Keller @ Large: Voters made it clear they had no use for Ron DeSantis and his Trump impersonation
BOSTON - Harry Truman once observed that "if it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time."
Ron DeSantis was hardly an ersatz Democrat; he actually ran to the right of Donald Trump on hot-button issues like abortion, and made his loathing for the Democratic Party clear. And the definition of what constitutes a "genuine Republican" has changed dramatically since the early 1950s, when Truman made that remark.
But the political gist of what Truman said remains true. DeSantis is out of the GOP race because the primary electorate made it clear they had no use for his blustery, dull Trump impersonation.
It didn't help that DeSantis made every mistake in the first-time presidential candidate playbook: bloated campaign staff, unclear messaging, confusing early money and polling with lasting support. He thought he could run in Iowa and New Hampshire the way he ran and won in Florida, stiff-arming spontaneous interaction with voters and hyper-controlling management of media access. And he confused his success in the nation's weirdest state with broad national appeal. By the end, even Florida Republicans didn't want him, giving Trump an average polling lead there of 66-19%.
Republicans and right-leaning independents know what they want - another four years of Trump. No set of facts, whether offered bluntly by Chris Christie or delicately by DeSantis or Nikki Haley, are going to dissuade them. They will disbelieve their own eyes and pretend the January 6 mob were benign heroes of some kind if Trump and the media echo chamber that backs him wills it so. They will accept as gospel the most simpleminded interpretations of complex issues (immigration, COVID, Ukraine) if they are delivered on tablets from Mount Trump.
You may disparage these beliefs and the voters who hold them all you want, but that will not change the facts on the ground across the country, any more than arguments on behalf of Trump will dent the utter contempt millions of voters hold him in. And so, just as the 2020 Democratic primary field quickly folded four years ago when it became clear the voters believed Joe Biden was best suited to beat Trump, the same thing is happening to the Republican wannabes.
Perhaps more-centrist New Hampshire independents will swamp the polls on Tuesday and generate a Haley surprise, a close call or even a Trump loss that would generate a few weeks of buzz. My advice - don't bet on it.