The Ron DeSantis 2024 campaign is flailing so badly that Mike Huckabee — MIKE HUCKABEE! — has proposed an intervention! Via Florida Politics:
“I’m not sure who’s running his campaign and what their strategy is, but I would say that he probably needs to make some course corrections because at this point, he’s so far behind Donald Trump and some of the other candidates are beginning to approach his numbers,” Huckabee said. “He’s no longer that clear alternative to Donald Trump. He’s one of several alternatives to Donald Trump to those who want one. And that’s going to be a real challenge for him.”
“It’s not that he has to face Donald Trump and fear something coming at his face,” Huckabee added. “He’s got to fear there’s another 15 people who are going to be coming at him from his back.”
Huckabee specifically criticized the bizarre incel-themed ad Team DeSantis rolled out the other day that captured all kinds of national attention — in a bad way:
While Huckabee rejected the idea that the ad showed DeSantis was “homophobic,” Huckabee said the ad “probably wasn’t the best idea for an ad, in part because you win elections when you add people to your voting rolls, you don’t win elections when you keep subtracting them.”
“But the fact is there are many people in that community who are conservative and vote Republican. You want those voters and just in the same way that Donald Trump was very clear in saying he would protect Christian voters, pro-life voters, I think what he’s saying is that he wants to protect the rights of every American citizen … to live like they want to live as long as it doesn’t interfere and disrupt someone else,” Huckabee continued.
“That really is kind of the heart of what America is about.”
I’m sick of writing about Ron DeSantis. I’m sure everyone is sick of reading about Ron DeSantis. Soon I hope his shitty campaign implodes and that its foul, tattered remnants sink to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, bothering nobody outside of Florida ever again. But in the meantime, DeSantis is stepping on so many rakes that Mike Huckabee — MIKE HUCKABEE! — is begging him to get his shit together.
Open thread.
SpaceUnit
No intervention.
Keep fucking that pig, DeSantis.
Yutsano
If there ever was a rooting for injuries scenario it’s this one. Sorry Mike, but your problem isn’t his campaign. It’s him. He just has no idea how to win outside of Florida and even then his first time was almost a loss. Republicans aren’t sold on him as the next Great White Hype.
EDIT: I’M NUMBER 2!
SiubhanDuinne
You got that right.
Although, as long as he keeps
making an utter ass of himselfbreathing and you keep posting about him, I’ll continue to read.Suzanne
Oh, fo’ sho’.
I do think he’s sinking any hope of a future political career, though, and, well….. please proceed, Governor.
hells littlest angel
Or maybe the exact opposite of that. Opinions differ.
Brachiator
It is strange that DeSantis is the Trump alternative. It’s like choosing between Atilla the Hun and Genghis Khan.
Breaking news:
No surprise here.
Yutsano
@hells littlest angel: Is this like a difference of definitions or something?
Wapiti
DeSantis makes the Republican pathologies look nasty and evil. Of course Huckabee doesn’t like that.
Baud
Yes, that describes DeSantis and the GOP to a tee.
🙄
trollhattan
Is that what Trump was doing when he thanked God for “Making my smokin’ hot daughter”?
lowtechcyclist
@Brachiator:
Even if they had a spare submersible ready to go, somehow I doubt that people would be lining up around the block to sign up for the next available Titanic tour.
Cheez Whiz
The DeSantis campaign will only implode after he loses enough primaries (where they still hold them) that his billionaires stop writing checks. Then he licks his wounds and does a Richard Nixon for 4 years and is the 2028 front runner starting out.
Spirula
“saying he would protect Christian voters, pro-life voters, I think what he’s saying is that he wants to protect the rights of every American citizen”
This is true only if part B of this statement includes only those people that fall into part A.
Ken
And Mike Huckabee can tell you a thing or two about failed Presidential campaigns.
Ken
@Brachiator: Suspending operations is step one. Step two is spinning off the operations into their own company, completely without assets but also completely responsible for any past operational mishaps. This frees the remainder of the company to continue innovating without the specter of a huge lawsuit.
MattF
I think it’s very good news that DeSantis is doing so badly. His ‘No enemies to my right’ strategy is failing very badly— did everyone expect that to happen? Now, his complete lack of political skill plays a role in that failure, for sure, but I’ll take good news where I find it.
rikyrah
You might be sick of writing about him. But, I think it’s important that this muthaphucka not be allowed to fly under the radar. Everything he does, put it out there. Make it plain. So, none of that move to the middle bullshyt that the MSM would try and gaslight us with. I want his far-right hate stances made plain and clear.
Chris
@Baud:
2008 was the first presidential campaign I really followed from the start to finish, and Huckabee was by far the candidate I loathed the most in that one, even if he never made it to the top of his primary. This quote is a nice reminder of why that was.
oatler
Huckabee’s tripping on his own Relaxium®.
JWR
Sick of reading and writing about DeSantis? How’s about some MTG? From The Guardian’s live feed summary of today’s events:
Biden’s zinger had to do with this happening in MTG’s district. (Gotta love it!):
Origuy
Warning: If you delete your Threads account, you delete your Instagram account along with it.
Raoul Paste
@Cheez Whiz: DeSantis may not be the automatic front runner for 2028. Let’s see what climate change does to Florida. In the meantime..
And let’s see if his ambitious wife stays with him. These people are something else.
MattF
@JWR: Also notable that MTG is likely to be expelled from the ‘Freedom’ caucus in the near future.
Torrey
@Yutsano:
Yes. Their definition of “American citizen” is a lot narrower than yours or mine. As their definition of who counts as “someone” who has “rights.”
Joy in FL
I can’t believe Mike Huckabee let those words out of his mouth. ” ‘… to live like they want to live as long as it doesn’t interfere and disrupt someone else,’ Huckabee continued.”
Those words are the opposite of everything the GOP publicly, explicitly, zealously are trying to do to anyone who lives in this country. Huckabee does not want me to live like I want, even if it hurts no one else (and even might be beneficial). He wants conformity and an all-powerful, single-focused theocracy. He is just f-ing lying.
I might be a little angry about it.
Jay
@Ken:
The sub was run out of Oceangate in Bermuda,
The Sub builder/owner is Oceangate in Washington State,
legally, two different companies as far as lawsuits go, ( depending on the contracts).
Oceangate Everett pretty much has to shut down their operations because their “go fast and break stuff” model imploded, as the entire submariner community said it would long before it even got wet.
geg6
@Suzanne:
My feelings exactly.
Gravenstone
Huckabee is just testing out his advisory chops ahead of his stint in support of daughter’s forthcoming (failed) run in 2028.
Geminid
Republican “thought leaders” sure were building DeSantis up over the winter months. They’ve been very quiet since DeSantis’s bumbling book tour this Spring.
They really hoped they had a guy who could beat Trump. But DeSantis isn’t the one, and there does not seem to be anyone else either. Meanwhile, the big turnout Saturday at Trump’s Pickens, SC rally indicates that the Trump cult is still going strong.
So what are Republican leaders to do? Normally, they would try to mitigate down-ballot losses by helping House and Senate candidates distance themselves from a nominee who is unpopular within the general electorate. Trump and his supporters will likely demand public expressions of loyalty though, putting purple district and state candidates between a rock and a hard place.
This is starting to look more and more like a slow-moving but inevitable train wreck.
Almost Retired
I predict there will be graduate level political science classes about the DeSantis Presidential campaign by 2030. Students will sit gape-mouthed in awe at the venality and stupidity.
What are his daily affirmations as he looks in the mirror each morning (if he can stand to)? “I will alienate another voting bloc today” or “I will strive to engage in at least twenty awkward encounters with voters by sundown.”
Next cycle, he’ll be campaigning for votes on “Dancing with the Stars,” at best.
geg6
OT:
Okay, considering the average age of the jackaltariat, this is going to sound stupid. But I was today years old when I found out I have no choice but to sign up for Medicare in a few months or pay a fine later after I retire. I’m still employed with excellent health insurance. I don’t understand why I can’t wait until I retire. This seems wasteful to me. Is there some rationale to this that I cannot see?
Baud
@JWR:
Haha. Freedom Caucus kicked out MTG. Sad!
Shalimar
Are the Huckabees still Florida residents? I knew them years ago when I worked for a charity because they were a big deal in this county, unfortunately. I remember them selling their mcmansion since then, but not sure where they moved to.
Baud
@geg6:
I’m pretty sure you can wait till you retire without penalty, but you should confirm.
SpaceUnit
I watched the ad in question and it was bonkers beyond words. I probably shouldn’t be laughing because it seemed intentionally designed to inspire school shootings. It was some serious Clockwork Orange crazy horse shit incel-bait.
bbleh
I’m sure everyone is sick of reading about Ron DeSantis.
Depends on what’s being said about him. And I’m willing to put up with it a little while longer, just to rub it in with every booster, tongue-bather, horse-race tout, and journalistic brand-builder who saw him as a ticket to fame and fortune. “Boy that’s something, huh? Remember when you were writing about him as the Great White Hope? Yeah, I have a whole sheaf of clippings …”
trollhattan
@Baud: When you’re too wacky for the Freedom Caucus….
Anything in particular, or the entire dreamy package?
rikyrah
@Geminid:
There is no difference, policy-wise, between him and Dolt45.
Just completely full of hatred.
They long for the Frank Luntz-approved dogwhistles of deniability.
Alison Rose
Of course he did. Homophobes never think anything is homophobic.
rikyrah
The gaslighting of the MSM, as every hateful piece of legislation that has come down the pike, and why it isn’t that bad, and how he’s the future of the GOP.
Jay
@geg6:
https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/sign-up/when-can-i-sign-up-for-medicare
If you are still working, covered by Employer health insurance through either yourself or your wife, and sign up once your employer paid coverage ends, there is no penalty.
MattF
@trollhattan: I think it’s the other way around. Freedom caucus thinks MTG is a RINO.
JWR
@MattF: According to The Guardian, she’s already been thoroughly stomped on and kicked to the curb by the HFC.
Couldn’t have happened to a sweeter gal. ;)
trollhattan
Brennan Center goes there: 18-year SCOTUS term limits.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/supreme-court-term-limits
Dangerman
If Melania comes to her senses, Casey can make a run at being Trump’s 4th wife.
Eunicecycle
@geg6: you do not have to if you have insurance, but this is only Part A and won’t cost you anything. It’s a pretty simple process and does make it slightly simpler when you do go to sign up. You won’t be required to sign up for Part B, which is where the cost comes in.
Ken
@Jay: That’s right, I forgot that the owner/CEO had set up his shell company structure in advance. That was to avoid jurisdictions that would forbid his innovative approach to submersible engineering, but it may also prove useful for the upcoming lawsuits.
kindness
Actually I enjoy reading about DeSantis’s flailing about helplessly. I also like reading about his wife mini-me-Jackie O becoming unglued. I don’t think it’s evil in me. It is a kind of karmic balance for all the hate and hurt the two of them have foisted on others.
geg6
@Baud:
That’s not what it says on the site. But perhaps I need to do more research. A friend told me this today and I looked it up on the Medicare site and it sure looked that it was true.
Alison Rose
@Dangerman:
Objection: Assumes facts not in evidence.
She’s just as much of a human trashpile as he is.
trollhattan
@MattF: Heh. That would put the Overton Window roughly aboard Curiosity Rover.
Citizen Alan
@Baud: Makes perfect sense to me. I mean, Republicans don’t consider anyone outside the far left to be an american citizen. And they also think that LGBTs and minorities infringe on the rights of conservative Christians simply by existing in public.
JWR
@Baud: Yeah, too bad. This is my happy sad face. ;)
Chris
@MattF:
The problem with DeSantis is that he’s trying to peddle something other than Trump at a time when the GOP base very much wants nothing but Trump, and is in fact feeling robbed that they didn’t at least get the full eight years out of him. There’s a lot wrong with DeSantis, but honestly the biggest problem he has is one that literally anybody trying to run in the Republican primary in which Trump is expected to run will have.
trollhattan
@Alison Rose: One pillow, five minutes, come on Melanie, DO IT. You saw how easy it was for Ivana to forget how stairs work. “Blunt force oopsie.”
different-church-lady
Shorter Huckabee: “Doing Fascism like that is going to give the whole game away.”
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: The FL GOP is requiring all presidential candidates to sign a “loyalty pledge” to support the eventual nominee and not run as a third-party candidate as a condition for inclusion on the ballot in the state. I wonder what kind of enforcement mechanism they have, if any? Trump will probably just lie.
Ken
@trollhattan: A few weeks ago the Freedom Caucus* was mad at Greene for not supporting their “file an impeachment every day until one gets through” plan for governance. It might have been over that.
* Surely that name deserves a place next to “German Democratic Republic”.
rikyrah
Thank you, especially for including his heinous spouse, who is up to her eyeballs in the hate that he peddles.
AliceBlue
@geg6: If your health insurance is equal or better than Medicare, you can postpone signing up for Part B without paying a penalty. BUT…when I became eligible for Medicare, I was covered by my husband’s excellent health insurance so I didn’t sign up. A few months later the company he works for changed his status from “Employee” to “Independent Contractor” meaning that he lost his health insurance and I had to sign up for Part B. I had to prove that the health insurance I lost was equal to or better than Medicare in order to avoid paying a large penalty. I was successful but I had to jump through a lot of hoops and it took months.
different-church-lady
@JWR:
Remember yesterday when Cole said he was sick of crazy people?
Citizen Alan
@trollhattan: Sadly, no. She was kicked out for not being bonkers enough for that freak parade.
Brachiator
@Ken:
Past innovation seems to have been based on fantasy. There may not be much of a future.
eclare
@geg6:
I don’t know, but pick plans carefully. A guy in my neighborhood signed up for the wrong plan and then had to go back to work at 70 to get the health insurance that he needed. Luckily he’s healthy.
When I am closer to turning 65 I plan to meet with an attorney or consultant to get advice.
MattF
@Chris: Well, I’d like to claim that DeSantis’ undoing was at least partly political, rather than just the fact of not being Trump.
West of the Rockies
@SpaceUnit:
That’s no way to refer to Casey.
steve g
@geg6:
It is standard procedure and no big deal. I am still employed at 69 and still have the company health insurance. I registered for Medicare when I turned 65, Part A only, which is what is required. It made no difference in my health insurance – they expected me to do it, and asked for my Medicare number. I think they get some financial benefit from it. You can still put off doing Part B and D, or Part C, until you are retired.
Ken
@trollhattan: I can see some Constitutional objections since justices are to hold their offices during good behavior. On the other hand, “good behavior” is not defined anywhere, so why can’t Congress define it as “having spent no more than 18 years on the court”?
They might want to add a few other conditions, like not taking free plane rides even if the seat on the billionaire’s private jet is empty.
Chris
@MattF:
He started off with an almost insurmountable handicap. Doesn’t mean he didn’t proceed to make it much worse through his own… DeSantisness.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I won’t be satisfied till his political career reaches a point where he’s not bothering anybody inside Florida ever again. Not just for your sake, Betty, but for the entire nation’s.
Maybe he can find a political home in an HOA or something.
japa21
@geg6: You don’t have to. At age 65 you will automatically be enrolled in Part A, hospital coverage. You can delay Part B enrollment until you retire, but Medicare will want to see proof of your coverage from age 65 to then.
ETA: Or as others have already explained.
Almost Retired
@trollhattan: Yeah, Ivana should have invested in an Acorn Stair Lift (and perhaps Acme Window Sealant) once The Donald started feeling cornered.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Geminid: Fingers crossed
raven
@geg6: The rationale is just sign up.
trollhattan
Good trouble.
Jackie
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m happy to read about his almost daily implosions helping him sink further from contention. Wait until Pence elbows him out of the way!🤭
Cacti
People thought DeSatan would be “Trump without the baggage”.
He ended up being Trump without the charisma.
trollhattan
@Almost Retired: The inside information that went to the sporty grave with her must have been considerable. And when one reaches an age when the filter begin dropping away….
CaseyL
@geg6: I was surprised, too, as I had been told by numerous people in HR that, no, I didn’t have to sign up for Medicare if I were still working and covered by employer-provided insurance.
They were wrong. I checked with Social Security, and they said sign up for Medicare A once you reach full retirement age, or else your premiums (for Part B) will be higher when you sign up later.
There’s no reason not to sign up*: the insurance you have through your employer is still considered your primary insurance. And Medicare A, IIRC, is the one that’s free.
*One caveat: Signing up for Medicare might impact your HSA, if you have one. I’ve heard that, but I don’t know anything more about it as I don’t have an HSA.
Jay
@Brachiator:
there isn’t. Their major “innovation” was to make the hull out of composite fibres. Everything else was off the shelf from the industry, commercial marine or software interfaces.
Nobody makes composite hulls for deep dive pressure vehicles, because it fails.
So basically, unless they want to take tourists out to a shallow reef off Bermuda, they have no product, and there are lot’s of companies doing it, in better vehicles.
30 years ago you take one to tour the water features at West Edmonton Mall.
japa21
@geg6:
Sign up for Part A, do not sign up for Part B.
sab
@Geminid: I hope you are right.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
Trump will probably just lie.
That probably is doing a hell of a lot of work….. And is totally unnecessary.
JWR
@Betty Cracker:
I was reading about that last night, and I think the only enforcement mechanism is right here. (From Politico):
So yeah, TFG will just lie about it, followed by similar from the rest of the field. As someone said, before TFG, they didn’t need a pledge.
jackmac
Too bad this is happening so early to DeSantis. I’d have liked to see this self-destruction early next year when more people are paying attention.
Then again, that DOES leaves the spotlight for another GQP candidate or candidates to step on rakes.
Taken4Granite
@Ken:
I’d put it closer to “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, myself.
hedgehog mobile
@rikyrah: Seconded!
Also, I’m in favor of more rake stepping.
Chris
@Cacti:
People who want “Trump without the baggage” refuse to understand that “the baggage” is Trump’s appeal. He’s a white Republican man who can do almost literally anything he wants, however much it breaks the law, however much it violates morality, however much it pisses people off, and still walk away with no consequences, because he’s a white Republican man. He’s living the dream that so many racists and sexists want to. He’s showing them the life that they desperately think they all deserve, and we’re keeping from them.
The Republican Party serving up “Trump without the baggage” would be like McDonalds deciding that from now on all their food is going to be health food. Sure, some people will still go for it, but it’s very much not what the average McDonalds customer is there for.
raven
This guy lays it out.
Medicare School Introduction: The Method To The Madness
Amir Khalid
The most obvious reason Ron DeSantis is underperforming in the presidential race is that he’s a piss-poor person and politician. I don’t know how he got away with it when he ran for Governor, but I sense a bone-deep phoniness about the man. It comes across in his inability to smile and laugh like an actual person; in his obsession with waging the war on wokeness, even though a majority of Americans believe wokeness is a good thing; and in his pettiness toward those who disagree with him, be they children wearing masks or Disney. All the intervention in the world isn’t going to make him a better candidate.
topclimber
@Raoul Paste: Well, she might stay with him and run to replace him as governor in 2026, since he is term limited. She may be a bigger hater than even he is, which is the top GQP requirement for the job.
Casey gets a consolation prize (governor vs. First Lady) and Ron gets to run for Pres again in 2028.
Of course, GQP legislature only needs 60 percent approval to change the constitution, and they have more like 70% now. (Gerrymandering–the grift that keeps on giving).
If they do, maybe she leaves him then. Depends on how he is polling I suppose.
Jackie
@JWR: Hmmm… how’s Marge going to handle this? Appear, insinuating she supported it, thus having to share the limelight with Biden? (who will be gracious if she attends.)
Or not show up, allowing Biden to remind her constituents she VOTED AGAINST it?
Sucks to be Marge!
Oh, and getting kicked off the Freedum Caucus for being Kevin’s ass kisser! 🤣
Brachiator
@JWR:
I bet that the Republicans would not sign a pledge not to contest the 2024 election if a Democrat wins.
And yeah, Trump will just lie.
Baud
@Geminid:
Maybe the GOP will get Youngkin to reconsider!
Scout211
Be sure to check with your HR department. My husband worked until age 71 and he was required by his university to sign up for medicare at 65 and the university health plan became the supplement. I think it saved them money since they were self-insured. Not all employers require this, but many do. I was still covered under the health plan as my primary insurance.
lowtechcyclist
@West of the Rockies:
I like to think of her as Dollar-Store Lady Macbeth.
VOR
Hey, I was completely sick of Trump in 2015 and yet he’s still on my media. I pray that DeSantis has worn out his welcome but I’m not optimistic.
Alison Rose
@Cacti: Trump with the same baggage at first glance, then you look closer and realize it’s knock-off Louis Vuitton that Casey bought out of the back of a Moms4Liberty bitch’s Chevy Tahoe in the elementary school parking lot.
Suzanne
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Oh fuck no. I used to live in this condo complex where the head of the HOA was this crazy old white guy who would prowl around at night with a giant Maglite, because he was just itching to beat someone with it.
This was back in the days of satellite dishes. That fucker had a ground floor condo, and he mounted his dish on the upstairs neighbor’s windowsill, blocking his view. He said the FCC allowed him to do it. We all told him he was a dick.
Chris
@Amir Khalid:
The uncharitable thought is that it says really bad things about the Florida electorate that this is what they picked.
But honestly, I think state elections are just a lot more forgiving in general. Not as many people pay attention to them and it’s not as in-depth when they do.
Frank Wilhoit
Huckabee is stupid and dishonest, and what he is quoted here as having said is stupid and dishonest.
Subtracting voters is exactly the game! We are fond of disparaging the generation of campaign consultants who took over the Democratic Party and brought us Bill Clinton; but it appears that the Republicans may now have their own generation of consultants whose watchword is purity. The idea is that, for every voter you subtract, at least two others, who have not voted since the Great Betrayal because nothing sufficiently pure and extreme was on offer, will come off the fence and resume voting. This is absurd on its face, but when did that ever stop a campaign consultant — or their employers?
Jackie
@trollhattan: Not for being too wacky; MTG was too close to the Squeaker – the Freedum caucus’ enemy after back stabbing them by passing the “Biden”Debt deal.
Scout211
::barfing emoji::
eclare
@Amir Khalid:
Very insightful. How is your new kitty doing?
Baud
Reddit comment on MTG getting kicked out of the freedom caucus
artem1s
@Jay: you still have to register for Part A. Not registering within a specific time period is what causes the penalty later when you do retire and sign up for Part B. You can stay on your employers plan as long as you want and don’t have to sign up for Part B now. But you still have to register within so many months of turning 65 even if you don’t plan on retiring.
You can’t contribute to an HSA after 65 not matter what your retirement status is.
Ken
“Fell off again. Good thing it missed your head, huh?”
Ken
@Scout211: I wonder if any of the reporters who dutifully copied down “the grassroots group” thought, ever-so-briefly, of checking who the grassroots organizers were?
gwangung
@japa21: Yup. That’s what my advisor advised, and what my employer advised.
horatius
@kindness: You mean Tacky-O?
rikyrah
Uh huh 😒
MSNBC (@MSNBC) tweeted at 11:02 AM on Thu, Jul 06, 2023:
Asked about his anti-LGBTQ video, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he considers it “totally fair game.” As @stevebenen writes, that says far more about the Florida Republican than those he’s eager to attack. https://t.co/l6s2tHfQg7
(https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1676984876325654528?t=6CPH9CpEBgbSJrv2cOBNZA&s=03)
Baud
@Scout211:
I too am launching a grassroots group called Baby Mamas for Baud!
Tony Jay
I don’t want RoDS and his composite hull of a campaign to deep six quite yet. He’s far too much fun to take the piss out of for, well, everything. There’s not a facet of his persona that doesn’t scream “Mock me, oh Woken World, for I am failure incarnate and these are mine deeds!”
Plus, the longer he lasts, the worse he tanks, the more he’s humiliated, the better that is for Florida.
As in, better for Betty Florida, not White-Flight Cracker Florida, IYKWIM.
Frankensteinbeck
@Chris:
…means all of Trump’s assholery, but not a loser. DeSantis shit that bed when Trump started insulting him and DeSantis was too weak to hit back.
Trump’s polls took off when he called Mexicans rapists. DeSantis’s collapsed when he ran away from insults. The Republican primary base knows what it wants, a champion for their bigotry.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
@Ken:
Innovators like Rush call that “disrupting the stagnant paradigm”, and stripping the company of any asset which could be used to satisfy a judgment is just a good, wholesomely American business decision that should never be taken personally, because it’s just business no matter whose life it ruins.
Kay
@rikyrah:
Remember when candidates used to apologize for horrible, offensive campaign disasters?
When’s the last time a Republican apologized for anything? They just never do now.
patrick II
Part of DeSantis’s problem is that, as governor, he actually has the power to do much of what he says he will do. Actual hateful policy doesn’t always make friends. Meanwhile, Trump can say he will solve Ukraine in a day and throw the entire deep state in jail. Most of his followers know he’s lying, but they enjoy the show immensely.
Make the world go away, and get it off of my shoulder.
Say the things you used to say and make the world go away.
Jeffro
It is but somehow, somewhere, the idea was floated that what was needed as an alternative to trump was someone more competent at being cruel, but less obviously deranged and corrupt.
And DeSantis ran with that, and well there he is.
Dan B
@rikyrah: The setting of people like me up as targets is very troubling. Someone will take this as a call to action. It’s an alarm to make a lynch mob.
Jeffro
Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be president or VP of the United States in exactly ZERO (and possibly negative) timelines. The multiverse won’t stand for it.
Jeffro
No, no, NO. We’ve had enough of lyin’ Governor Fleece Vest already!
Redshift
@Baud:
That won’t take much effort. A couple of weeks after he said he wasn’t running, he made a smarmy comment that implied he wasn’t running this year, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t running next year.
Probably just as well for him it didn’t get much attention, because the obvious interpretation is that he might jump in of TFG dies or goes to jail.
Jeffro
@Kay:
True. The Double-Down Party just…doubles down. Doesn’t even matter what the topic is or how far out over their skis they were.
Jay
@artem1s:
walked through the Medicaid site, checked the boxes, said nope.
from what other’s have posted, it’s apparently not as simple as the website makes out,
for some people, they need to first talk to their HR,
then Social Security,
then an actual live person at Medicare,
or maybe just David Anderson, : )
I am in BC, all I have to do is update my CareCard every 10 years and all the basic’s are covered, medical care, a lot of pharma, physio, and soon, we are getting basic dental. T works for one of the best Universities here, almost all employers offer coverage, so I don’t have to deal with any of this stuff.
Even when I turn 65.
When I turn 65, all I have to do is register for OAS, even if I am working, roughly $700 tax free a month.
Sure Lurkalot
@Joy in FL:
Live and let live how I tell you to!
barbequebob
@geg6: You don’t have to. If you still have employer provided health insurance you will not be penalized. You have 8 months from when that employement ends to apply during a Special Enrollment Period
But you will need to have your employer fill out a form to document that fact.
https://www.cms.gov/cms-l564-request-employment-information
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS FORM?
“In order to apply for Medicare in a Special Enrollment Period, you must have or had group health plan coverage within the last 8 months through your or your spouse’s current employment. People with disabilities must have large group health plan coverage based on your, your spouse’s or a family member’s current employment.
This form is used for proof of group health care coverage based on current employment. This information is needed to process your Medicare enrollment application.
The employer that provides the group health plan coverage completes the information about your health care coverage and dates of employment.”
Read it carefully.
Mike in NC
Meatball Ron was always destined to flame out, with or without the rude attention Fat Bastard is going to give him. Hopefully he flames out so badly he never even thinks about running for office in 2028 and beyond.
Sure Lurkalot
@geg6: You can sign up for Part A which is free. You need to sign up for Part B and supplemental within 8 months of your current insurance ending (when you retire) to avoid paying extra.
CaseyL
Saw this linked to on Mastodon, “The End of the Honest Internet,” and it’s a very interesting article about Twitter and Threads and social media in general.
The writer, Ed Zitron, who is new to me, also has what looks like a terrific site/newsletter. He comments on finance and tech. I may subscribe.
The Pale Scot
Rock Bottom!
Starts a 13.00, utube time is longer around, or buried under an avalanche of BS
Frankensteinbeck
@Jeffro:
And it worked. He failed when he proved he wasn’t that guy, that he folds when he gets pushback.
Sure Lurkalot
@CaseyL: Ed Zitron is good, thanks for the link!
Lapassionara
@Jay: you walked through the Medicaid boxes? Did you mean Medicare?
I signed up for Medicare when I turned 65, even though I was still working full time. My private insurance continued to pay for my medical care, but transitioning into Medicare when it became time was seemless. I think it is a good idea.
Roberto el oso
@Torrey: “… to live like they want to live as long as it doesn’t interfere and disrupt someone else …”
With the understanding that the GOP racist sheet-sniffers consider themselves victimized (i.e. interfered with & disrupted by) by the existence of absolutely anyone anywhere doing something that offends them.
Renie
@geg6: Yes you have to sign up when eligible at 65. It is for Part A which is free. If you have private insurance thru an employer or your spouse you don’t have to sign up for Part B.
No one really knows why except the theory is that it was initially set up this way at a time when private insurance was not easily available to people at age 65 so this forced more people to get coverage. And as most things with the gov’t it never stopped even though private insurance is more common now.
Roberto el oso
Mike Huckabee is basically just letting everyone know that he really really needs and wants DeSanctis to be something he’s not, a viable alternative to Trump. And Huckabee needs someone to be that alternative because, like all the weaklings in the “never-Trump” wing of the GOP, he’s too much of a coward to do it himself. Not that he could, of course.
As for that crazy ass ad, I still feel like I could use a pamphlet-length list of references to even begin to understand what it means, who it is aimed at, etc.
Another Scott
@Renie: Obligatory…
:-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Roberto el oso
@Roberto el oso: and I should add, that it’s not only anyone anywhere “doing” something that offends them, but “being” someone who offends them (female, non-white, gay, trans, etc.)
zhena gogolia
@Roberto el oso: It’s a psychology that I just cannot fathom. I wish it would go away.
Dan B
@Roberto el oso: For example Youngkin, VA Governor, just shutdown an LGBTQ youth site that helped reduce suicide. Ben Shapiro complained about the site.
Jay
@Lapassionara:
Medicare,
posted their site, ticked the boxes, said nope, no need to sign up, no penalties, as long as you have employer provided health insurance.
it’s just an online resource, (Government web site), probably not that great, as we have learned from other posters who have actually gone through the process.
It very much appears that it varies greatly based on the individual.
Kathleen
@hells littlest angel: It’s complicated.
Mart
@Chris: Yea but what about Hucklebee’s crazy guitar chops and support of non STEM curriculum? “Sadly, many schools in America place music and art programs among the programs on the chopping block when the budget gets tight. Mike Huckabee believes this is terrible policy. His policy in Arkansas was, and his policy will continue, that music and art programs are not expendable, extraneous, or extra-curricular—they are essential to the learning process, the learning experience.” These guys were so funny back in the day. http://runner.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=Meet_Mike_Huckabee_Musician
Geminid
@Redshift: Youngkin’s prestige, such as it is, could take a hit in this Fall’s legislative elections. Youngkin’s name won’t be on the ballot, but he will have to campaign for Republicans and if they lose ground in either or both houses that will reflect on his political prowess.
Next year is a bad time for Youngkin and others to run anyway. Even if one was strong enough to beat Trump, the nomination could be worthless because of the Trumpers who’ll stay home in November. Republicans have gotten themselves into a real jam, and they could not deserve it more.
trollhattan
@Lapassionara: Yup, it’s just Medicare Part A one signs for when they’re still working but hit 65. Part A is hospitalization coverage.
Sign up for the other bits once retired and no longer covered by employee insurance.
trollhattan
@Scout211: That’s right up there with “stop trying to make fetch happen.”
“Mamas for DeSantis” is so not happening.
Tim Curtin
A vote for DeSantis is a vote for Guantanamo Bay.
zhena gogolia
I’m realizing how much time I used to spend reading Twitter. I do miss it, but maybe it wasn’t good for me.
Another Scott
@CaseyL: Nice.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
RaflW
Is Mike drunk? “[Rhonda Satanist] wants to protect the rights of every American citizen… to live like they want to live as long as it doesn’t interfere and disrupt someone else.”
How does an 18 year old on hormone treatment ‘disrupt’ anyone else? (I think youth under 18 should have access to care, too, but for sake of the blatant horsepucky Hucky is throwing, we’ll just for the moment argue about adult rights and freedom).
Just infuriating GOPldygook.
Dangerman
FTFY
ETA: DeSantis was roadkill when he broke out the Nancy Sinatra boots after the hurricane.
Cheez Whiz
@geg6: you have to sign up for Part A (hospital stuff) and Part B (doctor stuff), but you don’t have to start paying for Part B (Part A is free) if you have valid medical insurance. And it’s not just a fine, it’s higher premiums for the rest of your life. The Welcome To Medicare pamphlet from the government is short, easy to read, and very clear and helpful. One thing it doesn’t tell you is that if you are on COBRA when you turn 65 you Must drop it and start using/paying for Part B. Go ahead, ask me how I know that.
Martin
@RaflW: Being asked your pronouns is no different than slavery. And if you think that’s hyperbole, it’s not, because slavery wasn’t really that bad.
evodevo
I don’t know why Ole Mikey is so upset…DeathSantis is just implementing the Dominionist agenda, only not sub rosa and in rather a hurry…I guess he wanted to keep this quiet until it was accomplished. There are a lot of normies who are unaware of what the talibangelicals are planning…and it’s not constitutional…
twbrandt
@CaseyL: I like Ed Zitron a lot, and find him well worth reading.
West of the Rockies
@Jeffro:
Is Sarah HS a female Mike Pompeo? Grim, humorless, arrogant, entitled, and sans charisma?
sab
@Cheez Whiz: One thing really important to me was being able to get Medigap/Medicare Supplemental, because I went for a few scary years uninsured before Obamacare. I had had a gap in coverage so my insurance dropped me for having a preexisting condition I hadn’t told them about ( because I didn’t know about it.)
When you are first eligible for Medicare then they have to give you a Supplemental policy if you apply for one. If you wait until later then they can ask about and deny you for pre-existing conditions.
I don’t know how this all fits in with being covered by an employer after age 65. And Medigap plans aren’t cheap.
West of the Rockies
@trollhattan:
I think we should start a parody site: Poolboys for DeSantis!
Brachiator
@CaseyL:
Great article. Thank you for the link.
Jay
@West of the Rockies:
how would we know it’s a parody?
Dollar Store Melania probably loves her some pool boys.
Old Man Shadow
@RaflW: The LGBTQ people cause earthquakes and hurricanes because they make Jeebus cry so they do hurt other people.
It’s SCIENCE!
Gravenstone
@Suzanne: “FCC sez I can do this.”
“Yeah? Well my crowbar says you can’t”
Gravenstone
@Baud: To be followed by a Go Fund Me “Child Support for Baud”?
Gravenstone
@Jeffro: You’ll notice I tagged Ma Hamhock with a failed campaign, yes?
Geminid
I saw that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzger has announced a project that will bring passenger rail service from Chicago to Rockford for the first time since 1981.
The state will spend $275 million from the Rebuild Illinois capital fund to improve tracks, grade crossings etc. between Elgin and Rockford, and construct stations at Huntley and Belvedere. Train service is projected to begin in 2027, initially with two trains each way. Travel time from Rockford to Chicago is expected to be around 95 minutes.
twbrandt
@Old Man Shadow: I wish I could cause hurricanes and earthquakes! 🏳️🌈
Anyway
@West of the Rockies:
Great description that fits many Rethugs — Hawley, Youngkin, Tom Cotton, Huckabee(s), Pompeii and of course Gov Puddn Boots…
West of the Rockies
@Jay:
Never saw it (really), but I guess Who’s Nailin’ Palin did well… maybe it’s time for a Trump porn parody, complete with Melania and her poolboy, Chad.
Jay
@twbrandt:
all you need to do is “switch teams”,…….///
FelonyGovt
@West of the Rockies: And quite unattractive, which is apparently disqualifying for female candidates. (Sorry, I try not to be THAT mean and petty, but for someone like that…)
mrmoshpotato
I would breathe, but I can’t stop laughing!
twbrandt
@Jay: I am on team Gay, but sadly can conjure up neither hurricanes nor earthquakes.
Jay
@West of the Rockies:
“Who’s really driving hard in Miss Casey?”
mrmoshpotato
@Yutsano: You are number 6!
Maybe Governor Puddin’Boots should try a different color footwear.
(I guess he chose white because black boots would’ve made him look too much like the Nazi he is.)
Jay
@twbrandt:
Did you fill out the application forms properly?
Jay
Wow, Balloon Juice After Dark started early.
moops
There is no end to DeSantis campaign until the primary is over. He is not going to quit.
I harbor a hope that when DeSantis and Trump are forced to share a stage, Ron will physically attack Trump. Possibly killing Trump, and sending Ron to prison.
twbrandt
@Jay: wait, there are forms??? Shit.
Betty Cracker
@Jeffro: I’ll admit I was worried the Pudd’n Boots playbook could succeed. Yes, he’s charisma-free, has a mosquito-whine voice and all the warmth and sensitivity of a concrete toilet seat in a Siberian outhouse. But he created mini-MAGA cult in FL. Every proof point that it doesn’t translate north of the FL-GA line brings me inexpressible relief.
moops
The problem is that once you hate a person, everything that person does looks worthy of spite.
Captain C
@Ruckus:
I suspect if TFG/SFB somehow doesn’t win the primary and still wants to run as a spoiler, he’ll make up some bullshit about how the Rethugs betrayed him and all the MAGAts and therefore he has to run because reasons (read: more grift!).
Josie
@Betty Cracker:
“all the warmth and sensitivity of a concrete toilet seat in a Siberian outhouse”
Oh, Betty, you touch my heart with your ability to slice and dice these horrible people.
Jay
@twbrandt:
yeah, there is membership paperwork,
seminars and training sessions, (can’t have you just willy nilly conjouring up a hurricaine)
committee meetings, ( donuts and coffee, sometimes pizza if they go late)
but you get to meet some great people.
Didn’t they give you the pamphlet or even the web link covering The Agenda?
Dan B
@Betty Cracker: Casey DeSaster is out with a disturbing ad for her Mamas for DeSantis. She implies that LGBTQ people are coming for children and the Mamas will fight the predators.
Warblewarble
Is the factory in THREETOES district one to produce more rakes?
Jeffro
I think you’re on to something here. Plus – not to say that Pompeo is terribly smart or cunning, but – he’s more of those than SHS.
Jeffro
@Gravenstone: I did and was endorsing that, times infinity. =)
Jeffro
@Betty Cracker: [DeSantis] created mini-MAGA cult in FL. Every proof point that it doesn’t translate north of the FL-GA line brings me inexpressible relief.
They keep forgetting. DeSantis most especially, that trump for all his many completely irredeemable qualities, puts on a show. He’s not bad on camera. And he had 110% name recognition in our country, PLUS the perception of almost limitless wealth.
DeSantis can’t even handle a question about how. to. pronounce. his. name.
Princess
@geg6: so, my husband is in your shoes and that’s not the case. You can sign up for Medicare A now and postpone B until you retire. Or postpone both until you retire. If at THAT point you didn’t sign up for B, then you would pay a penalty. You need to prove, when you eventually sign up for B, that you HAD adequate insurance until that point.
O. Felix Culpa
@Jay:
Gaaah! WRONG! She must sign up for Part A (which is free) at 65, or receive a lifelong penalty in higher costs. However, Part B can be waived by producing evidence of employer insurance.
O. Felix Culpa
@japa21:
The misinformation/misunderstanding of how Medicare works is epic. Part A is NOT automatic! You have to sign up for it. And definitely should at 65, otherwise there’s a lifelong penalty in higher fees once you get on Part B.
What is correct is that Part A is free, and that’s what you should sign up for at 65, if you still have insurance from your employer.
ETA: I’m relieved to see some knowledgeable comments on the issue. Following the wrong info could have cost geg6 dearly.
Poor Sue
@mrmoshpotato: Those appear to be shrimper boots, white so that objects in the water are visible against them and because white reflects sunlight, making your feet cooler.—I think this was RdS attempting to show solidarity with Old Florida’s working class.
sab
@sab: Looked up answer to my question. Open enrollment for medicare supplemental plans is the first six months after you are supposed to enroll in plan b. So that might be much later than 65 if you keep working and your employer provides health insurance.
After that six months is over, insurers can refuse coverage in most states.
mrmoshpotato
@Cheez Whiz:
Fixed. :)
mrmoshpotato
@Poor Sue: Fair enough. DeathSentence is still Nazi shit though.
Miss Bianca
@Mart: Late to the party, but that position statement of Huckabee’s about the importance of music and art in education is literally the only area of agreement I share with that guy.
Paul in KY
@Jay: Not making the compartment a sphere was another stupid/crazy decision.
Paul in KY
@mrmoshpotato: In hindsight, he should have gone with black. Maybe Casey doesn’t allow him to wear the black boots that only she can wear? Just speculating…