The battle for GOP nominee in 2024 may not be between Trump and DeSantis after all…
…it may be between DeSantis and Youngkin.
I know it’s way early to even talk about it. And I also know that Trump may end up dominating again. But it’s a pleasant prospect to contemplate – in the middle of winter, 2022 – the fact that two personable, smart, constructively combative, youngish GOP governors have emerged lately. And by “youngish” I mean that, by the standards of today, Youngkin at fifty-five and especially DeSantis at forty-three are bordering on the fetal.
Youngkin was supposed to be the sort of country club Republican (Harvard MBA, mega-wealthy co-CEO of private equity firm) voters on the right have gotten used to electing but barely tolerating. Unlike DeSantis, Youngkin had no political experience prior to becoming governor. Yes, it was great that he defeated McAuliffe of Virginia. But would he follow through? So far the answer is a resounding “yes.” This could change, of course. But it’s certainly encouraging.
Youngkin had promised to end the mask mandate and to stop CRT in schools, and he almost immediately did both. But then he did something more creative:
Youngkin is also taking on one of the left’s sacred cows — the woke establishment — and doing so in a way that is incredibly satisfying.
The governor has renamed the state’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer the Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion Officer. Further, he appointed a conservative to the spot and also listed one of the job requirements as being an “ambassador for unborn children.”
The thing that seems unusual about that isn’t so much the policy changes as the language changes. It’s the left that has so very successfully employed naming and renaming as a political act to change hearts and minds: “Black Lives Matter,” “undocumented immigrants,” “unhoused,” and of course “equity.” So:
Democrats are not used to being fought on their own ground. By and large, the left has come to expect that while they may be opposed, the guardrails they’ve set up will be respected. That’s why a change like this makes them so upset, and to be sure, the wailing in response has been deafening. You aren’t supposed to actually retake territory when you fight the left. You are, instead, supposed to kowtow to their institutions and work around the edges.
It’s early yet, but Glenn Youngkin seems to have learned some process lessons from the left.
[NOTE: I’m not sure where to put this little fact, so I’m placing it here: Youngkin is 6’7″.]
Even though Youngkin is more than 10 years older, I think he needs more of a track record as governor before running for higher office. Assuming DeSantis is reelected, he’ll have 4+ years as governor if he were to begin his campaign in 2023 versus 1+ for Youngkin. Yes, Trump had no track record in elected office, but he was a well-known public figure for decades, and even in his case there were a lot of doubts about his conservative bona fides.
I like Mike Pompeo also. Good choices instead of Trump!
‘some process lessons from the left’
Maybe, only time will tell. He needs to stick to this and push back against the teachers union and the Covid Cult hard because they aren’t going to give up especially in No. Virginia.
DeSantis has been doing this for a couple of years now so he has the edge for me.
I think part of the GOP resentment with Trump is he is a usurper. DeSantis is an actual Republican. I prefer Trump on sidelines throwing verbal grenades.
So right now, for me it is hopefully DeSantis-Zappardino.
Fairfax County Virginia suspending students that don’t wear a mask. This is the type of stuff Youngkin MUST fight back hard against if he is to be considered a candidate for national office.
https://twitter.com/AsraNomani/status/1484633817029750800
How ’bout Aaron Rodgers? I kid, but this interview is amazing the sports media (which is crazy woke Covidians) are going to go crazy.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33088151/the-unfiltered-year-aaron-rodgers
Go Pack!
The key for me as far as 2024 is I want someone who won’t back down but will do it on principle not because of some personal ego thing. That is where DeSantis has been so great he has not given an inch and he has not let the left define him without fighting back, hard.
That is also why Ted Cruz’s thing a couple weeks ago was very disappointing to me. Whatever he was really trying to say what it sounded like was him ceded ground to the left and using their language to do it.
Things are going to change rapidly.
Omicron will provide immunity to so many that herd immunity will be achieved. The UK is dropping everything, Red states here already have, and the whole Covid era will be a memory by Spring.
Putin will probably take a big chunk of Ukraine and tell the world to get used to it. Old Europe doesn’t care. It worked for Crimea.
What will continue to get worse is Wokeness. There is no way out for the Woke but to try to maximize power, but the reaction is setting in. Bari Weiss times ten thousand. Polarization will get worse.
Trump will have his social media operation, run by Nunes, up and influencing his base.
The border problem will get worse. Inflation will continue, and blatant crime in Blue enclaves will stay bad.
The GOP will take huge majorities on both Houses. Democrat turnout will be the worst in history.
Then the real battle with the Swamp will take place. IMO the GOP will have no alternative but to defund dramatically. The Swamp will fight back.
I think DeSantis will take a strong lead.
On a slightly different topic, finding Alex Kaschuta got me into a level of thought that I had not experienced for a long time. Here is a young person who lived through it all and moved to positions and a lifestyle that I find logical and wholesome. She has huge viewership on many of her Youtube interviews.
I just read Yarvin’s update on the cathedral and can recommend it to those who post here: https://graymirror.substack.com/p/a-brief-explanation-of-the-cathedral
As he says: “The cathedral” is just a short way to say “journalism plus academia”—in other words, the intellectual institutions at the center of modern society
I too worry that Youngkin, despite being older, lacks the track record in office that he’ll need–not only to prove that he can govern effectively, but to prove he knows how to set up a staff and organization strong enough to withstand the relentless onslaught of an establishment hellbent on undermining him. It was Trump’s worst failure, not having a deep enough bench to man all the positions that needed to be defended against a Deep State army that was burrowed in absolutely everywhere. In the end, despite his riches, he couldn’t even field an army of lawyers. De Santis has the edge in showing this capacity. Still, I hope for a bright future for Youngkin, as well as for his Lt. Gov. and Attorney General.
It was Trump’s worst failure, not having a deep enough bench to man all the positions that needed to be defended against a Deep State army that was burrowed in absolutely everywhere.
Trump made two serious mistakes early on. He chose people that he thought would help govern. One was Tillerson. Stabbed him in the back every time. He could not have done worse with Romney.
Another mistake was to believe long term bureaucrats like Comey were patriotic. They are out for themselves only. He was used to corrupt NYC politicians and building inspectors. That did not prepare him for DC.
No particular preferences here. I want an experienced executive who won’t throw the game, who will fire bureaucratic saboteurs with abandon, and who has a MAGA agenda, not a Chamber-of-Commerce agenda. I’d be delighted if we had a congressional caucus worth a pitcher of warm spit; if we did, McConnell, Thune, and McCarthy would be sent to the back benches forthwith and the congressional committee architecture would be completely revamped. I know, an eschatalogical concept.
Dick Illyes,
I followed a link from this site and watched the Kaschuta – Yarvin interview and appreciated it, but I couldn’t remember who here to think. Looks like it was you, so…
Thanks!
I’ve heard Yarvin speak several times. Very interesting guy (his wife passed away shortly after the Kaschuta interview was recorded). I find a lot of sense in a lot of what he says, but he’s a Monarchist, which I simply cannot get behind. He also seems to tilt a bit zaphody (zaphodesque? zaphodish?) regarding blood, soil and other intrinsic characteristics. Personally, I’m good on the soil stuff, but blood, DNA, skin shade, eye color, religious affiliation… That’s a road best not traveled.
Chases Eagles, I fully agree. I voted twice for Trump, but I don’t want him to run again. Throw “fire bombs” of rhetoric at the Dems from the sideline, disrupting the Dems and taking heat off the nominee. The Dems can’t help themselves when Trump is involved, they would have to respond to him.
I want a candidate who will spend every second of every waking moment working to reduce the size, scope and reach of the Federal government and staying out of my life as much as possible.
My guess is Youngkin and DeSantis can achieve more towards that goal from their current locations, than from Mordor on the Hudson.
Oh, and DeBlasio is 6’5″”, Comey 6’8″.
I LOVE the renaming of the DEI effort as “Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion.”
We’ll see how Youngkin goes. He has a strong AG, and, although I don’t know what Winsome Sears’ responsibilities are other than presiding over the VA Senate, she is a very capable speechmaker who may be a big help in getting the conservative agenda out in public.
Yep, Youngkin is 6’7″, played college basketball, and could probably wipe out Obama on the court.
@Rufus:
“That’s a road best not traveled.”
Well if you don’t want to go down it too far, you have to go all Lee Kuan Yew. There is no way *not* to end up where you really don’t want to go if you insist on quaint things like liberalism, free speech, governments subservient to black robes rather than vice-versa. It’s already too late for the USA to avoid some kind of authoritarianism — too many competing ethnicities who are *not* going to magically unite as one. It’s merely a question of Who is to Rule? Inside Mail: That’s always the Question. Everything else is window dressing.
You’ve been there and got the t-shirt. The second-best future in the second-best of all possible worlds is a little Dan Ryan’s train running around on suspended rails above the bar forever. On Time. Over that, I’d take Monarchy for a bit more spice and volatility.
Firefly
Yarvin is entertainment with some interesting thought provoking commentary.
His positions have moved during his public life. I don’t promote him as having the best answers, but as someone I have read on and off for years.
Rufus T. Firefly:
Michael Crichton 6’9″, Douglas Adams 6’5″,
Of historical interest: Peter the Great was 6’8″, Abraham Lincoln was 6’4″ but he often wore that tall hat, Washington and Jefferson were 6’2″ as was Henry the VIII (at least, or maybe 6’4″), and De Gaulle was 6’5″.
Nobody draws fire like Trump. I hope he gives signals that he’s running to wrong foot the MSM, only to cede the field to others. It would be the patriotic thing to do, and he could still hold rallies, etc., and continue drawing fire.
My basketball fanatic husband prompts me to say that there’s no “probably” about Youngkin’s wiping out Obama on the court.
@Kate:
“Yep, Youngkin is 6’7?, played college basketball, and could probably wipe out Obama on the court.”
Meanwhile in the arena of politics, Obama (with a little help from his Friends) could probably spike Youngkin’s drink and have his way with him.
But… Too Early to Say. He’s only just beginning to be a target now. Yet to be really tested.
Rufus T Firefly:
Wickedmedia’s entry on Yarvin hints that he has some Z affinities, e.g. pro-authoritarian, post constitutional. A Silicon Valley guy with grand ideas.
What’s not to like? Depends how much coin you have to seperate you and yours from his “good” ideas. Not that Silicon Valley isn’t trustworthy. (sarc)
But it was wickedmedia so the description of Yarvin may (!) be slanted; not their flavor of tyrany.
The thing about Yarvin is that he provides broad historical context and stimulates big picture thinking. This right here is a blog which examines one tree at a time. Sometimes just the bark on the tree in question. Yarvin writes about forests and forestry. Both approaches are necessary.
Not every habitual devotee of botany or plant pathology is likely to even be *able* to grok why Forestry makes for an interesting topic. And the reverse too.
Z and “grok” how quaint, hearkening back to the old timey days of RAH and other fictions. Don’t get spun up.
If Trump runs, he’ll get the nomination. If not, who he supports is likely to be the nominee.
Zaphod:
There are close to 17,000 posts on this blog. Many of them are “big-picture” posts. I doubt you’ve read more than a tiny fraction of the posts here.
As a native Floridian I do not want Ron DeSantis to run for President. I want him to remain Governor and fight the tide of leftistpinkoasshatprogressiveliberalism that is washing against our shore. Let blue states remain the crime infested, feces covered shitholes but leave my state alone.
@om:
Have you checked the alignment of your Spindizzies lately?
I want a candidate who will spend every second of every waking moment working to reduce the size, scope and reach of the Federal government and staying out of my life as much as possible.
Bully for you. Won’t do the rest of us a damn bit of good.
I hope Youngkin lives up to expectations. I agree that there is hardly time for him to establish himself nationally. On the other hand, the country elected Obama, Clinton—and Trump.
Right now my choices are either DeSantis or Pompeo. Admittedly, DeSantis is controversial in some quarters; but, he is a fighter. Pompeo is simply solid and very smart.
I just wish that someone could get through to Trump (Ivanka maybe) and convince him that a multitude are very glad that he was President, bu that ship has now sailed. The best thing he can do for the country–and his own legacy–is support a worthy successor. I fear that many of his hard core supporters would sit out the election if he conducted a primary battle, and lost; and I think he would at 78. In the latter case, it would be up for grabs.
Art Deco posted in response to:
(“I want a candidate who will spend every second of every waking moment working to reduce the size, scope and reach of the Federal government and staying out of my life as much as possible.”) “Bully for you. Won’t do the rest of us a damn bit of good.”
I disagree Mr Deco, I think it would do all of us a world of good if the Federal government stuck to its Constitutional charter; which ipso facto would reduce its size, scope and reach.
(I don’t know how to format on this site)
DeSantis is peaking too soon.
Youngkin will overplay his hand; WaPo et al showed how powerful they are by keeping Northam in place despite his past atrocities. Youngkin will be no match for the WaPo, the Teachers, the academy, all working in traitorous unison.
Not saying the above is good- I would be delighted to work for either one’s nomination and election and would enthusiastically vote for either one, but that’s how I see it. I hope I’m wrong.
The Senate is a club of 100 future Presidents.
Ted Cruz will run again and step on his richard and fail.
I have my eye on Rand.
}}} [NOTE: I’m not sure where to put this little fact, so I’m placing it here: Youngkin is 6’7?.]
Big Man On Capitol?
Z, are those the things you use to align your grok cap? That headgear that gives such a wide and deep wisdom of the universe?
Be still my heart! DeSantis and Youngkin to contest the Republican nomination? Without Trump there to muddy the water? What a happy thought. Would that it will happen.
I disagree Mr Deco, I think it would do all of us a world of good if the Federal government stuck to its Constitutional charter; which ipso facto would reduce its size, scope and reach.
Fine, you and Firefly can make the case for abolishing Social Security and Medicare.
DeSantis is peaking too soon.
Youngkin will overplay his hand….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1deTKPX1j8c
}}} “Yep, Youngkin is 6’7?, played college basketball, and could probably wipe out Obama on the court.”
TBH, Greg Abbot could probably wipe out Obama on the court, and many people would cheer…
Ramming Speed…!!
😛
I agree with Jimmy that Youngkin needs a bit more time. Also, while we know who he is, I doubt he has name recognition with voters outside of Virginia. Finally, Youngkin won mostly because McAuliffe destroyed himself by attacking parents.
I hope Trump remembers his friend Rush Limbaugh and realizes the power he has an influencer. He really can do more by developing what the Republican agenda should be and rallying voters, then candidates, to support that agenda. Call it Excellence in Government and run it. It would also give him the ultimate victory over the media.
}}} Fine, you and Firefly can make the case for abolishing Social Security and Medicare.
How about just fixing returns where they are at, and just making both systems collections pay back into fixed accounts and policies of the
victim’scitizen’s option, within certain defined limits…?Oh, right, they were Ponzi schemes illegal for anyone NOT a government to run.
**Never Mind**…
Abolish the fuckers for anyone with 20y to retirement. Half the returns and takeaways for anyone with 10y to retirement. And resolve the issues for anyone with less than 10y to retirement.
Pay for it out of actual taxes, like we already, defacto, currently do, thanks to Clinton. :-/
It’s early yet, but Glenn Youngkin seems to have learned some process lessons from the left.
And may he continue applying them. They’re just word games, but the Left has had so far a monopoly on them – all the opposition had were turkeys like WhipInflationNow – and Younkin has clearly learned how to throw progressive phraseology back into their hypersensitive little faces.
Youngkin has hit the ground running, but he has to clean up the rubble that mcauliffe and northam left, so a future candidate in ’28, the problem is the constitutionalist /tea party bloc is often fragmented in a primary, so trump and cruz ended up at the end of the road,
Quick Questions:
1) Who are the 3 most consequential Presidents in your lifetime?
2) How would it benefit the country to involuntarily retire a victorious, battle-hardened general during this “war”?
3) If not now, then When will we develop the patience to focus on a pipeline of “talent” to be developed & deployed over time?
1)well on the constitutionalist side, reagan and trump, obama certainly had impact on the other side, as did Clinton, CRA revisions defense cuts and intelligence cuts,
those brushfires in the balkans, that served as al quedas airforce, restrictions on mineral and fuel extraction, waging war on the police, rigging the courts,
Quick Questions:
4) What are the 3 most consequential Presidential doctrines in your lifetime?
5) How would it benefit the country to involuntarily retire a successful executive that proved there are beneficial alternatives to “conventional wisdom”?
6) If not now, then When will we develop the discipline to value results over narrative?
it’s still early for Youngkin. even if he is did play basketball for Rice (in Houston).
my preference is currently DeSantis, but mostly due to a more extensive track record.
if Trump really wants to help the country, he’ll stay on the sidelines. his running would only provide the Democrats a better chance of winning. i’m also leary of cults of personality.
Art Deco: “Fine, you and Firefly can make the case for abolishing Social Security and Medicare.”
Oh, get serious. I know you love to argue. But, no one is talking about over turning programs that have been in effect for decades. You are very intelligent, and I know that you can think of numerous ways that the Feds over reach as well as any of we pedestrian intellects can.
No one commented on my choice for VP. How disappointing. I guess that joke fell flat. Zapardino, the anti-Harris.
I’d love to see the Republicans get a landslide in House elections this year and elect Trump as Speaker of the House. According to the Constitution the Speaker does not have to be a House member. I don’t know if he can constrain his ego and let Desantis or someone else carry the banner in 2024, but it would be delicious to watch Biden have to deal with Speaker Trump.
Chases Eagles, I didn’t recognize the name at all.
Barron Trump is now 6’7″ – but I’m not sure why any of that is important.
https://nypost.com/2022/01/19/old-photos-show-barron-before-he-towered-over-donald-trump/
Other than the often-validated observation that tall people are preferred for authoritative positions.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/after-service/201909/5-reasons-why-women-and-men-care-about-height
http://www.timothy-judge.com/Height%20paper–JAP%20published.pdf
And basketball teams.
Youngkin’s been at it a week. Jeez, people. What he did on day 1 is what politicians try to do these days: Enter with a big splash. It’s become a part of the Presidential protocol, and now to key, spotlighted Guvs.
That said, I’m hopeful he can, over his term, be consistent toward protecting individual rights, limiting government as much as possible, and removing the disease that is ‘progressivism’ from the schools in Virginia.
But…a lot can happen over the course of four years. Let’s see how he does over that time, not over a week.
How about just fixing returns where they are at, and just making both systems collections pay back into fixed accounts and policies of the victim’s citizen’s option, within certain defined limits…?
Oh, right, they were Ponzi schemes illegal for anyone NOT a government to run.
When you’ve learned the definition of ‘Ponzi scheme’, get back to me.
Agree that Trump is most useful to the Republicans and conservative causes from outside any political office. I, too, voted for him twice and liked the things he accomplished, but he was becoming increasingly ineffective due to broadening opposition from his own party. Too much of what he accomplished was via executive order, most of which was set aside by his successor. Had he been able to get things done the proper way, through the Legislature, the policy accomplishments would have transcended his time in office.
I’m horrible at predictions and so won’t make any. I do like DeSantis and, so far, Youngkin.
Youngkin has yet to prove that he’s a fighter and currently that is an indispensable quality. A real degree of ruthlessness along with the smarts to grasp where the left may be most gutted are also essential qualities needed to right the ship of state.