We didn’t watch the DeSantis – Crist debate last night. We banked our votes for Crist via return mail a while back, and we heard enough of DeSantis’s droning, adenoidal voice to last several lifetimes before and after the recent hurricane, so we took a hard pass on hearing more of it.
Also, the race depresses me because I suspect Crist will come up short again in Florida, even if the party does better than expected elsewhere. (Don’t @ me — it’s been my lived experience in gubernatorial elections for this entire fucking century.)
All that said, I did watch a clip or two of the debate on Twitter and read takes from several frustrated theater critics masquerading as political pundits, and outside the echo chambers, it’s obvious why DeSantis only agreed to one debate: he sucks at debating. I mean, look at this asshole:
i am just catching up on the DeSantis-Crist debate and OMG
Crist: “Yes or no, Ron. Will you serve a full four year term if you’re reelected governor of Florida? It’s not a tough question. It’s a fair question. He won’t tell ya.”
DeSantis: *looks like he’s malfunctioning* pic.twitter.com/y1fnua6ZQj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 25, 2022
I’ve seen that animatronic glitch before — it appears whenever DeSantis wanders outside the con-media bubble and gets asked a tough question. He’s a thin-skinned prick, as is his bloated orange meat-sack mentor, but DeSantis lacks Tangerine Baal’s repertoire of dumb schoolyard taunts, so he glitches out.
Imagine what a Chris Christie (or even the original orange fart cloud himself) would do with that on a GOP presidential primary debate stage. So, maybe those of you who think DeSantis is a Beltway pundit flavor of the month who will flop on the national stage like Scott Walker or Tim Pawlenty are right. Here’s hoping.
* * *
To follow up on yesterday’s school shooting in St. Louis, a 16-year-old girl was killed, as was 61-year-old health and PE teacher Jean Kuczka. The teacher’s daughter said she was told her mom stepped in front of the gunman to protect the kids.
Such a senseless loss. I think it’s understandable that people tend to focus on the children who die in these horrible mass shootings — children have their whole lives ahead of them, and the little ones are so innocent. But we should take time to grieve the slaughter of our educators too.
In the Post-Dispatch account, Ms. Kuczka sounds like a wonderful person and a dedicated teacher. She had a husband and five kids, and her last child had recently fledged the nest. Her daughter said Ms. Kuczka was looking forward to retirement.
Teachers almost always die in these attacks — while filling a difficult and necessary role, often for low pay and poor working conditions that now include getting screamed at and having their character impugned by hard-right political operatives pretending to be concerned parents.
Would a “Moms for Liberty” operative take a bullet for a kid? I think they’d be more likely to use a child as a human shield.
Rest in peace, Ms. Kuczka. You deserved so much better.
Open thread.