FireAg said:

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Eh…but let's at least be honest…polling information showed early on that he had little chance of winning…

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No doubt, polls often change though and they simply became more pro Trump and not less. It's fine to say that the polls showed Trump would win but predicting the future is always a sketchy task. In this case the polls from months and months ago ended up being right but there are plenty of examples of when front runner candidates crashed and burned. Prognostication is a very imprecise business. Trump was the more likely winner and it has turned out that way it appears.

Rarely do they change "that" much…

The gap was wide from the moment he announced, and it only widened…

FireAg said:

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Voters ARE ABSOLUTELY DUMB…

I've been saying this from the beginning…and that's why I have been consistent with my message…

DeSantis didn't do enough to grab the attention of the masses…who, as you rightfully point out, are dumb…

You have to find a way to grab their attention…he didn't do so with his strategy or packaging of his messaging…

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Finally, and well said.... I am a big fan of DeSantis and think he has done fantastic job in Florida. I have been amazed the videos of Vivek taking down ill informed talking heads regurgitating the liberal talking points. There is so much to like and dislike out there. The fact is that neither Vivek, nor DeSantis, had/has a shot in this cycle without convincing the "Trumpers" they are a better option. Neither have done that and it is just as possible they would not sway independent voters.

Like it, or not, it looks like the only way this election will end up with an R as president is tapping into the anger/frustration the average joe has for government today because of open borders, skyrocketing inflation, and everything else the left's policies are doing. As it stands, Trump has convinced more that he is the person to fight this fight.

Another fact is, I can point to a number of behaviors, actions, etc that i wholly disagree with and even despise. When I look at my life, my finances, our country, etc before the pandemic as a whole; however, the country was heading in a much better direction. Perfect, no, but the good far outweighed the bad.

Lumping people who think like I do as a "sycophant/idol worshiping trumper" doesn't further DeSantis' case. I would be thrilled to vote for Ron in the general, but damn sure know I will be voting for whoever of the (3) make it to the nomination because the alternative is absolutely accelerating the country into the abyss.

ETA: DeSantis should have spent the last couple years looking at how an unknown individual from Chicago built his campaign into the juggernaut it became.

FireAg said:

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Rarely do they change "that" much…

The gap was wide from the moment he announced, and it only widened…

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K. Really don't think we need to relive this but the list of people who were leading primaries in the Summer before the voting occurred that faded into obscurity is very long. It ended up turning out in a more predictable way and that's fine but acting as though that was always the only way it could go is an eye roll for me. I was also consistent in saying things had to shift or change and there seemed a disconnect between the ground and the polls. As it turns out the polls were fairly accurate and didn't end up shifting much. It was certainly one of the scenarios if not the likely one. Doesn't mean that it couldn't have gone another way.

Either way we are setting up for a new level of nastiness in the November election to come and it is going to be all Pro Trump vs Anti Trump. That's what we have chosen. It won't be about issues, it's going to be about Trump. Yay.

We fixed the keg said:

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FireAg said:

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Voters ARE ABSOLUTELY DUMB…

I've been saying this from the beginning…and that's why I have been consistent with my message…

DeSantis didn't do enough to grab the attention of the masses…who, as you rightfully point out, are dumb…

You have to find a way to grab their attention…he didn't do so with his strategy or packaging of his messaging…

---

Finally, and well said.... I am a big fan of DeSantis and think he has done fantastic job in Florida. I have been amazed the videos of Vivek taking down ill informed talking heads regurgitating the liberal talking points. There is so much to like and dislike out there. The fact is that neither Vivek, nor DeSantis, had/has a shot in this cycle without convincing the "Trumpers" they are a better option. Neither have done that and it is just as possible they would not sway independent voters.

Like it, or not, it looks like the only way this election will end up with an R as president is tapping into the anger/frustration the average joe has for government today because of open borders, skyrocketing inflation, and everything else the left's policies are doing. As it stands, Trump has convinced more that he is the person to fight this fight.

Another fact is, I can point to a number of behaviors, actions, etc that i wholly disagree with and even despise. When I look at my life, my finances, our country, etc before the pandemic as a whole; however, the country was heading in a much better direction. Perfect, no, but the good far outweighed the bad.

Lumping people who think like I do as a "sycophant/idol worshiping trumper" doesn't further DeSantis' case. I would be thrilled to vote for Ron in the general, but damn sure know I will be voting for whoever of the (3) make it to the nomination because the alternative is absolutely accelerating the country into the abyss.

ETA: DeSantis should have spent the last couple years looking at how an unknown individual from Chicago built his campaign into the juggernaut it became.

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Actually that's exactly what he did, lots of stories to that effect early in the campaign. It just didn't work for a variety of reasons. DeSantis was all about ground game just as Obama was. The biggest difference was Obama got tons of favorable press coverage, especially from liberals. DeSantis was treated worse by "Conservative" media than by the Left.

aggie93 said:

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FireAg said:

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Rarely do they change "that" much…

The gap was wide from the moment he announced, and it only widened…

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K. Really don't think we need to relive this but the list of people who were leading primaries in the Summer before the voting occurred that faded into obscurity is very long. It ended up turning out in a more predictable way and that's fine but acting as though that was always the only way it could go is an eye roll for me. I was also consistent in saying things had to shift or change and there seemed a disconnect between the ground and the polls. As it turns out the polls were fairly accurate and didn't end up shifting much. It was certainly one of the scenarios if not the likely one. Doesn't mean that it couldn't have gone another way.

Either way we are setting up for a new level of nastiness in the November election to come and it is going to be all Pro Trump vs Anti Trump. That's what we have chosen. It won't be about issues, it's going to be about Trump. Yay.

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not a lot of substance else he would be a contender...

Tea Party said:

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DeSantis should do whatever it takes to stay a prominent leader of the GOP and avoid doing anything that would hinder his chances in the future of being said leader.

We need a lot more DeSantis types and hopefully he can be the bold leader that the squishy GOP leaders start to learn from.

Trump tearing DeSantis down is not helping that.

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Is DeSantis able to run for any other office when he's term is up, or will he have to wait a couple of years until there's an opening.

Quote:

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Actually that's exactly what he did, lots of stories to that effect early in the campaign. It just didn't work for a variety of reasons. DeSantis was all about ground game just as Obama was. The biggest difference was Obama got tons of favorable press coverage, especially from liberals. DeSantis was treated worse by "Conservative" media than by the Left.

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Assuming things go the way they are trending, I hope he uses the next four years to correct those "reasons." He has to find a way to resonate and energize voters. I don't think his political career has gone as far as it could/should go, but if he loses he has enough evidence and time to find and fix things.

Spot on…100% agree…

Also spot on…

🚨 BREAKING: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Planning Exit from 2024 Campaign

-BLOOMBERG

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 21, 2024

He's out.

Thaddeus Beauregard said:

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texagbeliever said:

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Trump people would love for conversation to be Trump vs Biden. But one group of people have to keep bringing up DeSantis as if he is actually relevant to the discussion. If you let people, they will stop talking about DeSantis and just focus on the most important thing in 2024, beating the democrats. inb4 BigRob says Trump is a democrat.

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So….taking notes here… during the R primary period, where Trump isn't unopposed and hasn't yet become the R candidate for the general, in a political discussion, in the politics forum…people who support Trump's primary opponent and believe the opponent to be a superior option, should not discuss the opponent in a political discussion about the primary process…and certainly not in a thread where the opponent is named in the thread title… because the opponent isn't Trump?

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If your candidate doesn't make it to NH, he wasn't really a challenger...

Shocking…except it's not…

I think many of us acknowledged the DeSantis campaign had been in trouble from early on. I really wanted this to be between Trump and DeSantis.

Haley is very likely receiving mad money from large, Democrat donors. Unfortunately, the establishment politicians and deep state are hard at work against us. Trump will continue to be smeared and besmirched throught this sham DoJ process. They have picked their stooge (Haley) and she would be a compliant, puppet replacement for Biden.

On the upside, DeSantis can still do great things for Florida, if not picked for VP...which could be a very strong possibility for either Trump or Haley. If the Dems impeach Trump again, they would get a President DeSantis. If he VPs for Haley, it would take some of the sting out of Trump losing in the primaries. I don't know how or if a VP DeSantis could do anything about the leftist march that would continue under Haley.

Just thinking out loud.

Can someone just say the obvious? It was a bad campaign because he's a bad leader who made bad decisions.

Quote:

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I hope he uses the next four years to correct those "reasons." He has to find a way to resonate and energize voters.

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Try as he may, he can't make voters care about actual policy/issues. People clearly don't want that. Not anymore. Politics has now boiled down to mudslinging/cult of personality. This is a country that has made gazillionaires out of Cardi B and the Kardashians for God's sake

texagbeliever said:

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Thaddeus Beauregard said:

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texagbeliever said:

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Trump people would love for conversation to be Trump vs Biden. But one group of people have to keep bringing up DeSantis as if he is actually relevant to the discussion. If you let people, they will stop talking about DeSantis and just focus on the most important thing in 2024, beating the democrats. inb4 BigRob says Trump is a democrat.

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So….taking notes here… during the R primary period, where Trump isn't unopposed and hasn't yet become the R candidate for the general, in a political discussion, in the politics forum…people who support Trump's primary opponent and believe the opponent to be a superior option, should not discuss the opponent in a political discussion about the primary process…and certainly not in a thread where the opponent is named in the thread title… because the opponent isn't Trump?

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If your candidate doesn't make it to NH, he wasn't really a challenger...

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I don't know what you think you're "proving" to me. I was very aware that Trump was likely to be the R nominee and have been for months. However, I always vote for the most conservative choice of the options I have, for as long as I have it. I don't give a **** what polls say or how someone runs their campaign. My choice isn't influenced by polls, it's influenced by philosophy, policy, and actions. All I care about is policy and results and doing my part to at least not get a dem in office. I simply believed and still believe that Trump wasn't the best option during this election cycle. I thought your comment was very condescending, as if those of us who disagree with your favored candidate had no right to talk about ours because somehow we were an albatross for not falling in line with polls and caucus results.

Well, now Desantis dropped out, so I will do what I always do and always planned to do regardless - vote against the democrats. I believe Trump is a severely flawed candidate on multiple fronts, but will begrudgingly vote for him because the alternative is far worse. I believe it is very foolish for the electorate to favor a 78 year old in demonstrable mental decline who can only serve 1 remaining term, but that's the choice I have to vote for to oppose Biden.

Congratulations?

Expand on how he was a bad leader and his bad decisions. Your response will be interesting.

shiftyandquick said:

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Can someone just say the obvious? It was a bad campaign because he's a bad leader who made bad decisions.

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Who are good leaders in your opinion?

Thaddeus Beauregard said:

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texagbeliever said:

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Thaddeus Beauregard said:

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texagbeliever said:

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Trump people would love for conversation to be Trump vs Biden. But one group of people have to keep bringing up DeSantis as if he is actually relevant to the discussion. If you let people, they will stop talking about DeSantis and just focus on the most important thing in 2024, beating the democrats. inb4 BigRob says Trump is a democrat.

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So….taking notes here… during the R primary period, where Trump isn't unopposed and hasn't yet become the R candidate for the general, in a political discussion, in the politics forum…people who support Trump's primary opponent and believe the opponent to be a superior option, should not discuss the opponent in a political discussion about the primary process…and certainly not in a thread where the opponent is named in the thread title… because the opponent isn't Trump?

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If your candidate doesn't make it to NH, he wasn't really a challenger...

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I don't know what you think you're "proving" to me. I was very aware that Trump was likely to be the R nominee and have been for months. However, I always vote for the most conservative choice of the options I have, for as long as I have it. I don't give a **** what polls say or how someone runs their campaign. My choice isn't influenced by polls, it's influenced by philosophy, policy, and actions. All I care about is policy and results and doing my part to at least not get a dem in office. I simply believed and still believe that Trump wasn't the best option during this election cycle. I thought your comment was very condescending, as if those of us who disagree with your favored candidate had no right to talk about ours because somehow we were an albatross for not falling in line with polls and caucus results.

Well, now Desantis dropped out, so I will do what I always do and always planned to do regardless - vote against the democrats. I believe Trump is a severely flawed candidate on multiple fronts, but will begrudgingly vote for him because the alternative is far worse. I believe it is very foolish for the electorate to favor a 78 year old in demonstrable mental decline who can only serve 1 remaining term, but that's the choice I have to vote for to oppose Biden.

Congratulations?

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It would have been, in my opinion, far more effective to influence the policy of Trump on F16, for whatever that is worth, to have stuck to policy critiques. Even then being very mindful that changing Trump into DeSantis isn't possible. The goal is to move it to the right not totally change opinions.

Say things like Trump did it in this way. Which is similar to how DeSantis did it this way. I hope Trump moves to do it more like DeSantis did it because of X,Y,Z. That is so much more effective in persuasion then "These stupid Trumpkins are going to elect this big liberal when we have the once in a life time white knight in DeSantis to save us".

End of the day most people don't think Trump's policy is perfect. They weigh the good and the bad and the scale is clearly tilted to the good. Now DeSantis' is more tilted toward good, but he lacked the ability to win over people sufficiently. Not surprising as Trump has many incumbent advantages.