Does Anything Matter?

Two thoughts on the Republican primary.

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422
Governor Ron DeSantis on the campus of New College of Florida in Sarasota, Florida on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Photo by Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

We begin today with the pessimist’s credo: It’s never the wrong time to despair.

That includes a Friday before everyone’s favorite springtime holiday weekend.

In that spirit, forgive me for posing an unwelcome question. Does anything matter?

Not with respect to life or existence, I mean—although, being irreligious, perhaps I’ll write that column someday. I mean with respect to the presidential primary.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Chris Lynch

    "Does anything matter?"
    A few random observations:
    * Character matters--this flirtation with the "only the border matters" or "only the budget matters" kind of thinking has to end. We can judge a man by his friends and associates, and we should. In 2015, I was entertained and gratified by a Republican who could not be shamed by the hypocritical press and activists. Not any more.
    * National security matters, and it depends on international cooperation with our allies.
    * Seriousness matters--it was perfectly reasonable for people to say in 2015/16: "Trump? Are you kidding? He acts like a clown." He will say anything to please an audience.
    Some day the Trump lovers will see that he is a net detriment to America. For now, we have to keep pushing the values above (among others), and pointing out the ways we are now worse off because of him.

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    JDW

    Look, the Democrats are very bad on the political scale of badness. When you get worse than them you get into the area where outright insurrection, a lunatic is president, unprecedented levels of corruption is the norm. Bad political views are bad but we have to look at the bad views on the other side. Taking away parental rights when it comes to their children's transgenderism is pretty scary too. I for one want neither of the parties completely in power. When you have two bad choices you pit them against each other. But let's not make DeSantis out to being more than a bad Democrat. At least not yet. I'm open to changing my mind on DeSantis but he is obviously playing politics. Trump really believes it all.

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    Brandabar

    Already pulling back from one cheer? Really? That analysis felt honest and spot on. This? I really hope this isn't a Dispatch branding issue...

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    SandyG

    To Randall Briggs - Substack won't let me comment on your response to my question about state legislatures vs the people selecting US Senators. Thanks for your reasons to repeal the 17th Amendment. That's the first I've seen of this argument.

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    1. Randall Briggs

      Thanks for your response, SandyG.

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    Ben Connelly

    “ And maybe David French has been too optimistic. A two-man race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in which both candidates enjoy enthusiastic rather than grudging support seems like it already means the end of conservatism as we’ve known it.”

    That strikes me as very overwrought. Dan McLaughlin wrote a good response to this argument:

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/05/no-ron-desantis-wont-destroy-conservatism/

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    1. Randall Briggs

      I find McLaughlin extremely unconvincing there. He's just setting up straw men and knocking them down. Nobody is demanding that Ron DeSantis be perfect; we all know that no one meets that standard. McLaughlin quotes DeSantis quoting Madison to make the point that a just government is one that "impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own.” Does DeSantis follow his own prescription? Not when it comes to Disney he doesn't. Disney came down on the "wrong" side of a controversial piece of legislation, so, in DeSantis' world, Disney forfeited its right to expect that its property would be secured. McLaughlin argues against something David French did not write. David wrote that "the protection of liberty is an indispensable aspect of American government." McLaughlin responds as if David were trying to describe the be-all and end-all of conservatism, "true enough, but it is also too narrow in neglecting the importance of order, property, and virtue to conservative thinking." I guess he thinks he's scoring points there, but he's missing the mark.

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        Ben Connelly

        That’s fair. I generally tend to agree with David more often than Dan, but still I felt that David was being hyperbolic here. I’m not a big fan of DeSantis but he’s much better than Trump.

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          JDW

          He is most certainly better than Trump even if his nationalist populist policies are not a put on which I'm not yet convinced they are not.

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            Ben Connelly

            I agree. I’m open to voting for him, but I’m not sold on it yet. I could see myself voting for him in the primary to stop Trump and voting LP or write in for the general.

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    2. AJLiberty

      I probably agree that DeSantis is far from the end to conservatism. I guess this apocryphal hyperbole is just signs of frustration by David. Trump is uniquely awful and that 50% of the "base" chooses not to see it and play the latest round of partisan what-a-bout is much more concerning to me as to the state of conservatism. A lot of people have dumped the importance of character, discipline, diligence, and competence. The most important battle for them, it seems, is who can be as dramatic and "entertaining" as possible. This portends a nominee Carlson down the road.

      Now, in defense of David, I think he would point at DeSantis as being a weird caricature of conservatism....extreme, nasty, while weaponizing government. Whereas maybe not representing the end of conservatism, definitely a dramatic transformation into quasi-authoritarianism. French probably fears that with Trump's populism and DeSantis' otherism, there's not much room for conventional conservatism. It will sit dormant in the back of some museum, atrophying and withering away. The urgency of society too impatient for its time-tested principles.

      McLaughlin argues that no Republican has been perfect, but he doesn't contemplate how far afield a party must go before it becomes irrelevant and dies. I think this is a genuine concern for our modern GOP. Populism and authoritarianism may mean more losses, a rift, and something new replacing it. This could be an awful transformation and for what? Trump?

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        Ben Connelly

        I basically agree with that.

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  6. Bloodredinabluestate

    I write this as a two time Never Trumper, but what exactly do people like David French find so threatening about Ron DeSantis? Calling RDS a threat to conservatism as we know it belies everything French ever said about Trump--a twice impeached, coup- enabling, Big Lie- telling, bottom-dwelling moron. RDS might be the only thing standing between Trump and second term and to call RDS a unique threat demonstrates an amazing lack of perspective and common sense.

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    1. Randall Briggs

      What they find threatening is that Ron DeSantis DOESN'T say any of those things about Trump, and goes out of his way to make primary voters believe that he doesn't even think ill of Trump, other than to question his ability to win the general election. So, in electing him, we would defeat Trump only to put a would-be Trump into office. Unless DeSantis really agrees with the Trump critics, in which case he is a bald-faced liar.

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      1. Bloodredinabluestate

        It make take several incremental steps to distance ourselves from Trump, but at the very least we have to recognize that the first step is to get rid of him. And comparing a man who was impeached twice and attempted a coup, subverted the Constitution and has the morals of an alley cat to a successful governor and veteran just lacks seriousness. Either Trump is a unique threat or he's not. If we are now saying that DeSantis is just as bad, well that just dilutes Trump's badness and gives license to people to reelect the original rather than the facsimile.
        This is what the Left does--every Republican is an equal threat to democracy--from the thoroughly honorable Mitt Romney to the thoroughly odious Donald Trump. If our side can't discern that DeSantis is light years preferable to Trump then we are not serious about getting rid of Trump.

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        1. Randall Briggs

          It would be nice to see DeSantis make the same criticisms of Trump that his supporters on this comments thread make. DeSantis won't even call Trump a liar. He hasn't criticized Trump for the Jan 6 coup attempt. The most DeSantis will say is that Trump is old and has become a media target so he's unelectable.

          If DeSantis is going to knock Trump off his throne, he's going to have to knock him off the throne, not play nice and hope that Trump dies or goes away on his own. How can people be expected to support a guy who won't even call a threat to the republic a threat to the republic?

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            Chris Lynch

            I have stopped disqualifying politicians for being cowards. It's the only way I get to vote. :P

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      Ben Connelly

      Yeah I agree

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  7. Avatar photo
    Soniak21

    I think *policy* is DeSantis's *only* real selling point, so he has no choice but to double down on it.

    I wrote that sentence and laughed ruefully. Imagine living in a time when "policy"—in the context of a presidential election—is seen as a feeble last-ditch gambit to attract votes when you just can't compete on cultish magnetism. I can't emphasize enough how sad I think that is.

    Nevertheless, I'm sticking with that thought. DeSantis *has* to continue playing the policy wonk—even if it seems no one wants that in a GOP primary—because it's his *only* feasible path. If ALL they want is Lib-owning and grievance-mongering, Trump wins no matter what. DeSantis can't win that battle and probably knows enough not to try.

    His best (and probably only) message to the base is that he too understands their grievances but, unlike Trump, grasps policy well enough to codify their wish list into law—and isn't that how the Libs will TRULY be owned? So he'll ride that horse until he can't anymore. If there's no market for that angle, he's sunk anyway.

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    1. AJLiberty

      "If there's no market for that angle, he's sunk anyway."

      It's chilling to think that the GOP base actually WANTS Trump's baggage. Right? Even with an alternative who in a Machiavellian way might prosecute the cultural grievances more effectively, the base seems to need Trump's idiosyncratic personality and all the drama that it entails.

      Our only hope is that maybe it's early. Few non-political junkees are paying fervent attention yet. Maybe we're just seeing a weird tribalist circling of the wagons that will dissipate once the awfulness of Trump is back on full display.

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      Pat Riot

      If it's his only selling point, then it's a loser, politically since he's chain to his abortion ban now.

      Republican policies are all really, really unpopular, which is why Trump avoids them...

      DeSantis only makes sense as somebody currently running for vice-president...

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        Soniak21

        You're not wrong (about the first part): Policy-wonking isn't a good bet with this electorate. Still, let's not forget the X-factor: It's entirely possible that age or criminality could take Trump out of the race. With that in mind, it makes a bit more sense for DeSantis to keep playing to his strengths in case an opportunity should... open up.

        But I have to totally disagree that DeSantis could ever be Trump's VP pick. Because there's too much animosity between them? Not really. They wouldn't be the first ticket pairing who didn't like each other. No, it's about Trump in particular: He won't pick anyone but a loyal sycophant. DeSantis has already failed the loyalty test by challenging Trump for the nomination—and Trump is already calling him disloyal, the ultimate deal-breaker.

        Plus, Trump would feel too threatened to share his ticket (and potential administration) with DeSantis—because DeSantis has his own independent base of supporters. They might not be enough to win the nomination, but they're out there in fairly big numbers. With his ego and insecurities, Trump can't deal with that. He'll need a VP who's an extension of him, dependent on his base.

        So I just don't think that's even on the table, or that DeSantis thinks it is.

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          Pat Riot

          Age will only be a factor if Trump physically dies. As for criminality, recent history has shown that criminality helps Trump with the GOP voting base.

          As for DeSantis not being Trump's pick, I agree with your premises here, but keep people like Steven Bannon in mind in terms of people who have been disloyal to Trump in the past. Trump is absolutely transactional and if he thinks DeSantis will help him win the presidency (and therefore freedom) more than other picks, he will choose him. The past will mean nothing. Trump will absolutely not think ahead to the next election.

          And for what it's worth, we forget that DeSantis got to where he is by being an almost nauseating sycophant for Trump, using even his own children to swear loyalty to him on TV commercials.

          Again, I agree that DeSantis probably isn't the front-runner for VP (Kari Lake, Tucker Carlson, Trump Jr. are all way ahead in those sweepstakes for me), but I wouldn't count Ron out...

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            Soniak21

            Oh, I'm not saying Trump's base will ever reject him over age or criminality. They won't. But both of those things could still make him a genuinely nonviable candidate. And by "age," I really mean "health." At Trump's age, there are any number of conditions that could simply make him unfit to campaign. Unless we die suddenly, we'll all eventually reach that point—whether it's at 76 or 90. Will it happen to Trump in the next year or so? Impossible to know, but it's part of the equation. In simplest terms: If Trump is lying in a nursing home bed (or the luxurious home-care equivalent) he will not be running for president.

            Similarly, he won't be running for president if he's in prison—or at least, not as a serious candidate. YES, there are maniacs who'd walk over broken glass to vote for an incarcerated Trump... but I do think that's where everyone but the hardcore cultists would abandon ship. No normie voter would pull the lever for Jailbird Trump, and he can't win a general election without a decent share of normies.

            And if he's convicted on serious criminal charges but doesn't actually go to prison? That (sadly) is a tough one, but I still think he'd lose the critical mass of voters that he needs to be a viable candidate. A consensus would emerge that Trump simply can't win the presidency, so Rs had better rally around someone else. Deranged as so many of them are, most Republicans don't actually want to lose.

            Trump's fans often invest him with godlike powers, as if mundane things like illness or prosecution could never bring him down... and I think sometimes his opponents drink a little of that same Kool-Aid. But these are realistic scenarios.

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  8. Andrew M

    Is is possible that, rather than all the less well-known candidates sabotaging themselves so that Trump runs away with the nomination with 30% plurality wins, Trump and DeSantis split the populist vote, a more palatable candidate Scott to get the nomination?

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  9. AJLiberty

    "Does anything matter? ... [B]eing irreligious, perhaps I’ll write that column someday."

    The challenge to love your neighbor is a remarkably nonsectarian call. There is a lot of meaning attained by just going out and helping others and being positive. Does it have to be because God commands it or can it be because it simply provides self satisfaction and makes communities stronger? Do you need to believe in the supernatural to adopt an ethic of being neighborly in all that you do?

    Certainly politics intrudes as to "what is best" and, in our current time, seems to breed an attitude of only loving neighbors in one's tribe. Our politics breeds cynicism which can lead to despair and a sense of futility. So, it's probably wise to not invest everything in political nonsense. Right now it provides very little that is substantive and a lot that is just ugly hatred and irrational fear. Our politics is starving for inspiration, leadership, and common purpose. Trump feeds our worst selves and DeSantis is just upping the ante. Biden doesn't have the energy or wisdom to inspire.

    Who we choose as leader does matter. It's a reflection of who we are and what to emulate. It sets our national tone and is our face to the world. Now, one could question obsessing about it. There's only so much we can do individually or even collectively. Persuasion runs up against confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance....and just blind tribal loyalty. I think, say your peace, defend your point, and then move on to more productive human interaction. Hopefully the coming months will give us more hope!

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  10. Jack H Wolf

    Although much effort was expended in showing how DeSantis is no Obama, what is obvious is that the candidate closest to Obama is Scott, down to skin color, but more importantly being optimistic and more of the endangered compassionate conservative species, than the burn it all down species.
    Granted the populist lane is probably the strongest lane in today's party, but Trump owns that lane, and DeSantis descent in the polls is about him alienating all the people in the non populist lane by opting to be Trump Lite and appeal to grievance rather than hope.

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    1. AJLiberty

      Still Scott's resume is a bit thin. No excutive experience. He owns a business but I wouldn't claim that it's significant CEO experience. He's not served on major foreign policy or budget committees. He's not authored much legislation or assembled bipartisan groups trying to solve problems. He's not run an agency; he's not served in the military (though he has family who has). His key selling points are his demeanor and life story. Hey, against Trump, that's enough for me, but let's not pretend that his resume screams President. I want someone optimistic who might change the tone in DC. Right now that's Scott.

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        Ronnie B

        “ Still Scott's resume is a bit thin. No excutive experience... He's not served on major foreign policy or budget committees. He's not authored much legislation or assembled bipartisan groups trying to solve problems. He's not run an agency; he's not served in the military (though he has family who has). His key selling points are his demeanor and life story.”

        That was all good enough to get Obama elected president 😉

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        1. AJLiberty

          Yeah, didn't vote for him (Obama) with experience being among the reasons.

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            Ronnie B

            Me neither, and I hated the cult following he had. How naive I was, I didn’t know what a true cult following really was until I saw the idiot cult that worships a sociopath conman from New York.

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      2. Jack H Wolf

        Scott had a fairly traditional rise- Charleston city council, SC state legislature, US HOR, now on his second term in the Senate. Similar to Obama in a lot of ways.
        He first took office in 1995 compared to DeSantis in 2012, so the latter is more of the upstart, though in either case two terms of Governor or Senator is hardly being inexperienced, and DeSantis had military service, but either way it is going against Trump who never held office prior to 2017 but beat out a dozen or two experienced pols.

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        1. AJLiberty

          If your running for Executive, you should have some executive experience. Saying that Obama and Trump had little to none does not inspire me. Neither was my ideal. Yes, beggars can't be choosers, but I'd always like a normal governor. Haley is letting me down.

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