Donald Trump appears to truly despise Ron DeSantis, and that feeling is certainly shared by Trump’s incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles, with whom the governor had a nasty falling out some years ago. So, I figured Florida’s Angriest Kumquat would be frozen out of a Trump II cabinet. But if the latest reports are true, DeSantis might get the DoD job if Hegseth’s nomination flames out.
My feelings on that are approximately what they were when leering sex trafficker Matt Gaetz’s AG nomination imploded and the somewhat cleverer election-denying crook Pam Bondi got the nod instead: Since either choice would be catastrophic, better to have the out-of-his-depth clown in office because maybe he’ll accidentally do less damage.
DeSantis has proved adept at abusing power to target perceived enemies and funneling taxpayer dollars into his cronies’ pockets in Florida. I have no doubt he’d gleefully abuse military power and turn the Pentagon into a personal enrichment machine too.
But if the speculation I’ve read is correct, there’s a transaction that must be completed first: DeSantis has to name Lara Trump (Mrs. Gums) to to the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Marco Rubio.
I really hope that happens because Florida deserves the auto-tune queen as its representative. Not all of us, of course — millions of Floridians voted for Harris-Walz, reproductive freedom, etc. But the votes coming from Florida’s junior senator will be Trump’s rubberstamp no matter who DeSantis names. So why not a vapid, unqualified, unserious nepo baby to underscore how absurd this all is?
***
Josh Marshall’s latest Backchannel essay (gift link) focuses on how Dems can be an effective opposition party. I haven’t followed the news much, so I don’t know if Marshall is reacting to weak-sauce public statements from Dems or outlining principles of political opposition more generally, but what he says makes sense to me:
People are scared and upset about Kash Patel becoming FBI director. There’s good reason to be. But the language illustrates problems we should have learned about during the election. I hear that he’s an “extremist,” that’s he’s a “norm-busting” pick, that he’s inexperienced, that he’s a “hardcore MAGA loyalist.” This all sounds like yada, yada, yada to me. In one ear and out the other.
What I want to hear Democrats saying is that Patel has literally promised to abuse his power as soon as he’s sworn into office. He’s said that repeatedly over the last year. I want to hear Democrats saying they don’t want an FBI director who has promised to abuse the powers of his office as soon as he’s sworn in. To me, that’s not complicated. That’s pretty straightforward. Everyone can understand it.
I also hear talk about which GOP senators might be ready to stand up to Trump. It’s hopeful talk, a real wish that some might be ready to come across the lines and do the right thing. But that’s soft, loser talk. It’s begging. It’s undignified and weak.
One of the benefits of being out of power is clarity. Democrats are outsiders to all the decision-making right now. “Tough” confirmation battles, if they occur, take place entirely among Republicans. Democrats have total freedom of action to oppose on their own terms. Democrats shouldn’t be begging a Susan Collins to do the right thing. They should be eagerly putting her on notice, almost gleeful about how they’re going to use her bootlicking votes against her when she runs for reelection in 2026.
In other words, oppose, oppose, oppose. Do not congratulate. Do not feel obligated to hand it to them. Do not act as if any of this shit is business as usual.
There is no chance Republicans will come up with a clean policy proposal that will benefit the American people, so maybe (loudly!) trying to stop everything they attempt is the way to go. I’m not in the political strategy business, but that seems like pretty sound advice to me.
Open thread.
Baud
That excerpt is more about speaking more plainly rather than using buzzwords, more so than whether to oppose.
Baud
Anyone else on bluesky getting followed by purportedly young women looking to hook up?
Dangerman
Will the ATQ give us a non AT version of Proud to be an American? Painful, true, but pointing and laughing might sink into the thickest of skulls.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Baud: Can’t say that I am. :-)
Dangerman
@Baud: I keep getting texts from the USPS saying my package is undeliverable. Which kinda stings but whatever. ‘Tis the Season for spammers and scammers apparently.
Yutsano
Isn’t she a resident of North Carolina?
Kelly
@Baud: No explicit hook up offers. Several new followers that are young women wearing form fitting clothing. Relatively modest photos. Only a few anodyne posts.
Parfigliano
Senator Schmuck from NY is again Minority Leader which tells me they have learned nothing.
Steve LaBonne
@Baud: The point that stood out for me was calling out Senators like Collins instead of imagining they can schmooze them into doing the right thing. Bad shit is going to happen and Democrats need to make sure they leave no fingerprints on it and no doubt about who is responsible.
Baud
@Kelly:
I’m not getting targeted offers. Just that some of the people who follow me fit that description.
ETA: Some bot did try to strike up a conversation with me with the chat function.
Baud
@Steve LaBonne:
That’ll be obvious from the voting record. People just haven’t cared.
Old School
@Baud: Maybe I do need to join Bluesky….
m.j.
What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Democrats respond with answers.
Republicans respond with demands.
Kelly
Spooked a handsome bald eagle that was sitting on boulders by the river on this morning’s walk. A good look among frost and light fog. I’m pretty sure we’ve had a resident pair for many years. Mature eagles mostly look the same to me so I’ve never been sure they’re the same birds.
Baud
@Old School:
I can hook you up with some of my followers.
Lobo
Probably should have saved my post from the earlier thread and posted here. To reiterate: To the Pick Me Dems, how about using your energy to oppose, oppose, oppose rather than the nothing burger pardon?
Sure Lurkalot
Going to write my Colorado senators and congresspersons to remind them of the meeting that occurred on the night of Obama’s inauguration, when a bunch of Republicans decided to block everything Obama would do.
Not especially encouraged considering both Jason Crow and Michael Bennet decried Biden’s breaking of norms with his pardon.
Hope they have more pearls to clutch for what’s coming but I hope backbone.
Steve LaBonne
@Baud: If there is sufficient damage to say, Medicare, people will definitely notice and care. But Democrats will need to yell and point fingers in order for the media to pay attention (they’ll try to bothsides but Dems can make that hard to pull off if they’re aggressive and relentless).
Jackie
TCFG and Pudd’n Boots screaming in unison: “No quid pro quo! No quid pro quo!!!”
Trollhattan
I for one am looking forward to Shadow SecDef Casey DeSantis. She’ll get the woke* out of the DoT right quick. After that, the price of one F-35 will plunge to twelve-thousand bitcoins.
*Whatever the fuck that even means–it’s been at least three years since first hearing the “word” and I fail still to find a definition.
Trollhattan
@Jackie:
“You’re the quid and I’m the quo. Donald Trump is a great big ho!”
Something like that.
laura
The republicans are already meeping about needing Dems to assist in the looting and destroying Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid because spending is out of control – but in fact, it’s to further enrich the too much money having people by giving them what we’ve paid into all our working lives. Calling that bullshit out is a good place to start in my opinion. Come for my earned benefits and reap the fucking whirlwind.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Sure Lurkalot:
Good idea and approach. I have no faith in Bennet and only a bit more in Hick but my Congresswoman, DeGette, doesn’t have a track record of saying stooopid shoot-the-party-in-the-foot statements so maybe she’ll recall that moment in 2009.
Steve LaBonne
@laura: They better remember Pelosi’s famous “never, does never work for you?”.
Shalimar
@Baud: those were the only followers I got when I paid any attention at all to ex-Twitter. Sad the scammers are migrating to BlueSky.
UncleEbeneezer
@Baud: Mine assure me they are “onlyfans”
Shalimar
DoD is pretty much the only grift in the country where DeSantis’s level of cronyism won’t have a noticeable effect. I would say putting him there partially protects spending from Musk’s hack and slash commission, but let’s face it, there are already a multitude of entrenched interests who have been grifting for longer than Musk has been alive. He won’t get anywhere trying to cut military spending.
UncleEbeneezer
I’m so tired of these “I want to hear X from Democrats” think-pieces. Yes, even from someone smart like Marshall.
Baud
@UncleEbeneezer:
Yeah, me too. Although the thing about speaking plainly is more helpful.
John S.
@Baud:
I read it the same. But it’s not just the overuse of buzz words, it’s that they are meaningless platitudes that do not resonate with voters. That much should have been clear after the election.
ETA: If we can’t even get unanimous agreement around here that criticizing Kash for specific reasons is better than taking about norms and shit, then we are well and truly fucked in the opposition.
NotMax
Can the seizure by eminent domain of Disneyworld be far behind?
//
Snarki, child of Loki
So, turning into a “Full Floriduh” admin?
(narrator: never go full floriduh)
suzanne
@Baud:
That was me. Sorry.
Baud
@John S.:
In fairness, a lot of liberals don’t talk plain English. I was already aware of it, but my short experience in blue sky brought that home.
Baud
@suzanne:
No need to apologize. I understand completely.
suzanne
@Baud: Not just speaking “plainly”. I think Democrats should be somewhat coarser. Use the word “bullshit”. Pounce on our opponents when they sound all politician-y. The aesthetics matter.
Bill Arnold
@John S.:
There is a norm that somebody who has published a long enemies list is automatically disqualified from government positions that can be leveraged to attack people on that list.
Right?
Soprano2
@Steve LaBonne: That’s why I think it was bad for Moskowitz to join the “Doge Caucus”, because it gives a bipartisan stamp of approval to that shit show. Democrats should stay far away from that so that they can call out every dumb thing they try to do as being the fault of Republicans. I don’t know why Democrats can’t understand that, the only reason they want Moskowitz is so they don’t have to be solely blamed for what they want to do. Moskowitz is being a useful idiot for them.
Steve LaBonne
@Soprano2: I didn’t realize that asshole was already at it. Fuck him.
Soprano2
@UncleEbeneezer: I’m not, because he’s right. They need to say it in plain language that’s easy for people to understand. Democrats have a bad habit of not doing that, they need to break it if they want to be successful.
Soprano2
@Steve LaBonne: Yep, I saw that this morning. He agrees with a couple of things they say they want to do, so he joined it. Fucking idiot.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Bill Arnold: I guess I’m officially an old: I remember when Daniel Schorr was live on the air reading Nixon’s enemies list and encountered his own name.
oklahomo
@Baud: I’ve gotten some DMs.
espierce
@Trollhattan:
Let’s see, “Gums” Trump replaces Marco “Backwax” Rubio and DeSantis gets DOD…seems legit!
UncleEbeneezer
@Baud: Agreed. I’m all for better messaging that reaches more people. But this never-ending impulse to revert back to “here’s how Dems are failing us” think-pieces, ad nauseam is a big part of what drives the Dem brand into the toilet, in the eyes of so many voters. Is it really any wonder, when they constantly see “Dems Suck” from not just Republicans and the Media, but also from people on our side, that voters internalize those sentiments?
Melancholy Jaques
@Parfigliano:
Inclined to agree. Who would you prefer?
Baud
@UncleEbeneezer:
Yeah, I know. Performative demands are half my highly curated blue sky feed.
Melancholy Jaques
@Trollhattan:
Woke = Anything that makes the majority of white men feel uncomfortable.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Baud: I hope we can speak plainly here. How hard is it to point out a deliberate, publicly stated plan to abuse power? Sure, Trump won the election. Are we ready to discard the Constitution and all semblance of the rule of law?
sixthdoctor
Baud
@sixthdoctor:
Interesting. That increases the chances of AOC getting oversight.
Good position for her. Attacking Trump and not having to focus as much on policy debates.
Soprano2
@Mr. Bemused Senior: I agree. Patel wasn’t subtle about what he wants to do with the power of the FBI. Just tell people what he’s said! Don’t dance around it.
John S.
@Baud:
I would love to see her in that role. Because one thing she does very well is speak plainly about the issues. Crockett does an excellent job of that as well.
tam1MI
They are probably dangling the DoD in front of Pudd’n Boots to keep him from naming himself to Lil Marco’s seat.
John S.
@Soprano2:
Thats the whole point. Rebuke what he said or show what he did. Don’t talk about how he’s a threat to democracy, unqualified, a Trump lackey, or any other number of complaints that while true, don’t really get to the heart of why he should not get the job.
Fair Economist
@Baud: I have had a couple of attractive young women with thin posting histories follow me on Mastodon.
You’d think they’d do the fairly minimal research to know that they should be sending young *men* after me, but … no.
tam1MI
They are probably saving that for the confirmation hearing. That is one of the problems that Dems have when it comes to comms – they save the fiery attacks for the hearings that nobody watches while going all meek and polite in the press interviews that everyone hears/sees/reads.
Mustang Bobby
Moving DeSantis (aka Batsin D. Belfry) out of state and to the DOD is marginally better than him resigning and having his crony Lt. Gov. appoint him to Rubio’s seat. That’s known as Pulling a Wendy, as in what Gov. Wendell Anderson of Minnesota did in 1976 when Sen. Walter Mondale was elected VP and he grabbed the Senate seat for himself. I was living in Minneapolis at the time and it went over like a lead lutefisk. He lost the election to the full term in 1978 to the Republican plaid-shirted Plywood Minnesota mogul Rudy Boschwitz.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Soprano2:
Sigh, I get that well-meaning Dems want to “fix” things, get all policy-wonkish on Problem X and “find a solution”.
But then you have those, looks like Moskowitz is one, who forget that there’s always a *political* lens involved in just about everything they do. It’s infuriating that they just don’t seem to get that.
Sure, when (R)s like Cheney and the other dude joined Dems on the 6 Jan commision, etc., it was seen as the same thing by the other side. Big difference there was those higher concepts called democracy, insurrection, etc. What Moskowitz is doing doesn’t come close to that level of desired “bipartisanship”, it’s just politically dumb.
But hey, I can look to Dems in my own state for plenty of political dumbness this year!
Old School
The problem with that is that Rubio is unlikely to resign until after he is confirmed. That would put DeSantis as Defense into February/March.
I suppose it’s possible Trump is expecting a recess by Congress so it could be done quicker.
Jeffro
1,437% yes. YES.
Has anyone here looked at the updated INDIVISIBLE manual? I’m letting that (and my old MoveOn “50 Ways to Love Your Country” activism handbook) be my guides in terms of what to do. But Betty’s exactly right in terms of overall motivation: since none of it will be remotely acceptable, oppose, oppose, oppose.
Jeffro
@sixthdoctor: progress already! love me some Raskin
Jeffro
You know…I hadn’t really thought about all the potential intrigue here. I just thought trumpov was trying to put yet another loyalist bootlicker into position (and that maybe the deputy DoD was going to call the shots).
But I can see DeSantis avoiding hard work and grabbing that FL Senate seat for himself instead. That’s a pretty sweet gig.
Hmmm. Anyone have any popcorn?
Kayla Rudbek
@Baud: I have been blocking and reporting them since yesterday.
Betsy
Yes, Betty!! We need to express ourselves clearly.
It’s time to reclaim the word “tyranny,” among other terms.
Martin
@Baud: I disagree a little.
I think one fair criticism of Democrats messaging is that it was a little too baked in. Saying Republicans are bad is useless messaging – of course you think they’re bad – you’re the opposition party. You’d be doing your job badly by saying otherwise.
Calling Patel an ‘extremist’ falls in that category. Of course you think that, that’s your opinion. But reiterating what Patel has promised to do is informative, and not baked in. Let the voter decide if abusing the rule of law is extremist or not. Your use of the word isn’t credible, their use is.
I think it’s more than just speaking plainly.
Baud
Liz Warren is on blue sky
https://bsky.app/profile/senwarren.bsky.social
Gretchen
What are the odds that Trump promises to appoint DeSantis if he gives Lara the Senate seat, and then gleefully tells D “just kidding” after it’s done and appoints someone else to DOD?
zhena gogolia
@Lobo: Because they can’t get on TV that way.
Martin
@Jeffro: We’re looking at it. Discussing ideas to tip up a more robust local liberal civic structure – something connected to local politicians but with more active year round community reach.
Elizabelle
What’s the Lara Trump as Mrs. Gums? I do not look at these people, if I can manage it, so what is up with that?
Martin
@sixthdoctor: Pelosi’s knives still plenty sharp, I see.
Princess
@Baud: She has been very vocal since the election. I expect her to be a strong voice in opposition to the Republicans.
tam1MI
I came across this article in Vox online, which I think would be interesting to discuss here.
Are progressive groups sinking Democrats’ electoral chances?
I personally see it as the poisonous, “Move to the right and throw your most loyal voters under the bus” strategy that has killed Dem chances for years. So my initial reaction is that, the strategy advocated there and the pundits that advocate it should be roundly ignored. On the other hand, though, I have to admit that, “Defund the Police” killed us a few year’s back. (Even though most elected Dems didn’t really embrace that phrase). So I wonder how other people here feel about this.
The other thing I think it interesting about this is that there is apparently a huge fight amongst elected Dems over this issue. Shortly after Harris was elected I was convinced the Dems were going to move to the right and that some members of the coalition (most likely trans people and/or immigration advocates) were going to go under the bus. The fact that the “abandon the ‘groups'” crowd is getting strong and impassioned pushback now makes me more hopeful that this will not happen.
RaflW
I know Ron D. won Florida quite handily last time, but outside of his home state, he’s not really very well liked by Republican voters, and of course Dems think he sucks. His adenoidal voice and lift-in-shoes neediness will not, I think, go over well at the Pentagon, nor will it project well across the American people if Trump et al are serious about turning the troops on us.
So, of the current all bad choices, I kinda rate DeSanctimnious as typically poor and likely to a) hate the job and b) suck at it, while, yes, activating some of the very bad shit Trump plans.
I think if he gets the job, his chances of being Presnit some day go even lower than the low odds he ‘enjoys’ now.
RaflW
@tam1MI: Dunno if this is an exact response, but I think it’s good news that Rep. Jerrold Nadler has bowed out of the race to keep his own leadership role in the next House Judiciary Committee, likely to be replaced by Jamie Raskin.
I might be misremembering but I feel like Raskin is on the more progressive end of the caucus.
Baud
@tam1MI:
Depends on the group and the ask. I hope we don’t abandon basic civil rights for anyone, for moral reasons, even if we lose because of it.
Groups, and all rank and file Dems as well, need to do a better job explaining the positive things Dems do four years out of four, and not concentrate only on pushing Dems to do better, as if people don’t see that and are left with a skewed impression.
Baud
Klobocher on blue sky
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:hy4kwkakey4eawsw6jjzoc3j
Gretchen
@tam1MI: Anyone asking Jon Favreau for political advice isn’t worth listening to. Favreau was one of those who wanted a fun game show at the convention to pick the candidate. The “groups” they mention includes Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. Really, they think dumping them will get more women voters?
There was exactly one elected Dem who used defund the police – the rep from Ferguson. It was a popular stance there. Problem is, Republicans don’t mid lying and saying all Dems want to defund the police, and it’s hard to counter the lie with our nuanced policy positions.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@tam1MI:
Do I think progressive politics hurt our chances electorally? Yes.
I believe their politics is why voters run right back to Republicans once we’ve been in office. Its not all progressives, as there are a number who are realistic and practical. The problem is we have a lot of really loud and really radical members who associate with our coalition and don’t back Dem politicians when it counts. I live in St. Louis.. ground zero for Fergusson ‘Defund the Police’. I knew people involved who seriously wanted to get rid of the police entirely. It was nuts. They were so strident. They were sooo sure the community could just manage fine with the gangs if the police were gone. That led to Kim Gartner getting elected and failing completely to do her job. It was an absolute disaster that got talked about nationally. That kind of thing turns us into electoral poison.
Scuffletuffle
@Baud: Your habit of not wearing pants is obviously widely known…
Elizabelle
@RaflW: I just see him walking around the Pentagon hallways in squeaking white boots.
dc
@tam1MI: Repub lite will not win votes.
Miss Bianca
@Soprano2:
Isn’t Moskowitz the 26 y.o. from FL? I put part of that “jump on the DOGE bandwagon” bit down to being young and therefore kinda stoopid about some shit.
Suzanne
@tam1MI: I think that the most visible stuff, like “Defund the Police”, gets rolled into the Democratic brand, and from there that extends to individual candidates. Even if a specific candidate doesn’t say it. It’s not fair. It’s reality, though.
Same thing with “the groups”. Once something is broadly associated with Team D, such as trans rights, it’s assumed by most normies that every D candidate supports it.
Our coalition is really hard to keep together.
KatKapCC
Severely dislike having something in common with Trump.
Aziz, light!
@Gretchen: Months before covid and George Floyd, people on the streets of Portland were handing me clipboards to sign to put a “defund the police” referendum on the ballot. I didn’t sign. I think this regrettable slogan was coined here although I don’t know if that is true.
MoCaAce
@Baud: no :(
Just out of curiosity, who are you following?
lgerard
trump’s latest nominee
High School graduate Billy Long (R-MO) to head the IRS
The only thing he knows about taxes is he has to pay someone to do his
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5023124-trump-names-billy-long-as-irs-head/
RA
I saw a clip of Fetterman saying that he told DeSantis that he would vote for him if he would admit that he wears 3.5 inch lifts in his shoes.
Geminid
@Miss Bianca: Maxwell Frost is the 26(?) year old activist who won Val Demings Orlando area seat after she ran for the Senate in 2022. Rep. Mokcowitz was elected to Congress the same year but is older. I think he was previously a Broward County Supervisor which would put his district in Southeast Florida.
Ebony
Jinchi
He likes to hire people just so he can fire them, so it’s a perfect match.
Jinchi
Any campaign post-mortem that blames “support for trans-rights” and ignores the war in Gaza is just a trolling operation.
Democrats probably lost 2 swing states on that issue alone.
Martin
@Jinchi: If you expand that issue outward a bit more, maybe more than that. There’s polling showing the Dems lost as much as 10 points in Jewish support because families felt that Dems failure to engage with the issue left it too dangerous for their kids to attend US universities. That came out pretty directly in focus groups.
It’s not clear that a different policy would have necessarily stopped those protests, but I’m pretty confident having worked on them in the past, that it would have reduced in intensity and on some campuses disappeared entirely. It may not have been enough to keep those voters feeling safe, but it probably would have at least helped. I think there was also a challenge for universities to address the issue in the manner they wanted because it got so severely politicized. Had that toned down, I suspect a lot more progress could have been made by university administrators, at least on some campuses again.