Why DeSantis is losing Republicans to Trump

[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.]( - [Why DeSantis is losing Republicans to Trump]( Why DeSantis is losing Republicans to Trump, Janan Ganesh, The Financial Times He mistakenly thinks populist voters want to win power and do something with it Consider for a moment what Donald Trump gives to his average follower. Membership in a vast nationwide communion of like-minded people. A paternal figure in a confusing world. The frisson of transgression: middle-aged whites don’t often in life get to play the rebel.Next to all this, what is the marginal benefit of seeing him win an actual election? What, after that, is the marginal benefit of watching his policies come into force? No doubt, Trump fans would rather have these bonus items than not. But he has done them a profound emotional and almost spiritual service before it ever gets to that. It is not clear that Ron DeSantis understands this about populism. Until he does, he won’t displace Trump as the leader of the movement in the US. The governor of Florida trades on his electability and administrative competence. But if either of these things was paramount for voters in the Republican primaries, the contest would already be over. - [Two Connecticut school board members resign amid book-ban controversy]( Two Connecticut school board members resign amid book-ban controversy, Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant Two Republican members of the Newtown Board of Education resigned Wednesday morning amid a book-banning debate, Board Chair Deborra Zukowski confirmed to the Courant. Members Janet Kuzma and Jennifer Larkin left in the midst of a controversy over the proposed banning, or restriction, of two coming-of-age novels in the high school library. The board, with those two spots vacant, now seats three Democrats and two Republicans. At the board’s May 16 meeting, Larkin and Kuzma, alongside Zukowski, voted no on a motion to provide unrestricted student access to “Flamer” by Mike Curato and “Blankets” by Craig Thompson. The board’s three Democrats voted in favor of unrestricted access. - [Nazi cavorting anti-vaxxer, and now candidate for president, RFK Jr., is suing Daily Kos for protecting our community. The legal fees are piling up, you can donate $3 here to help us fight back?]( - [Big Bipartisan Moment Hurt the Freedom Caucus’s Feelings]( Big Bipartisan Moment Hurt the Freedom Caucus’s Feelings, Joe Perticone, The Bulwark Last night the House easily passed the bill Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden had agreed on over the weekend to avert a default on the national debt. The final result was 314-117 with four not voting, including at least one adamant critic of the bill. More Democrats (165) voted in favor than Republicans (149), which speaks to the discontent among conservatives and the strength of the deal brokered by the White House…. The Freedom Caucus as a whole is not in a strong position after this. No one so far has shown much appetite for going after McCarthy’s speakership directly with a motion to vacate. - [Anatomy of a Murder: How the Democratic Party Crashed in Florida]( Anatomy of a Murder: How the Democratic Party Crashed in Florida, Steve Schale, The Bulwark Donors wanted “long-term progressive infrastructure” in the Sunshine State. It killed the Democratic party. I set out to write a piece about Florida and the Democratic party several months ago. I didn’t think it would be that hard. I was wrong. Because it’s hard to watch something you helped build get torched to the ground. So I decided instead to tell you a story: the political story of Florida, told by a guy who was directly in the middle of a lot of it—and an observer of all of it. Go ahead and pull up a bottle of whiskey, or maybe a bottle of champagne, depending on your party ID, and let’s get started. - [Doesn't matter if you're a coffee or tea person, whatever you're drinking tastes better out of a Daily Kos mug. Get yours now!]( - [In a deep red Florida county, a student-teacher revolt shames the right]( In a deep red Florida county, a student-teacher revolt shames the right, Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman, The Washington Post By now, it’s obvious that the reactionary culture warriors who want to reshape American education are inspiring a serious liberal counter-mobilization in response. Remarkably, this backlash to the backlash is gaining momentum in some of the reddest parts of the country. A raucous school board meeting in Hernando County, Fla., on Tuesday night captured what’s striking about this new phenomenon. The scene featured teachers pointedly declaring that right-wing attacks are driving them to quit, even as parents and students forcefully stood up on their behalf, demanding a halt to the hysteria. - [How to Cover a Presidential Campaign]( How to Cover a Presidential Campaign, Timi Iwayemi, The American Prospect Hollowing out government capacity and leveraging executive power to harm political enemies is at the heart of the Trump-DeSantis project. Will we hear about that? Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his presidential campaign with a glitchy rollout on Twitter, a sign of his obsession with online discourse. Media coverage has been rather predictable. We’ve heard DeSantis attacked as a Trump wannabe without the requisite charisma. We’ve gotten analysis that DeSantis can execute Trumpism with little drama and ruthless efficiency. But there’s another way to talk about DeSantis’s campaign. In a recent radio interview with Mark Levin, DeSantis said, “As governor I studied all the authorities that I possess, constitutionally, statutorily, customary policies, I knew what I needed the legislature for … And the same thing would apply to the presidency. You understand Article II powers, you understand where your leverage points are, you understand your statutory authority. You also have to be willing to assert the true scope of your Article II powers, and I think most presidents haven’t been willing to do that.” The narrow framing of presidential elections as a personality contest is a trap that allows presidential candidates to avoid highlighting the true meaning of what DeSantis said above: how he would actually run the executive branch, which after all is the definition of the job. ICYMI: Popular stories from the past week you won't want to miss: - [Trump makes unconstitutional promise to racist base]( - [Lordy, there are tapes! Trump was lying in his classified documents defense]( - [Russia goes into a fresh panic after drones strike around Moscow]( 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. Half our revenue comes from readers like you, meaning we literally couldn't do this work without you. 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