Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the lying liar who lies, Charlie Crist, held their one and only debate last night.  Of all the gubernatorial debates so far, this one was probably the best.  Thankfully, DeSantis won the debate on substance because Crist just sucks. However, DeSantis flubbed the most predictable question that was asked.

Every Floridian should vote for DeSantis, because Crist is just an unbearable alternative. That said, the insufferable Charlie Crist asked Governor DeSantis to commit to a four-year term in office and promise the Florida voters he would not abandon his state to run for the GOP nomination in 2024; effectively making DeSantis only a six-month reelected governor because national campaigning will start in June 2023.

It is true, the question should have come from the moderator, because it’s a transparently obvious and predictable question.  However, regardless of who actually asked it, the non-response from Governor DeSantis was telling.  WATCH (just first minute):

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A few things about that non-response are remarkable.

First, even a middle school debate coach would have known that question was likely in the debate.  The fact that DeSantis did not have a well-rehearsed and prepared canned answer to the question is a reflection of stunningly poor debate prep.

Second, the evasive and non-truthful answer he did give, totally avoiding the question, shows the incredible weakness within a candidate that is a specific outcome of a lack of honesty.  That response is also reflective of why Donald Trump wins every debate.  Trump wields truth as an effective weapon.

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A week ago, Colorado senate republican candidate Joe O’Dea said on CNN, “I don’t think Donald Trump should run again.” He quickly added, ” I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that we have got four or five really great Republicans right now; Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott.”

President Trump blasted O’Dea the following day {link}.

Today, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis picked Joe O’Dea as his only 2022 endorsed senate candidate {link}, recording a robocall for O’Dea that says, “Hello this is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. America needs strong leadership and desperately. That’s why I’m endorsing Joe O’Dea for U.S. Senate. Colorado, please vote for Joe O’Dea.”

Keep in mind, Ron DeSantis is a governor who campaigns on his success as a governor and has been rallying exclusively for governor candidates.  However, despite not endorsing the republican candidate in the Colorado state race (Heidi Ganahl), Governor DeSantis went out of his way to support the only explicitly anti-Trump Senate candidate in 2022, Joe O’Dea.

When Paul Ryan endorsed Ron DeSantis, you could argue that DeSantis never asked for it.  When Jeb Bush endorsed DeSantis, again you could argue that DeSantis never asked for it. However, the transparency of DeSantis endorsing O’Dea who has stated his intent to actively campaign against any MAGA candidate… well, you can’t say that had nothing to do with DeSantis.

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While appearing with Neil Cavuto to discuss the 2024 election and other matters, Jeb Bush stated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “will be a formidable candidate in 2024.” {Direct Rumble Link}

Jeb!, the failed 2016 GOPe club insider, is famous for representing the more acceptable side of the Republican party apparatus, and like former House Speaker Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush has high praise for the Florida governor describing himself as a “Ron DeSantis fan.”

Bush told Cavuto in the interview Thursday that if DeSantis runs, “he will be a competitive contender for a number of reasons.” Adding, “the main reason I support Ron DeSantis is because of how well he has run my own state. He has done a great job as governor.”  WATCH:

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continues to assemble a considerable amount of support from the institutional political class within the GOP.  Combined with a $200+ million war chest from major professional donors including several Wall Street multinationals, billionaires and hedge fund managers, the enticement to run must be very alluring.

As previously noted, the network, branding consultants and conscripted media support -including Fox News- are all in place.   Will the DeSantis decision be a redo of Ted Cruz’s self-destructive 2016 RNC convention speech decision? Or is DeSantis smart enough to push the professional beltway advisors back and retain an independent ability to control his own political future?

We shall see…

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Did you know that during hurricanes asphalt roofing shingles act like flying blades?  More on that momentarily….

Today Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was in the Punta Rassa area of South Fort Myers to celebrate a remarkable accomplishment.  The Sanibel bridges and causeway are open to civilian traffic. {Direct Rumble Link}

The massive, albeit temporary, repairs to the three spans and spoil islands have been completed three weeks after Hurricane Ian wiped them out.  A genuinely remarkable feat of engineering and git’ r done roughneck effort.  Truly an incredible accomplishment.  To check out the scale of it see PICTURES HERE.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that emergency repairs to the Sanibel Causeway have been completed in 15 days, more than a week ahead of schedule. As of this morning, access to Sanibel Island has been restored for residents, reconnecting Sanibel Island to the mainland. WATCH:

“The work that has been done to restore vehicle access to Sanibel Island has been historic,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Cutting through bureaucratic red tape and delivering on our promise to get Sanibel Island up and running has been a top priority. By restoring access over the causeway, repair crews, first responders, emergency vehicles, business owners and residents will be better able to expedite recovery from this storm.”

“I am grateful for our dedicated team members who quite literally built a road in the Gulf in 15 days,” said FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. “While the bridges were largely undamaged by the storm, portions of the causeway which connect bridge structures together were washed away by Hurricane Ian, leaving the bridges unconnected to the mainland or the island.

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Appearing for an interview with Dave Rubin, the founder of Locals and a major conscript of the branding and image shaping effort behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Megyn Kelly gives Mr. Rubin the bitter pill of truth. {Direct Rumble Link}

Within this excerpt, Mr. Rubin struggles through the five stages of grief following Kelly’s red pill delivery, eventually stabilizing his emotion by accepting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis can still deliver good political outcomes for the state.   It’s a very interesting dynamic to watch for a few reasons.

First, because Megyn Kelly has first-hand experience with the power of the MAGA attachment to the atypical America-First leader.  Second, because Kelly’s truthful statements cut against the objective for why Rubin was recruited by DeSantis Inc.  WATCH:

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has spent the past several days in/around the western impact zone of Hurricane Ian, the areas hardest hit.

Restoration and recovery work continues overcoming serious obstacles with infrastructure destruction particularly around Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Cape Coral, Pine Island and up toward the Boca Grande pass. These western coastal areas were impacted by sustained 150+ MPH winds for multiple hours as slow-moving Ian crept inland; hence the scale of the destruction.

The power infrastructure is slowly returning to Fort Myers Beach, however, most of the properties are a total loss and/or so heavily damaged power restoration to the structure is unsafe. The work on Sanibel Island is reconstructing the physical power transit system, which will take a long time. According to state officials, approximately 80% of the mainline power grid on Pine Island is now rebuilt; however, many homes are heavily damaged (like FMB) so lines to structures will take longer.

Governor Ron DeSantis gives an update from Burnt Store Marina, which is located between Cape Coral and Punta Gorda on the west. WATCH:

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Governor Ron DeSantis also announced an official request to The Dept of Commerce and NOAA to declare a federal fisheries disaster which would provide relief to families and businesses impacted by the loss of economic activity in the fishery sector.

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As expected, the Lawfare ideologues have weaponized the legal system to grant special visa status to the illegal aliens flown to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  The aliens have been granted lawful U.S. residency status via “U VISA’s” reserved for victims of crimes.

Their applications as criminally trafficked victims come as the result of Texas Sherriff Javier Salazar certifying they were victims of an illegal human trafficking operation led by the Florida governor.  As an outcome, Ron DeSantis is under investigation by federal authorities and Texas authorities for violations of human trafficking laws.

[Picture Source – With More Detail]

The federal government, U.S. Treasury Dept, has an open investigation into the funds used by DeSantis to conduct the transfer operation. “Documents indicate Florida officials paid Destin, Fla.-based Vertol Systems Co. $1.56 million for the Martha’s Vineyard flight and possibly for a flight to Delaware, the home state of President Joe Biden, that ultimately didn’t happen.” [link]  Meanwhile Texas Sheriff Salazar is conducting a criminal investigation for human trafficking.

The 50 aliens have essentially been designated as victims and received the special VISA’s protecting them from extradition.  They are now considered witnesses for use by the Treasury investigation and Texas criminal probe.

WASHINGTON DC – Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar on Thursday certified that the group of migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., last month by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) were victims of a crime, qualifying them to obtain a visa.

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Folks, I’m not trying to bust on Ron DeSantis, I’m just highlighting the dynamic in the background to include the political players and deep connected GOP club operatives.  If the truth makes me a critic, then so be it; but I’m not going to play the pretending game.  Quite frankly, I’m tired of it.

Ron DeSantis is backed by the same assembly of political insiders, donors, corporations and financial backers that supported Jeb Bush.  The professionally republican class know what they have in DeSantis, and he is brand organized, packaged & managed to deliver on their intents.

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is as dialed in to the GOP club system as it gets.  Ryan’s brass nameplate is rivetted to one of the select mahogany chairs at the club table.

Speaking Wednesday at the Robin Hood conference before billionaires Steve Cohen and Paul Tudor Jones went on stage, Paul Ryan noted the GOP 2024 nominee will be “someone other than Donald Trump.”

According to a recording of his talk, Ryan named Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott as his three favorites. {source} DeSantis fighting Disney was “really good for him, from a political perspective,” Ryan said.

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No one imagined this was feasible. Every expert put the timeline for repair at around a year.  However, the git r’ done crews and the Florida Dept of Transportation have accomplished a massive feat of reconstruction in phenomenal time.  Major kudos to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the construction crews who worked every hour of every day, day and night, for two straight weeks and have created/built a temporary bridge to Sanibel Island. [Videos below]

Trust me, having seen the aftermath, this is absolutely remarkable.  The causeway is made up of three bridge spans (A, B, and C) and three spoil islands.

The rapid response construction crews just kept bringing truck after truck of everything imaginable including rocks, concrete slabs, gravel, sand and more to fill in the missing parts of the roadway and spoil islands.  Then they surfaced the road and are now working on paving it in record time.  Today restoration emergency crews drove across the bridges, and they anticipate opening the causeway to residents of Sanibel for civilian use on October 21st. WATCH:

Today the construction crews moved aside to allow, over 200 bucket trucks, 150 electric line and pickup trucks (LCEC, FP&L, Duke Energy) towing 50 trailers and two tractor-trailers carrying first responders to the island.

Additionally, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was on the Fort Myers side of the bridge to celebrate the accomplishment at a press conference.  WATCH:

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was in the devastated town of Fort Myers Beach today to deliver an update on the aftermath from Hurrican Ian.  Incredibly we are ten days post storm while search teams are still conducting operations to locate and recover bodies.  The collapsed and unstable buildings are very challenging and rescue workers are almost always kept out of unstable buildings.  {Direct Rumble Link}

Fort Myers beach is about 7 miles long (+/-) and about a half to three-quarters of a mile wide (average), a large percentage of the compacted homes have still not been searched.  It’s not the distance of the damage taking time to search, it’s the actual scale of the damage in this zone.  So many structures collapsed and flooded with storm surge.  WATCH (remarks begin at 7:15 of video):

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[Florida Gov]  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis traveled to Fort Myers Beach to give updates on recovery efforts in areas that have been impacted by Hurricane Ian. Floridians continue to show resiliency through communities coming together to help each other. Full remarks can be found here.

Governor DeSantis was joined by local officials to announce that access has been cleared for residents to return to Fort Myers Beach. Portable showers and restrooms were brought in for residents to use while the clean their homes. Governor DeSantis was also joined by Eric Silagy, CEO of Florida Power and Light (FPL) to give an update on the progress they have made in restoring power to their customers. FPL has already restored power to 99% of the households they cover in Lee County and Southwest Florida that can receive power.

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