The Strange Case of Dr. DeSantis and Mr. Trump
A story worthy of Robert Louis Stevenson and Stan Lee.
For Republicans, the run up to the 2024 presidential election is an event rising from the mind of author Robert Louis Stevenson.
Stevenson wrote incredible classics like Treasure Island and Kidnapped and in 1886, he gave the world a novella titled The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is the rational, humanistic protagonist set against his alter ego of the evil, barely human Mr. Hyde (a story rebooted by Stan Lee in the Marvel Universe as The Incredible Hulk).
Jekyll, impatient to marry his fiancée Muriel, pleads with her father for an early wedding, a request he rejects. The tormented Jekyll heads to his laboratory, where he has been developing a potion to separate the benevolent from the malevolent sides of human nature, which he believes “hide” under the veneer of civility. Upon consuming the concoction, the doctor’s evil impulses are unleashed as he is transformed into the monstrous Mr. Hyde. Hyde, roaming the city, rapes and later kills a prostitute named Ivy, whom Jekyll had earlier rescued from an assailant. Jekyll attempts to atone for Hyde’s actions by breaking off his engagement with Muriel but during his visit with Muriel, he transforms into his alter ego and attacks her. Hyde is chased by police and eventually killed, his body reverting to that of Jekyll.
I’m beginning to see Ron DeSantis as Dr. Jekyll and President Trump as Mr. Hyde – or at least that is the way I think the body of the GOP is beginning to see them.
DeSantis is the calm, almost boring, practitioner of the persuasive arts, having wrangled a less than 1% victory in his first gubernatorial run into a 20% margin in his second. His legislative victories are many and his stewardship of the key battleground state of Florida has been considered by many to be exemplary. DeSantis represents the calm side of transforming national government, a methodical approach to legislatively changing direction. A proven anti-woke warrior, DeSantis moves in accordance with the SEAL saying – “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”
Then there is President Trump. A man who is legitimately due some payback for all the ill will heaped upon him during the past 8 years of attacks, personal and professional, cooked up by Democrats and their various allies in media and the progressive community. They got a little taste of Trump’s distaste for the Deep State and fear the destruction of what has become the source of Democrat power at the federal level. President Trump is willing to do things no other president has been willing to do in the quest to destroy this power base. Then image of Trump is a pissed off infantryman ready to storm the beaches of Normandy on Inauguration Day.
The GOP is split between those who want Dr. Jekyll and those who choose Mr. Hyde.
Some have taken to calling DeSantis a “RINO”, accusing him of being and establishment Republican who met with Rupert Murdoch (Vivek Ramaswamy did as well) and has the backing of Paul Ryan (DeSantis said he hasn’t spoken to Ryan since 2018) and Carl Rove (says he met "once in my life"). Those people choose to forget Trump’s questionable stands on the Second Amendment, his stands against free markets, his spending, and the ceding of policy control during the pandemic to Fauci and Birx.
Too bad we can’t have both - the polish and calm of Dr. DeSantis and the malevolent retribution of Mr. Trump. Trump is the obvious frontrunner, but it would be a shame if DeSantis doesn’t have a role (Ramaswamy needs a slot, too – great ideas delivered with practical effect).
For the GOP, 2024 combines two movie truisms: from Highlander, “There can be only one” and words from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, “You must choose, but choose wisely.”
Here is my take for what its worth. Trump wins and this time begins to clean house, draining the swamp, that takes a Mr. Hyde to do. Also, he becomes the Evil Force that our enemies on the worldwide stage are in desperate fear of.
He then assigns his VP candidate, which could be DeSantis, Scott or Ramaswamy (just to name a few), and he could also assign them to his cabinet. But they have to be younger and have a strong voice and can turn into a Mr. Hyde when called upon to do so.
Plus, there are a few women who can fill the role of VP and/or cabinet quite nicely to round it out.
Bottom-line its time to cut the crap, take out the garbage, stifle the RINO's and ride out the oldies like Schumer, Feinstein, Romney and a host of others. And definitely time to oust several of the consultant types, get rid of certain departments, and send a loud and clear message that MAGA is the only way to proceed.
Then they need to proceed to clean up our political voting machine which we all know exists and has existed for a while now.
As for the RINO's and those picked for cabinet positions, if they cannot show loyalty to the American People and their party, then it's time for them to leave.
This all takes, in my opinion, several Mr. Hydes and their take no prisoner's approach.
My 2 cents.
Good analogy! It is indeed sad that Trump hasn't evolved in ways that he should have--and is now very bitter. I hate when he attacks DeSantis but that's his nature when he feels remotely threatened. My FB friends in his base are still loyal to him and invent all sorts of idiocy against. DeSantis (you mentioned a few).Some want DeSantis as VP--also absurd. The VP has to attract people who wouldn't vote for the head of the ticket.