DeSantis vs Newsome

Interesting that in the Apple Newsfeed this morning the only mention of the DeSantis v Newsome debate was a report from a publication called Cal Matters. Gee, I wonder if they’re at all biased.  Naturally, they stated early on that Newsome predicted it would be a “two-on-one pile on ……teaming up to make their liberal foe look bad” and “in the end he wasn’t wrong.”  They accused Hannity of framing the questions by highlighting what he believed was wrong with California. Really. So topics like failing public schools, out-of-control crime, a population exodus, homelessness, and unchecked immigration with their sanctuary state policies should have been ignored?  These are policies that Newsome wants to export to the rest of the country, topics that concern the American voter and should form the backbone of any presidential campaign. Perhaps the only topics Newsome wanted to cover were related to LGBTQ rights, abortion, and climate change, hoping to receive the typical softball questions that the leftist media lobs at their favored candidates. And deny it all you want, Newsome is setting himself up as the heir apparent. Maybe to come off the bench if necessary in this election cycle but surely as the democratic nominee in 2028. And isn’t it ironic that the liberal media accuses Hannity of bias for asking the tough questions and engaging in partisanship after the Republicans have repeatedly been subjected to mainstream media-sponsored debates that have seen the liberal moderators actually participate in the attack on conservative candidates? The debate was framed as a battle between the policies of a conservative versus a progressive state governor and that’s precisely what we got. DeSantis was well prepared and appeared to have been underestimated by Newsome, who resorted to denying statistics, spinning the data, dodging the questions, and outright lying. He appeared shallow and lacking substance, yet another shill for Biden’s progressive policies. And like it or not, this is the first debate we have seen in the last two two election cycles that has actually pitted conservative against progressive policy. The Republican debates this year have been nothing more than a sideshow with the main event, Mr. Trump, refusing to participate. We have been left with the remaining field bickering over degrees of separation on policies with which there is some consensus. The leftist media sits back and feasts on the carnage that has been reduced to the obvious personal animus between Haley and Ramaswamy, the vitriol spewed against Trump from the windbag Christie, and a preposterous speculation about whether DeSantis is wearing lifts in his cowboy boots. Irrelevant noise, all of it. What we actually saw last night was the only opportunity the American public is going to get to see a debate between potential presidential candidates, DeSantis running in this cycle and Newsome queuing up for the next. But most importantly we are seeing two candidates who are not cognitively impaired and should be able to articulate their positions. If you think the Democrats intend to roll out Joe Biden for an hour of gaffs, smirks, guffaws, and cringe-worthy malprops against any conservative nominee, you’ve got another thing coming. It’s not worth the risk. Trump will eat him alive. On the contrary, they will sequester Biden in his basement once again and rely on yet another wave of Trump derangement syndrome, media compliance, perhaps a pandemic scare, a deluge of unverified mail-in ballots and unsecured drop boxes. And why not, it worked last time. Face it, DeSantis took all the risk last night and emerged the clear winner. Yes, it was contentious and at times unruly, but finally in the light of day failed liberal policies were laid bare for all to see. Kudos to Hannity for hosting the event and arriving prepared. Congratulations to DeSantis for representing conservative values and comporting himself well. He was on top of his game, feisty, and combative but backed up with facts, figures, and most importantly: results. Newsome was……well, Newsome. Hollywood on display, full of swagger, cockiness, and camera ready with a hint of swarmy. He appeared on his heels for much of the night, overwhelmed by facts and figures, and mostly in denial. Not a good look. He has plenty of time to recover before 2028 but he did no good service to his party in this presidential election cycle.