I don’t know what’s funnier, that Team DeSantis is now providing discounts for people to meet him, or that Rupert Murdoch is the one telling everybody.

Next up, coupons.

However, I qualify this article sharing by saying the Big Club doesn’t put $250+ million into a political construct and give up this easily.  Until Casey DeSantis publicly renounces her quest for a bigger tiara, Super PAC operators Ken Cuccinelli and Jeff Roe will never concede.  Reference Cindy McCain in Arizona for comparable context.

[NEW YORK POST] – When it comes to campaign fundraisers, Ron DeSantis has been relegated to the “discount section” as his chances of winning the White House continue to fade, sources told On The Money.

The cost to attend the Florida governor’s July 20 fundraiser in the Hamptons has dropped to $3,300 per person — less than three weeks after the Republican hopeful on June 29 charged $6,600 a plate at the Yale Club in Manhattan, according to invitations reviewed by On The Money.

“DeSantis is now in the discount section,” one source close to the campaign told On The Money.

“He seems to have lowered the entry fee to meet him, which is often a sign that he has already milked most of the ‘big money’ from New York.” (read more)

(more…)

The insurance crisis in Florida is hitting the middle-class family, working community and retirees on a fixed income directly.   Hundreds of thosands of residents have lost insurance coverage, and even more have seen policy premiums double.  It is not uncommon to find homeowners who are paying more for insurance than their actual mortgage payment.  Unfortunately, the situation is getting worse.

Farmers Insurance has notified the state they are pulling out of Florida, will not be writing any additional policies in the Sunshine state and when existing policies expire, they will not be renewed.  Home and auto policy rates have already doubled in many areas for many people.

The insurance situation is becoming more unstable by the day, and the future outlook seems even worse amid reports that even more companies are planning to exit.

FLORIDA – Another property insurer is dropping coverage in Florida.

Farmers Insurance will stop writing new business and not renew its existing “Farmers-branded” automobile, home and umbrella policies in the Sunshine State, the company said Tuesday.

Last month, Farmers said it was only pausing new business in Florida. The company is also limiting new home policies in California, where it is based, according to news reports.

“This business decision was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure,” the company said in a statement.

The move will impact 30% of the company’s business in Florida, or roughly 100,000 policies. Policyholders affected by the decision are required to be given 120 days’ notice that their coverage will not be renewed.

(more…)

Making good pancakes is one of the easiest processes; however, you need just the right ingredients.  Consider this recipe next time:

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups whole milk

4 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

(more…)

Against some recent data, there is a potential restructuring that is worthy of discussion. The epic failures of the DeSantis campaign and Never Back Down SuperPAC are well documented.

In essence, everything has backfired because the origin of almost everything was/is built upon a fraudulent premise. From the scheming and conniving going all the way back to the original 2018 campaign, to the proactive recruitment of the exact wrong influencers 18 months prior to the official launch, to the enlistment of the Cruz crew, to the covert national campaign under the faked auspices of a book tour, everything paid for by the Sea Island group has been a hot mess.

Now the clock is ticking faster.  Ken Cuccinelli and Jeff Roe are under pressure.  Javier Manjarres, a solid insider in Florida media, shares today that Pushaw is getting the loyal but firm campaign stiff arm:

The DC chattering class then release an article talking about Youngkin or Kemp as alternatives to DeSantis:

[…] A Republican strategist who keeps in regular contact with several Republican presidential campaigns predicted DeSantis will “retool” his super PAC in the next few weeks.  “They probably got another month to turn this thing around and if they don’t they’re going to have to bring someone and do a major retooling,” the source said. (read more)

They are not waiting a month; the retooling indications are already evident.

(more…)

People are starting to realize why the people who control Ron DeSantis could not launch their 2024 election bid from Florida.

Despite Ron DeSantis being a Florida native and current governor, President Trump is leading him 50% to 30% in state-wide polling.  Regionally and within the demographics of the poll, things look even worse. [Article Here]  Casey will not be happy.

Trump is winning Miami-Dade by 59 points (70% to 11%) and leading by 39 points with Hispanic voters and 26% among Black voters.  The Sea Island recruitment of Miami-Dade Mayor Francisco Suarez is not getting the results originally planned by the DeSantis operation.

“Turning to income levels, Trump leads with all except for those respondents making $200,000 or more a year. With that group, DeSantis leads 39% to 25%.” (read more)

Very wealthy, uppity rude people, and those who take pictures of their lunches to share on Instagram, are the core of the DeSantis coalition. They are also the main donors and represented by the annoying and egotistical influencers that DeSantis manager Christina Pushaw recruited.

The non-snob group of patriotic Americans who are not as singularly focused on defining their self-image or lifestyle through the assembly of money, in combination with the working-class coalition that cuts through all racial demographics, continues to be the much larger base of the Trump support.

(more…)

I’ve said this before, and it really does deserve some emphasis today.  The professional republican political class, the entire industry that is financially dependent on the mechanics of republican politics, really do think the average American is dumb.   Don’t forget that.

Suffice to say we have people, contractors and vendors, who funnel information to us from behind enemy lines.  Nothing has made them angrier in the past several months that the article I wrote last night outlining the mindset in their conference room and specifically the brand image consultants around this recent exhibition.

…”Let’s put Mama Grizzlies, Duck Dynasty and Melania’s stilettos into the brand”…  Brilliant! 😂

I’m sorry, it’s not very polite of me to laugh uncontrollably thinking of a big mad Casey yelling at Ken Cuccinelli while Ron feels awkward – but I just cannot stop laughing.  “Curse you villain,” lol – life is too short not to keep snickering all day.

On a more serious note, the point of this article is to remind everyone the “professionals” in the GOPe consultant class really do think we are stupid.  That’s not a disposable generic line, it is really how they feel, and it exhibits in everything they do.  The modern republican consultancy has become a caricature of itself, and everything they do only makes the issue more transparent.

Dear Lord, please forgive my horrible trespasses, but it’s like Donald Trump threw them a bag of Chinese finger-traps and stupidly their team started to play with them just moments before the volleyball game broke out.  Team DeSantis is on the court with their hands stuck together, and the audience is in hysterics, me included.  Gawd, my ribs hurt.

(more…)

The Ron DeSantis campaign continues to collapse under the inertia of its central flaw, a terrible candidate.

Hundreds-of-millions have been amassed to structure the pretending, create the brand image and present the narrative of something completely false.

The central flaw was always, eventually, going to surface.

Tens of millions have been spent on the launch and careful construct. However, when the core of the effort is built upon a false premise, there is nothing that can be done to change the outcome. Truth has a way of being self-evident; this represents the ultimate problem for the DeSantis team.

Every single week since the launch of the DeSantis campaign he has lost ground. The more Ron DeSantis is pushed into the voting audience, the less he is supported. In a desperate effort to stop hemorrhaging that support, the branding and image consultants decided to replace the candidate with a stand-in, his wife, Jill “Casey” DeSantis.

Think about this in context. The best hope of a multi-million-dollar ‘Never Back Down operation’ is to remove the principal from the equation and use an alternate. That’s the mindset of the DeSantis brain-trust. That’s their solution to the central flaw; remove the candidate – show him less.  None of their action deals with the central flaw, because the core of the problem is the center of the operation.

[READ ARTICLE HERE]

The only hope for the assembly behind those hundreds-of-millions, behind all those group chats, email lists and meeting rooms of professional political consultants, is if some external force removes President Donald Trump.   Ultimately, that’s all they have.  Without an external intervention, the downward spiral continues.

When you realize this central truth, you can then go back to what I was saying in the summer of 2022 and get an idea of what I meant.

(more…)

It’s been a while since we had a genuine Treehouse challenge. So, today I stumbled upon an excellent opportunity for each Treeper to test their mental stamina, and the contest has benefits.

Yesterday Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked on Fox News, essentially, why he could not relate to people [video segment below fold]. Ron responded by saying, essentially, ‘hey, who cares, did you see how much money we’re raising‘. People immediately started being snarky and discussing it. However, the real answer can be found in this Treehouse challenge below.

♦ Here’s the rules: (1) Watch the video below which is prompted to start at 2:14. (2) You cannot walk away for a break, you cannot pause the video, you must sit and watch it without the assistance of alcohol, medication or any other cognitive numbing substance. (3) How long were you able to watch the video? (4) Everything is on the honor system. (5) Respond in the comments with your honest answer of how long you were able to watch. (6) Whoever lasts the longest is the winner.

Turn off any other distractions. Get yourself mentally prepared. Ready?

Okay. WATCH:

Be honest.

How many seconds did you last before you just couldn’t take it any longer?

Respond with your honest assessment of your stamina in the comments.

(more…)

An awful lot of the people who live in a world of affluence and influence afforded by professional republican politics do not like Laura Loomer.  However, what she had accomplished with sunlight on their backroom operations deserves a lot of respect.

Earlier today Laura Loomer appeared on the Steve Bannon podcast to review the California scheme to shape the primary delegate distribution. {Direct Rumble Link} Loomer and Bannon also apply the lessons from the 2016 Cruz operation to the 2024 goals and objectives of the DeSantis operation.  Both are correct in that much of what we are seeing is a replay of that same crew.  WATCH:

.

(more…)

REPOST BY REQUEST (with addendum) – As the geography narrows before us, it is important to remember the stakes and avoid the distractions.  As a consequence, the baseline must be reaffirmed. It is critical to understand that both the DNC and RNC are private corporations with no affiliation to government.

It is a difficult shift in thinking, but the party system in U.S. politics revolves around two distinct private corporations, two clubs that feed from the same corporate trough and position for influence and affluence within a political dynamic they control.

The priority for both clubs, Republican and Democrat, is NOT politically or culturally ideological.

In the modern era, the corporate priority first begins with a battle over who controls each corporation.

As long as there is no challenge, the clubs operate without issue.  However, when there is a battle for control of the corporation, a battle that will ultimately determine the financial outcome, the internal battle becomes the priority.

2024 is going to be the election season when we see this corporate battle explode inside in the Republican group.  Decades of entrenched power are at stake, and there has been four years of counter positioning and backroom discussion leading up to this moment.

As a consequence, and I know this might sound odd to many people – but winning and/or losing elections becomes a secondary issue.  The people who control the RNC as a private corporation are not focused on winning elections. The RNC corporation is focused on retaining mission control.

The RNC want to give the illusion of support for MAGA conservatism because the illusion of choice requires a base voter.  However, every move they make on an operational level is exactly in line with their previous outlook toward cocktail-class corporate republicanism.  The MAGA base of support cannot trust this corporate group and we must not be blind or unguarded about the Machiavellian schemes they construct.

Donald Trump is not a problem for the Republican Party; Donald Trump is our response to the problem within the Republican Party.

When you hear the billionaire donor influence group saying the two priorities for control of the Republican Club involve, (1) eliminating populism in the ranks; and (2) realigning with multinational corporate objectives (vis a vis Wall Street), what they are publicly expressing is their RNC corporate need to get rid of the America First economic agenda; to get rid of the MAGA influence.

How has this historically surfaced?

(more…)