(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . DeSantis in a gaseous state, as "Save Our Stoves" becomes the new (out)rage... [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-01-17 Orlando Sentinel Photo So the Florida governor with time to spare is now defending the embattled gas range! Holding what looked like a first-graders cut & paste with the borrowed motto “don’t tread on Florida— Let us alone” scrawled beneath a drawing of a gas range, DeSantis smirked and snarked his little shitshow for the adoring residents of the Villages. Blaming Biden or as he likes to snicker “the Joe Biden Administration” for a ban on gas stoves is, of course, “Ron being ‘Rong”. Biden had already come out himself stating he wasn’t in favor of the suggestion made by the independent Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal agency that regulates consumer goods. DeSantis’ performance was picked up by the usual suspects at FOX News as both Hannity and Carlson, FOX’s attempt to recreate 2/3 of the three Stooge act, joined in. Never mind that the Biden Administration released the following before DeSantis performed in front of the village idiots who applauded his lie: “The president does not support banning gas stoves,” a White House spokesperson told PolitiFact. A more detailed explanation of the issue and denial of the Republican fabrication came directly from the Chairman of the CPSC, Rich Trumpka: “To be clear, CPSC isn't coming for anyone's gas stoves. Regulations apply to new products. For Americans who CHOOSE to switch from gas to electric, there is support available - Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act which includes a $840 rebate.” We all know that in the current incarnation of the Republican Party truth is optional, but these are the same people who believe an Italian satellite, the Italian military, and the Vatican (figuratively, for God’s sake) conspired to change votes in the 2020 election from Trump to Biden. Never mind the Italians have no space program and the Vatican could give a shit about who is the U.S. president. While it is clear that DeSantis and the rest have little respect for the intelligence of their base, it follows, whether they are pretending or actually believe the wacko conspiracy theories they embrace, that they are as vapid as those they try to snooker with their lies. While the term “willing suspension of disbelief” is usually used in literary circles, the phrase adapts well as a device that allows for unrealistic possibilities. For example, in a horror movie, the audience willingly breaks from real experience to believe for the sake of its own entertainment that Michael Myers and Jamie Leigh Curtis only meet up one day a year— 13 times since 1978! The concept sometimes is attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and co-founder of the Romantic Movement who described the phenomenon as, ” That willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.” It is the trope that makes the unfathomable possible in fiction. In the performative theater of the GOPsurd, both the actors and their alt-right audience adopt a willing suspension of disbelief as they spin yarns about Democratic demons. DeSantis’s courageous defense of the gas range contrasts his boffo performance as tormentor to helpless immigrants. As DeSantis and his audience in The Villages, a Republican bastion (and electric golf cart community) that boasts a median age of 67.4 years of age, regale in owning libs and self-indulging wankery, DeSantis adds to his reputation as a man of little substance. His command of mostly inconsequential issues is in stark relief to statistical data which lists his state as having the third most COVID cases over time, with per capita death rates topping those of the two states (CA and TX) with a higher number of cases since the start of the pandemic. DeSantis has used the COVID pandemic as a political wedge issue in his state— embracing vaxing before questioning its efficacy and attacking vaccine producers— and has opened himself to criticism of being an opportunist: “We know he’s not really anti-vax, he’s on the record, but now he’s taking this position for really blatant political purposes, it appears, and it’s really undermining to health care professionals,” said David Pate, a retired health systems executive and lifelong Republican who has advised Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R). “I’m not sure what the gain is, because he’s already got the base, and now this is just going to alienate moderates and independents.” --WAPO, “DeSantis reverses himself on coronavirus vaccines, moves to right of Trump,” by Isaac Arnsdorf The truth is that DeSantis is at his core a hack who has come to define the political status quo in the GOP. They have few, if any, serious thinkers as their ranks contain more problem creators than solvers. DeSantis has yet to engage in a serious debate, or take a principled stand on a significant issue of the day. His theatrics surrounding the immigration issue has only exposed the shallowness of his concern— it is not about his beleaguered constituents or the national implications of the crisis— it is about his political prospects and a grotesque desire to harm innocents to score points within his party. If he were sincere in his attempt to solve the crisis at our borders, he would have considered the impact of his hollow-hearted scheme. Choosing cities and states represented by Democrats only exposes his insincerity. A study of immigration trends and realities would reveal that depositing immigrants in Washington D.C., New York-New Jersey, ignores the fact that in terms of percentage of the total population, these states and D.C. are more affected than Florida by the immigrant crisis. Both New York (22.3%) and New Jersey (23%) have higher rates of immigrant populations than either Florida (21.2%) or Texas (17.2%). Meanwhile, the U.S. ranks 19th among western nations in foreign-born populations. If the Florida governor and his Texas counterpart were serious about managing the immigrant populations at our borders they might have considered a little research. DeSantis is a paunchy, rather incurious, phony tough guy whose act plays best among the village idiots he caters to. The “gas” he is now sniffing is most likely his own— beyond the momentary fragrance it omits among his followers, it is likely flammable when released in the heat of the political battle he faces next year. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/17/2147531/-DeSantis-in-a-gaseous-state-as-Save-Our-Stoves-becomes-the-new-out-rage Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/