020, Trump out spent Biden by about 14 percent, and Biden won. Of course, I cherry-picked. There’s some research showing a small advantage to the candidate who raises more money. The question then is — do people donate more to someone they think will win? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/23 "2022-11-23T00:17:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Bush was the President who had his Vice President running a secret shadow government, started a war despite knowing his reasons for that war were a lie, established secret bases where he locked up and tortured his enemies, funneled government money to conservative churches, bungled the economy, and botched the response to a major natural disaster. Ah, you’re being generous. But you forgot expanding domestic surveillance to a massive scale, invalidating numerous civil rights in the name of national security, increasing the national debt by an order of magnitude, dumping literal shipping containers of cash into the Middle East without traceability or accountability, expanding covert warfare and use of drones throughout the Middle East and Africa, and in general squandering all good will the United States had post-Cold War and after September 11th attacks. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/24 "2022-11-23T00:20:25Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I saw a bumper sticker that works whether you are sincere or sarcastic about such a ticket: > TRUMP / DESANTIS 2024 > MAKE AMERICA…FLORIDA! The dream GOP ticket is Ron DeSantis-Tim Scott. Usually it makes no difference who is the veep candidate. But Scott would make DeSantis seem less extreme without Ron having to compromise on policy. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/25 "2022-11-23T00:39:35Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > 2016, Clinton outspent Trump almost 2-1, and Trump won. > > 2020, Trump out spent Biden by about 14 percent, and Biden won. > > Of course, I cherry-picked. I never argued that Trump will lose the primary. He might not. I think he’s still the favorite at this moment. But I was showing that what Aspenglow was predicting was already happening to an extent. Though you do have a good point that there could be some debate over how much of an electoral advantage you have just from spending more. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/26 "2022-11-23T03:28:03Z")
DeSantis/Haley would be formidable, to put it mildly. Or maybe Haley/DeSantis. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/27 "2022-11-23T13:46:38Z")
The danger with DeSantis is that he will appear palatable to the “swing voters,” who I believe are generally less informed than we political wonks on social media. It took enough of them four years to recognize the glaring awfulness of Trump because of their inability to pay attention; Dems will be hard pressed to educate them to the authoritarianism inherent in DeSantis. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/28 "2022-11-23T16:02:04Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > > [@Aspenglow](#): > > > > Ron DeSantis has already engaged in actions that demonstrate his strong authoritarian bent. or those who may have missed those behaviors, I’ve pulled together a few links: > > This is certainly true but I would still contend that this relatively within the bounds of “normal” at least as compared to the Republican party of the 2020’s. The difference between DeSantis and Trump is that I think DeSantis wants to use Democratic Republican system to advance his own gains, while Trump desires, ideally, to abolish it entirely. > > For example I don’t see DeSantis, replacing the DOJ with hand selected cronies who he sends out to arrest his political opponents. I don’t see DeSantis declaring martial law to prevent an election that he is likely to lose. I don’t see DeSantis promising pardons to those people who agree to commit crimes on his behalf. I don’t see DeSantis working out how to get around the 22nd amendment. Heck I don’t even see DeSantis as likely to dispute a lost election. With Trump on the other hand I do see all of those scenarios as possible (although maybe not likely). Basically a DeSantis administration would be very bad but probably recoverable. A second Trump administration on the other hand could be game over. Pretty much my exact point from the other thread. Those on the left will think a Republican win will destroy the country. Those on the right will think a Democratic win will destroy the country. Neither are ever right. Another Trump win just might. Another Trump loss when he convinces even more that it was stolen from him just might. It’s not a matter of bad politics it’s actual danger. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347/29 "2022-11-23T18:57:11Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > It took enough of them four years to recognize the glaring awfulness of Trump because of their inability to pay attention Yet more people voted for T\*\*\*\* the second time around than the first. I’m hoping a fair number of folks who voted for him fell away in 2020 but _that_ means even more people who didn’t bother to vote in 2016, after four years of headlines figured he was just what this country needed. I find that disheartening. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-another-trump-authoritarian-type/975347.md?page=1)