I figured out who DeSantis reminds me of.

[yardwork]

He's that mean weird kid who followed the bullies around in middle school, hoping that they would include him.

The bullies used him as a tool to pick on their enemies. There was nothing he wouldn't do in his pathetic and futile attempt to be included, no cruelty too extreme, no self-debasement too far. In the end nobody liked him. The bullies thought he was pathetic and excluded him from their inner circle. Everybody else loathed him.

He didn't recognize any of that. He sniggered and giggled and acted conceited, and when he got caught doing mean stupid things he whined and blamed others.

[MutantAndProud]

1. And yet he was made Governor

So… there is an entire platform of them

[yardwork]

4. He got elected governor twice, doing the bullies' bidding.

[NJCher]

38. just because he was elected twice

doesn't mean it's reproducible in the other states.

But OTOH, my fairly blue state of NJ fell for a bully (Christie), so who knows. Maybe it is.

[lamp_shade]

2. His voice to me sounds a lot like Fozzie Bear's. I can't not hear it.

[dweller]

3. This guy

✌🏻

[yardwork]

7. Is that his actual HS photo?

[dweller]

10. It's possible

Probably photoshopped




✌🏻

[yardwork]

12. I'm sure the caption was added later.

If that's his photo, he didn't bother to wash his hair or get dressed up for the photo.

[JudyM]

27. Looks like a troubled teen to me.

[yardwork]

28. He looks like he was neglected, possibly abused.

[dchill]

14. Punk extra in a grade B 40's movie.

[Disaffected]

49. Queue the amateur psychological

analysts (those who think they can divine a person's story or characteristics from a photograph).

[Sneederbunk]

5. Reminds me of a third-rate boxer.

[yardwork]

6. Explain more! I'm not sure of the connotations.

[Sneederbunk]

9. His face. Looks like he has been in the ring.

[NJCher]

39. is this????

the proverbial face born to punch?



If so, I'm standing in line.

[Easterncedar]

8. Reminds me of Pat Buchanan

Famously described as having a face like a clenched fist.

And is anything outside of the orange goon’s less natural than his laugh? Creepy.

[yardwork]

11. Where Trump blusters, DeSantis whines.

They're both miserable, hateful people. One difference I see is that DeSantis comes across as whiny. I don't think that will appeal to the people who like Trump's "strongman" bluster, but what do I know.

I still can't believe Trump got elected.

[Easterncedar]

13. Yes. It is still beyond comprehension

[NJCher]

43. the founding fathers

Last edited Sun May 21, 2023, 01:45 PM - Edit history (1)

did their best to design a democratic system, but human depravity one-upped them in finding a way to exploit a crack in the system (read Electoral College).
I'm sure sociopaths and psychopaths existed back in the day, but their eventual influence wasn't anticipated.
I listened to a podcast with Tom Nichols as the guest and he thinks it's entirely possible that if trump isn't hamstrung with a conviction, he could become president again.

[yardwork]

54. I think it will be close.

[NJCher]

55. Tom's a bit of a pessimist

and a doomsayer, but he was a republican for 40 years and then dumped them when they went full blown crazy.

Has a solid academic background, though.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

63. Oh, TFG whinges as well

He's loud about it, but it's still whinging. Everyone's so mean to him, they're all out to get him, wah wah wah wah wah.

I mean, really, how can anyone not see the whinging in his election fraud claims alone? That's all it is!

[yardwork]

70. You're right, of course! I meant their voice tone.

But come to think of it, Trump's is whiny too. How does anyone view him as strong?!

[erronis]

25. Pat Buchanan - a somewhat better looking rectal fissure than Ted Cruz

Interesting - the search for Pat Buchanan in DuckDuckGo shows this snippet from Wikipedia:

Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( / bjuːˈkænən /; born November 2, 1938) is an American racist [1] author, political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. [2] He is a major figure in the modern paleoconservative movement ...

It doesn't actually have that content when I go to visit the Wikipedia page - I'm guessing there's some pretty active editing going on there.

[NJCher]

50. that's a scream

ya' gotta' love some of these "Wiki editors."

[Bettie]

15. Ted Cruz is that guy too

That seems to be what the Republican party is looking for...

[yardwork]

16. Yes, Cruz is another cowardly follower.

I'll never forget how he slunk back to Texas when he got caught in Cancun.

Another one is Josh Hawley. Doing that lame fist pump outside the Capitol and then running scared when the attackers actually came inside. What did he think would happen? Poser.

All three of these men are supposedly smart, well educated. They're all mean, whiny cowards doing the bullies' bidding.

[Bettie]

17. Lindsay Graham as well

I bet we can all name more...the party is full of them.

[yardwork]

19. Yes, Lindsay the little southern gentleman.

You're right, the GOP is full of them.

[COL Mustard]

42. You misspelled "Loser".

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

65. People can be well-educated

And still be stupid. If you were, say, a history major in college, how much of the required math did you remember after you left the class? Most people dump what they consider useless information as soon as they don't need to remember it.

Same thing with elite uni alums.

And that's for the ones who aren't entirely stupid. The stupid but ambitious ones will pay or bully someone vulnerable to do their homework, and weasel their way into postgrad because grad schools make admissions based on a package, not the test scores alone. The more elite the uni, the more applicable that rule.

So these over-ambitious morons take advantage of that package concept to get into places they don't belong, like law school or grad school. All it takes is the just-high-enough GPA that others made possible, the many letters they bully or brown-nose out of the wealthy and powerful, and then just-high-enough test scores. If they're really stupid, daddy will buy the uni a building or department, to get them into the program and the connections it will give them.

This is how idiots get degrees from elite unis and grad schools.

Happens all the time.

[Johonny]

64. Yup, he reminds me of Ted Cruz

Both men went to IVY league schools. They're not morons like Trump, but they're simply giving their base what they want to hear because they crave power. Although DeSantis was somewhat of a jock in his youth for what it is worth.

[Diamond_Dog]

18. Like the bully's sidekick in "A Christmas Story".

I forget their names.

[yardwork]

20. Yes!

[GoCubsGo]

35. Yes, he's Grover Dill, Scut Farkus' sidekick.

Trump is the equivalent of Scut, orange hair and all. Looks like there are a whole bunch of Ralphies out there working on taking him down.

[uponit7771]

60. right ?!

[ecstatic]

21. I woke up thinking about him today

I don't think he would hesitate to try to round up black people, gays, or any other group he doesn't think should be in Florida. We've already seen what he's capable of in that department. The question in my mind is, will people still support him knowing what he's capable of?

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

66. In this sick country?

Yes, he will get support. More than is seemly.

[Goonch]

22. 👇👇👇👁️👁️

[COL Mustard]

45. The original pic is bad enough. I don't see the need to add thigh-highs and heels. See below!

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/002/454/259/ec2

[yardwork]

53. I agree. I hope Democrats use the actual photo in ads.

[BlackSkimmer]

73. As always, the "heehee, wink wink" he must be gay post.

Never fails.

Really, do we need to use photoshop to make this guy look stupid?

No, we don’t.

[Thunderbeast]

23. Grover Dill

Look it up...

[More_Cowbell]

51. Just who I was going to say! nt

[judy]

24. Also, everything in DeSantis says "gay"!

He makes Randy Rainbow look like a macho guy
The way he speaks, his wardrobe choices, and of course, his policies, typical of frustrated closeted gay people.

[yardwork]

26. As a gay woman, I find that insulting.

I doubt that DeSantis is gay, and even if he is, what's wrong with that?

Do you know any "frustrated closeted gay people?" I don't. I have no idea what they act like.

Don't try to shift the blame for all this to gay people.

[OMGWTF]

30. There are scientific studies showing that homophobes

are often closeted self-loathing homosexuals themselves. You probably haven’t met them because they are in the closet.

My brother-in-law is a homophobe. He is 70 and has never been on a date with a woman.

[yardwork]

31. What studies? Please provide links.

[judy]

33. Here is one, but there are many others...you can Google this

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/homophobes-might-be-hidden-homosexuals/

[yardwork]

36. Scientific American is not a peer-reviewed journal. And that article is from 2012.

Newsweek ran a story in the 1970s saying that the Earth was entering another ice age. It was inaccurate.

I have no doubt that some repressed gay people act like homophobes, but to suggest that all or even most homophobes are actually gay is nonsense.

Hundreds of millions of Americans voted for Trump. Are they all secretly gay?

[carpetbagger]

41. This is the study the SA article refers to.

Weinstein, Netta; Ryan, William S.; DeHaan, Cody R.; Przybylski, Andrew K.; Legate, Nicole; Ryan, Richard M. Parental autonomy support and discrepancies between implicit and explicit sexual identities: Dynamics of self-acceptance and defense. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 102(4), Apr 2012, 815-832

[yardwork]

44. ...

Do you seriously believe that every person in the United States who supports anti-gay legislation - that is to say, the hundreds of millions of Americans who vote Republican, since it's part of their official platform - are secretly gay?

Is every racist secretly Black? Is every anti-Semite secretly Jewish?

[judy]

32. As a gay woman myself,

I find that interesting...
My experience is that people who hate gay people, are sometimes just afraid of their own feelings, and turn them into hate.
Otherwise, I see no reason for straight people to feel hatred for their gay friends, or to want all gay people to hide and trans people to disappear.
I don't believe in evil, but I do believe in confusion...there would be absolutely nothing wrong with DS being gay if he was. The wrong thing is to then become an authoritarian gay-hater, hurting people who are not doing harm to anyone, and punishing a company for defending them.

[yardwork]

34. I do believe in evil.

I believe that a lot of very wealthy, very powerful people have figured out that the only way to protect their interests is to get hundreds of millions of people to vote against their own interests. Scaring people into believing a bunch of lies about gay people, trans people, Black people, immigrants, Jewish people, etc etc has been a very effective strategy.

I have no idea whether DeSantis actually hates or fears gay and trans people. I tend to doubt it. He's following a script that's been handed to him.

[carpetbagger]

37. J Edgar Hoover did great harm.

That's what is wrong with channeling discomfort about being gay or bi into persecuting gay people.

[yardwork]

40. Trump is doing great harm. Is he gay?

Sure, you can find examples of repressed or closeted gay people who act like homophobes because they're self-loathing, trying to cover up, messed up inside, who knows.

But there are millions of people who promote homophobia. They aren't all gay.

Are racists secretly Black? Are anti-Semites secretly Jewish? Do you see how absurd this is?

[COL Mustard]

46. T*ump isn't gay.

He's repulsive. That is all.

[judy]

47. Do you see how absurd your questions are?

I do...even though, there are Blacks who are pro-white Supremacy, and Jews who do antisemitic work, - like Stephen Miller for example
Paternalist religions do promote homophobia. It's true. And this impacts millions of people.
I agree, just as you agree that closeted people are self loathing.
Paternalism, and homophobia are tenets of fascism (Check out the book "How Fascism Works", by Jason Stanley). And I do believe there is a sexual component in fascism, along with narcissism and hiding behind a false self. Check out Nazi history of Roehm and the SA, and what Hitler did to them.
Finally, we are not talking about people (like Trump or others) being GAY. We are talking about them being self-loathing homophobes, which is totally different.
As for Trump, as opposed to De Santis, he has no ideology except being praised and receiving $$ from people he is disgusted by...as for his attitude with LGBTQ people, here is an article of interest:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/us/politics/trump-lgbtq-rights.html

[BlackSkimmer]

69. Not all closeted people are self-loathing.

I have a longtime friend who taught at a Catholic school her entire career in a right-to-work state.

She is married to a woman, but she never was “open” because of her job. I can assure you that she is not self-loathing.

This nonsense about every Republican being gay is just that, nonsense.

[carpetbagger]

56. I don't think anyone is saying "all gay hatred comes from repressiom"

You asked for a scientific study. It showed some correlational stuff. It matches observations from American society that a disproportionate number of people who fight against gay acceptance, really fight hard against it and are vocal about it, are conflicted about their own sexuality. So some, or some type of factor, but not all.

As to being Black or Jewish (I'm assuming you're talking about ethnicity rather than joining the religion), it's apples and oranges. It's not perceived as a mutable personality trait, and the family dynamics tend to be different, i.e. it's uncommon to be raised by people outside your ethnicity and for them not to be "in on the agreement" on that.

As to Trump, I think he hates women, and carries with him racial prejudices common to Whites in New York City in the mid-20th century, the biggest being the perception of Black people as inferior. I don't think he hates gay people like he does women, but he acts like he does on that realm for power and adoration.

As for Desantis, he's got some issues for sure, but if I had to guess, my guess is that he's got some gender fluidity rather than a repressed desire to have sex with a man.

[judy]

57. Sounds right...

and well put...

[uponit7771]

61. +1,

[BlackSkimmer]

68. Thank you. Gay woman here also. So sick of this.

The never ending “Putin is gay, tfg is gay, DeSantis is gay, Gaetz is gay, Graham is gay.”

Sick to death of it.

[yardwork]

72. Thank you.

[SouthernDem4ever]

29. Desantis is a useful "Tool" right now for someone

but will be kicked to the curb as soon as his usefulness wears off - just like all whiny types that ride others coat tails.

[sellitman]

48. This fits Ted Cruz even better

He would make a great running mate for DeathSantis.

[The Wizard]

52. A punk by any other name .....

[FakeNoose]

58. Politico says Mrs. Casey DeSantis is calling most of the shots in his campaign

(link) https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/19/casey-ron-desantis-wife-profile-00097456

For some time now she’s been seen mostly and by many as an absolute superstar of a political spouse, a not so “secret weapon,” even something like his saving grace — an antidote for her sometimes awkward husband, social in a way that he is not, charismatic in a way that he is not, generally and seemingly at ease in the spotlight in a way that he so often and so evidently is not. A telegenic former television personality, a breast cancer survivor and a mother of three young kids, Casey, 42, has a sort of policy portfolio of her own that ranges from hurricane recovery to issues of mental health. In the DeSantis political project, she is unusually important and uncommonly involved, according to hundreds of interviews over the last few years and more than 60 more over the last few weeks — an array of former staffers, current supporters and donors, state and federal lawmakers and Florida lobbyists and political professionals. “She is every bit as involved in Ron’s rise as Ron is himself,” David Jolly, the ex-GOP Florida congressperson who’s now an MSNBC analyst, told me. “In shaping him, in driving him … it’s different,” said a veteran Republican lobbyist. “Unlike any first lady in my extended memory,” added Tallahassee fixture Mac Stipanovich.

For nearly as long, too, though, others who have worked with her or around her have nodded more quietly to the downsides of the starring part that she plays. She is and always has been by far his most important adviser, they say, because she is hesitant to cede that space to nearly anybody else. The DeSantis inner circle is too small and remains so, they say, not only because he constitutionally doesn’t trust people but because she doesn’t either. Especially forthright are the people who are granted anonymity on account of their fear of retribution given their power — not just his but hers. “She’s the power behind the throne,” a Republican lobbyist told me. “The tip of the spear,” said a Republican consultant. She is, they say, in the middle of good decisions of his, but bad ones, too. One in particular during the first year of his administration struck many then as a shortsighted miscalculation and looks to them now like a possibly fatal mistake — the ouster of Susie Wiles, the well-respected operative who had helped former President Donald Trump win Florida in 2016, and then helped DeSantis, 44, get elected governor in 2018 but now is running Donald Trump’s rival White House bid.

more at link --

[budkin]

59. It's called a "Toady"

Like Grover Dill in A Christmas Story

/revision/latest?cb=20170815165232

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

62. You just described the brother just younger than me

I mean, on the bloody button.

They'd hit him, and he'd go crawling back. What was really telling: He didn't try to suck up to nice kids. Only to the bullies. Because he was like them, but didn't have enough brainpower or initiative to come up with any of the bullying himself.

I now realize he was a beta psychopath, if that makes sense. The things I can tell about the evil things he did as a kid...

[yardwork]

71. I'm sorry to hear that. That must have been very difficult for you.

And as you pointed out above, Trump also fits in this category. A whiny miserable little suck-up to bigger bullies.

[Bucky]

67. With or without the hat?

But Riff Raff is about right