(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Broke Whine Virus: White Boot Boy versus Orangina Magadonna not at Roast 'n Ride event [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-03 Bobblehead for POTUS, because Cooties and Trump is an unmentionable The great thing about the “woke mind virus” is that it’s a completely meaningless phrase that sounds scary to the right people but means absolutely nothing. It’s like the peak of performative politics. https://t.co/bSMGnkN9rJ DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican presidential hopefuls kicked off the summer months of campaigning at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday, offering alternative pitches for their candidacies as they declined to mention Donald Trump, their party’s current polling leader, by name. Eight candidates or potential candidates, ranging from well-known political figures like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to relatively unknown GOP businessman Perry Johnson, attended Republican Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride” event, delivering mini-stump speeches to win over their party’s first-in-nation caucus-goers. For the “ride” portion of the event, former vice president Mike Pence was the only presidential hopeful who rode on a motorcycle alongside Ernst and hundreds of riders gathered to raise money for the Freedom Foundation of Cedar Rapids, a veterans charity. Pence was decked out in a black leather vest that included an American flag and his last name sewn in. www.washingtonpost.com/... Trump tells Iowa voters he terminated NAFTA, supported ethanol and farmers"Ron ‘DeSaster’ has ALWAYS been strongly against Ethanol." 11:23 a.m. — DeSantis has arrived and is greeting supporters by the Never Back Down Bus. His wife, Casey, is showing an unparalleled commitment to wearing branded jackets, today sporting a leather “Where Woke Goes to Die” coat in 85-degree heat. She is holding their 3-year-old on her hip. The couple, who have been emphasizing their relative youthfulness as they travel the country, pledged in Iowa on Wednesday to bring their three children out on the campaign trail. They seem to be struggling to wrangle all these kids within a swarm of supporters and reporters. But DeSantis — who has faced quite a bit of criticism for his aloofness — is out here doing retail politics, and he seems to be improving at it. “That’s an oldie but a goodie,” DeSantis says as he signs a bumper sticker from his 2018 congressional campaign. “Do you play golf?” DeSantis asks another man, before pivoting to his Covid response. “During the pandemic, I was telling everyone to get outside, so in April of 2020, they set a record for golf rounds in The Villages.” He encourages his 3-year-old, Mamie, to say hello to a 2-year-old girl in a pink camouflage Harley Davidson T-shirt. A woman has DeSantis sign what appears to be a generic photo of himself waving, which he immediately recognized as being from a 2020 rally. A member of the conservative Bull Moose Club here invites DeSantis to come speak to the group, as some of the lower-polling Republicans in the race have already done. He says to talk to his staff. www.politico.com/… After his unusual, buzzy and ill-fated presidential debut on Twitter last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida carried out a far more traditional campaign tour this week, barnstorming Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to sell himself as the strongest Republican alternative to former President Donald J. Trump. Along the way, he drew sizable, enthusiastic crowds of DeSantis-curious voters. He held babies. He got testy with a reporter. He threw some punches at Mr. Trump. He warned of a “malignant ideology” being pressed by liberals and vowed to “impose our will” to stop it. Here are five takeaways. He won’t cower against Trump — but how hard he’ll counterattack is unclear. A key message: He’s young and energetic and can serve two terms. Humbly, he compares himself to Churchill, fighting ‘the woke mob’ on the beaches. His interactions: Pretty normal, overall. You’ll be seeing a lot more of Casey DeSantis. www.nytimes.com/... [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/3/2173140/-Broke-Whine-Virus-White-Boot-Boy-versus-Orangina-Magadonna-not-at-Roast-n-Ride-event 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/