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I think the last Democrat who ran against DeSantis got caught smoking crack in a hotel room with a male hooker. Florida doesn't seem to have a lot of great choi

I think the last Democrat who ran against DeSantis got caught smoking crack in a hotel room with a male hooker. Florida doesn't seem to have a lot of great choices. Pick the corrupt person, red or blue. To be fair, a lot of Democratic politicians destroyed their economies with extended lockdowns, and also being extremely generous with prosecuting theft, among other things, so Florida isn't the only one with bad choices. I'm not defending DeSantis, but it seems the job of US politician attracts a certain type of person, regardless of what color their flag is. The longer they stay in, the more comfortable they get with being, lets say, morally flexible.

acdha 2y ago
Wasn’t his last opponent Charlie Crist in 2022? He didn’t seem to be a bad choice.
- Clubber 2y ago
  Yes, you're right. Crist was a Republican governor before but he switched to Democrat last cycle. He was decent as far as I remember, but I was too young when he was governor and wasn't paying much attention. I wanted Crist to win last cycle; DeStantis really went off the handle starting with his second term. His first term was ok.
koolba 2y ago
> I think the last Democrat who ran against DeSantis got caught smoking crack in a hotel room with a male hooker. Florida doesn't seem to have a lot of great choices. Pick the corrupt person, red or blue. The was from DeSantis's first election for governor. The Democrat was Andrew Gillum, mayor of Tallahasee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillum And it was meth, not crack, with a male hooker. But that was after he had already lost the election. What's crazier is how close that election was. The spread was 0.4%. That's ~30K votes out of 8+M. The 2022 reelection spread with DeSantis arguably at the peak of his popularity was 19.4% which is a landslide by all measures.
- bilbo0s 2y ago
  Well, then it sounds like they got what they wanted. If the numbers are to be believed, they got what they really wanted. Which is why the rest of the nation is happy for them! They have the government they want and deserve. And I'm sure that government will sort out their problems in a fashion consistent with that government's beliefs, and therefore, also consistent with the desires of the people of Florida. So everyone is getting what they wanted here. Really there is no problem.
  - ineedaj0b 2y ago
    You've heard of Elon talk of 'the woke mind virus'? Whether or not it's a thing, there is a concept of memetic viruses like computer viruses. There's also 'psy-ops', but psy-ops are usually intentional and pushed by some group, whereas mind viruses arise unintentionally. A few others: Anti-Vaccine, Flat Earth, Doomscrolling, Productivity etc. Well there's another. It captures people in their late 20s and 30s. It's getting political. It's getting far to ensconced in politics. You should treat politics like you are work at HF and your job is to find base reality truth. If not you become well, one of those guys, and unless you work in Government - no one wants to hear it. California (largest state) burning is not good. Florida (3rd largest state) having rising house costs is not good. Don't get captured by tribalism.
    - bilbo0s 2y ago
      There are no mind-viruses. There are ideas. Some you like. Some you don't like. The fact that people feel a need to call ideas mind viruses is an indication of how far rational civic discourse has fallen. People have nothing of substance to offer in support or refutation, so they speak of mind viruses instead. But here's the thing, a person not liking an idea doesn't make the idea a mind-virus. It's an idea. Ideas are good. Ideas are how we advance as a species. Please try to appreciate that other people have ideas on how things should work. In fact, very traditional ideas on how democracy should work. You vote, you get what you voted for, good for you. Simple. Elegant. Fair. My idea is that there is no need to be unhappy for people who get what they want through democratic means. That's not a mind virus any more than being woke, pro-vaccine, or pro-flat earth, or anti-flat earth, or anti-woke, or whatever is a mind virus. These are just ideas. Mine just happens to be a very pro-democratic idea. You voted. You supported the guy or gal with the idea that you wanted. Good for you Florida. Not the idea I would have supported, but, hey, I respect your democratic right to self determination. Hope it works out for you.
jghn 2y ago
Let's move past candidates. If we were to take a random polling of people in a median area of FL and ask them questions like "should we remove regulations on private businesses?". I would be flabbergasted if the polls showed anything other than overwhelming support for this. Likewise, I would imagine the same for a question like "Should the federal government provide home owners insurance". And yet, if you were to ask the same people: "if you lost everything you owned in a disaster and were left penniless, should the government help you out?" I guarantee you the answer would be different. And herein lies the real problem.
p_j_w 2y ago
> the last Democrat who ran against DeSantis got caught smoking crack in a hotel room with a male hooker. And yet Matt Gaetz got elected there. It seems having a flawed personal life isn’t a dealbreaker in Florida.
- jhawk28 2y ago
  Gaetz was in the house. He only needed to convince his district to vote for him (1/28).

acdha 2y ago

Wasn’t his last opponent Charlie Crist in 2022? He didn’t seem to be a bad choice.

Clubber 2y ago
Yes, you're right. Crist was a Republican governor before but he switched to Democrat last cycle. He was decent as far as I remember, but I was too young when he was governor and wasn't paying much attention. I wanted Crist to win last cycle; DeStantis really went off the handle starting with his second term. His first term was ok.

koolba 2y ago

> I think the last Democrat who ran against DeSantis got caught smoking crack in a hotel room with a male hooker. Florida doesn't seem to have a lot of great choices. Pick the corrupt person, red or blue. The was from DeSantis's first election for governor. The Democrat was Andrew Gillum, mayor of Tallahasee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillum And it was meth, not crack, with a male hooker. But that was after he had already lost the election. What's crazier is how close that election was. The spread was 0.4%. That's ~30K votes out of 8+M. The 2022 reelection spread with DeSantis arguably at the peak of his popularity was 19.4% which is a landslide by all measures.

bilbo0s 2y ago
Well, then it sounds like they got what they wanted. If the numbers are to be believed, they got what they really wanted. Which is why the rest of the nation is happy for them! They have the government they want and deserve. And I'm sure that government will sort out their problems in a fashion consistent with that government's beliefs, and therefore, also consistent with the desires of the people of Florida. So everyone is getting what they wanted here. Really there is no problem.
- ineedaj0b 2y ago
  You've heard of Elon talk of 'the woke mind virus'? Whether or not it's a thing, there is a concept of memetic viruses like computer viruses. There's also 'psy-ops', but psy-ops are usually intentional and pushed by some group, whereas mind viruses arise unintentionally. A few others: Anti-Vaccine, Flat Earth, Doomscrolling, Productivity etc. Well there's another. It captures people in their late 20s and 30s. It's getting political. It's getting far to ensconced in politics. You should treat politics like you are work at HF and your job is to find base reality truth. If not you become well, one of those guys, and unless you work in Government - no one wants to hear it. California (largest state) burning is not good. Florida (3rd largest state) having rising house costs is not good. Don't get captured by tribalism.
  - bilbo0s 2y ago
    There are no mind-viruses. There are ideas. Some you like. Some you don't like. The fact that people feel a need to call ideas mind viruses is an indication of how far rational civic discourse has fallen. People have nothing of substance to offer in support or refutation, so they speak of mind viruses instead. But here's the thing, a person not liking an idea doesn't make the idea a mind-virus. It's an idea. Ideas are good. Ideas are how we advance as a species. Please try to appreciate that other people have ideas on how things should work. In fact, very traditional ideas on how democracy should work. You vote, you get what you voted for, good for you. Simple. Elegant. Fair. My idea is that there is no need to be unhappy for people who get what they want through democratic means. That's not a mind virus any more than being woke, pro-vaccine, or pro-flat earth, or anti-flat earth, or anti-woke, or whatever is a mind virus. These are just ideas. Mine just happens to be a very pro-democratic idea. You voted. You supported the guy or gal with the idea that you wanted. Good for you Florida. Not the idea I would have supported, but, hey, I respect your democratic right to self determination. Hope it works out for you.

jghn 2y ago

Let's move past candidates. If we were to take a random polling of people in a median area of FL and ask them questions like "should we remove regulations on private businesses?". I would be flabbergasted if the polls showed anything other than overwhelming support for this. Likewise, I would imagine the same for a question like "Should the federal government provide home owners insurance". And yet, if you were to ask the same people: "if you lost everything you owned in a disaster and were left penniless, should the government help you out?" I guarantee you the answer would be different. And herein lies the real problem.

p_j_w 2y ago

> the last Democrat who ran against DeSantis got caught smoking crack in a hotel room with a male hooker. And yet Matt Gaetz got elected there. It seems having a flawed personal life isn’t a dealbreaker in Florida.

jhawk28 2y ago
Gaetz was in the house. He only needed to convince his district to vote for him (1/28).