Ron DeSantis Shouldn't Be Covered Like Just Another Republican

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( A morning roundup of worthy pundit and news reads, brought to you by Daily Kos. [Click here to read the full web version.]( - [Ron DeSantis Shouldn't Be Covered Like Just Another Republican]( Ron DeSantis Shouldn't Be Covered Like Just Another Republican , Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair Florida’s wannabe autocrat and possible 2024 contender isn’t Trump, but he’s as dangerous to democracy. To call DeSantis a culture warrior dangerously understates what the man is capable of. He is the Genghis Khan of social issues, using every opportunity to target and demonize groups that have already been targeted and demonized throughout history. Marginalizing vulnerable groups is a classic authoritarian trope, which DeSantis seems to have down pat. Over the past four-plus years, DeSantis has used the governorship as a sort of audition for the role of MAGA heir. He has relentlessly attacked the LGBTQ+ community, urged the Florida medical board to outlaw transgender therapy for minors, and passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. When not targeting school boards and transgender athletes, he’s fighting with the College Board about AP African American studies or trying to turn the small progressive New College into “a Hillsdale of the South.” Trump may have sounded like an autocrat when running for president, but DeSantis has already acted like one before officially getting in the 2024 race. DeSantis has his media cheerleaders on the right. Over at Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post, columnists have gushed over DeSantis, with one last week dubbing him “the sane choice to revive the US.” Some mainstream news outlets, meanwhile, though not heralding DeSantis, seem to be normalizing his authoritarianism. The New York Times is not alone in this department, but as the paper that most sets the nation’s news agenda, its framing of DeSantis certainly warrants scrutiny. - [A cascade of mistakes and falsehoods leaves Fox on the brink]( A cascade of mistakes and falsehoods leaves Fox on the brink, Philip Bump,The Washington Post If Dominion’s suit is successful (certainly not a given), it could severely damage Fox. And if that happens, the culpability for that damage rests solely with the network and its employees. But this wasn’t simply a one-off error by Fox. Instead, it was the result of a cascade of bad decisions and willful choices often centered not on presenting accurate information to its audience but, instead, on ensuring its audience stuck around. - [Bad news: Daily Kos revenue is down, and we might not be able to do all we do. Good news: You are a big part of the solution, and small donors have never let us down. Donate $5 TODAY.]( - [I Never Truly Understood Fox News Until Now]( I Never Truly Understood Fox News Until Now, Brian Stelter, The Atlantic New court filings reveal what the network’s leaders really think of its viewers. This extreme tension between the newsroom and the much larger opinion operation came up in almost every interview I conducted for Hoax, my book about the disturbing relationship between Fox and Trump. One Wednesday morning in late 2019, I turned on Fox & Friends, pressed the “Mute” button, and dialed up a producer who used to work on the show. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he had profound regrets about his time working on the morning show, and that’s why he wanted to be a confidential source. The former producer said he sensed himself being brainwashed while consuming all of the right-wing content from the Fox & Friends hosts and guests. He felt himself transforming into one of the millions of Fox addicts across America. “People don’t care if it’s right; they just want their side to win. That’s who this show is for,” he said. “It’s sad.” - [Inside the collapse of the Trump-DeSantis ‘alliance of convenience’]( Inside the collapse of the Trump-DeSantis ‘alliance of convenience’, Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey and Hannah Knowles,The Washington Post Behind an apparent close alliance, the two Republicans have racked up years of mutual suspicions fueling a 2024 grudge match As some Republicans loudly pin their hopes on DeSantis to overtake Trump as the party’s new standard-bearer, years of grudges and slights are coming to a head as a potentially defining dynamic of the GOP primary. Polls show Trump and DeSantis as the clear early leaders, even as DeSantis has yet to enter the contest. ... Trump advisers say he wants to make it painful for DeSantis to enter the race — and he has repeatedly taken warning swipes. “We’ll handle that the way I handle things,” Trump said of the potential challenge in a recent interview. “Ron DeSantis got elected because of me,” he said in another. “You remember he had nothing. He was dead.” - [A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake has devastated Turkey and Syria: Donate to humanitarian efforts assisting survivors that are in need during this horrific time.]( - [Fox News is worse than you thought]( Fox News is worse than you thought, Erik Wemple, The Washington Post The network’s prime-time stars — Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity, along with other top names — care about ratings first, second and third, a consideration that eclipses the truth and other principles of journalism. “Sidney Powell is lying,” Carlson wrote on Nov. 16, 2020, to a producer about President Donald Trump’s lawyer, who played a leading role in pushing far-out theories about election theft. The Dominion filing makes clear that the stars and Fox executives knew there was no evidence behind the election-denial lies repeated on the network’s broadcasts — a bombshell that is likely to take Fox years to live down. - [Fox News feared losing viewers by airing truth about election, documents show]( Fox News feared losing viewers by airing truth about election, documents show, Sarah Ellison, Paul Farhi and Jeremy Barr, The Washington Post ‘Everything at stake here,’ billionaire founder Rupert Murdoch wrote to a top executive in November 2020, part of a cache of internal communications revealed in a $1.6 billion defamation suit. ICYMI: Popular stories from the past week you won't want to miss: - [Guess who’s behind the ‘He Gets Us’ commercials that ran during the Super Bowl?]( - [Black rancher arrested after going public about being terrorized by white neighbors for years]( - [Book banner DeSantis pretends to be shocked after laws result in scrutiny of book about MLB legend]( Want even more Daily Kos? Check out our podcasts: - [The Brief: A one-hour weekly political conversation hosted by Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld]( - [The Downballot: Daily Kos' podcast devoted to downballot elections. New episodes every Thursday]( Want to write your own stories? [Log in]( or [sign up]( to post articles and comments on Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Follow Daily Kos on [Facebook](, [Twitter](, and [Instagram](. Thanks for all you do, The Daily Kos team Daily Kos Relies on Readers Like You We don't have billionaire backers like some right-wing media outlets. 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