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Desantis is smart but he’s an awkward guy. Insider accounts say he’s incapable of rizzing up his donors. He’s bad at retail politics. Relies on conservative media blitz and GOP running the system in Florida.

It’s not because he’s a “neocon.” It’s because he’s a Natcon guy

I think this is a problem with Natcon guys in general, and I think this manifested in the midterms. They flounder outside of power, not as conniving as the Atwater types…

Look at Thiel, @pmarca, @bgmasters. All smart dudes, but kind of awkward.

They know how to dogwhistle to anons but the memes no longer reflect the normie’s reality. This is why desantis’s gay policy wonk snipes at Trump don’t land with ordinary people

Don did boost him but Ron’s national superstardom is entirely because of conservative media. It’s all he consumes, and how he reaches people. They’re fickle, and this explains his flip flops.

Like Josh “anti-porn” Hawley, his takes are entirely downstream of talking heads

Case in point: youtu.be/M_pyFCXvuIA

This is why they’re obsessed with culture war stuff (doesn’t play nationally, see 2022) and are slippery on foreign policy. It’s because these are the obsessions of the right wing media.

That’s why they take Trump’s barbs personally, Ron’s flaws are theirs.

Structurally speaking, all pundits are abstracted from the concerns of not just ordinary people but even the base voters they claim to represent. This is probably why JD Vance underperformed, another Thiel L that I’ll blame on his flawed biography rather than “””TRUMPISM”””

It’s not just a problem with left wing journalists. PUA types will be the first to tell you about the Bible thumpers ignoring reality. Scott Greer’s “good men” meme is a reflection of this — he gets it because he worked for them

TLDR:

People really fail to appreciate how uniquely good Trump is/was(he’s fallen off a little but nothing irreparable).

Not only are his instincts great, but he was a savant at messaging. This can’t be taught.

@ScottMGreer @GranTorinoDSA @RichardHanania

I will say that Desantis is an ingenious executive. But he’s just not that great at charismatic politics.

Genius comes from creativity AND objectivity (Schopenhauer), which is what the right wing bubble lacks.

Applies not only to con Inc but the worst of frogtwitter and Natcon