Jackie Calmes: Ron DeSantis proves that cruetly is a Republican trait and not a Democratic one
Ron DeSantis is a politician who is comfortable with getting in office. It’s not just that he is elected three times, or was a county treasurer. It’s how his first office was. He started out in Congress as a Democrat, serving under Hillary Clinton as minority whip. But, he switched parties to represent Florida in the House.
He moved back to the Democratic side, and served in Florida’s 4th District for eight terms, before retiring and running his campaign into the ground. It was an uphill battle, and he ended up losing by a few percentage points to the Republican opponent who went on to win election.
Now, after losing again, he may find himself back in office, if he runs for governor. He is widely expected to run, but he has said he won’t announce if he runs until he is ready.
But, he is doing plenty now to show his own strength as a Republican candidate who may go on the November ballot for the state.
He is standing up to the Democratic establishment. He has been endorsed by the Club for Growth, which is the most conservative group in the country, but he still faces a primary challenge, from the left.
He’s shown that he is not afraid to say his conservative principles. He voted against Medicare for All. He voted against the RAISE Act that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. He voted against the tax cut that gave away $1 trillion to the top 1%. He voted against the tax cut that added $1 trillion to the deficit. He’s been the only Republican in the US House to vote against the Green New Deal. He has been willing to take on the most liberal members of the party, like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and the head of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez. He is willing to take on members of his own party as well.
He has taken on the Democrats’ “resistance.”
The man is going to run for governor, but he is not running on his record. He is not running on his