Rise of the MAGA clones

OPINION:

Well, no wonder the guy is so damned sanctimonious. Maybe his nickname should be Ron DeLandslide. Or Ron DeSavage. 

More on the Florida governor in a minute. But first, a summary of the election.

The rivers did not bleed red Tuesday night, despite historic discontent among voters. In one of the crazier elections in memory, the party with absolute power in Washington defied all expectations in the face of galloping inflation, spiking interest rates, high gas prices and a shocking rise in crime. And a deliberately open border.

Every one of these problems that citizens suffer in very real and personal ways can be traced directly to the destructive policies of President Biden and the Democrats in power. Yet those Democrats did not pay the heavy price everyone expected.

Maybe democracy really is dead. 

Actually, I believe democracy just fell asleep. And when she wakes up and realizes what they did during her slumber, there will be hell to pay.

This week’s election was for Mr. Biden what the 2012 election was for President Barack Obama.

With a gracious (and thoroughly dishonest) assist from the media, he barely survived better than anyone expected. But the reprieve only forestalled the inevitable coming wave.

Remember 2016?

In politics, justice is not always swift. But when it comes, it is merciless.

Despite Tuesday’s confusion, Republicans saw some significant wins. They are on track to win the House and have a real shot at winning the Senate — despite one of the toughest Senate election maps they have faced in recent times.

Democrats defended 14 seats — all in states carried by Democrats in 2020. Republicans, meanwhile, defended 20 — two of which were in states carried by the opposing party in the last election.

There is something far more pathetic than Republicans waking up Wednesday morning sad that they did not win as big as they thought they would. That would be Democrats waking up and spiking the ball because they did not lose as badly as everyone thought they would.

In a fairly stunning display of arrogance and political incompetence, Mr. Biden announced Wednesday at the White House that he learned nothing from the election and, therefore, would change nothing. Also, he plans to run for reelection.

Oh, 2024 will be here sooner than you think.

Which brings us to Ron DeSanctimonious down in Florida. Apparently, there was no blood left in the American body politic — because it had all drained down into America’s great tropical appendage and spilled there.

Holy sanctimony. What current Gov. Ron DeSantis did to former Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday night down in Florida would be illegal in many states — most notably Arizona, where Democrats have a freer hand counting ballots.

But the pure savagery! Mr. Crist did his best to invoke the name of Jesus during the campaign. But all he got was the crucifixion. 

Crist was crucified — but without any redemption.

Ron DeSanctimonious smeared the former governor by nearly 20 points. Former President Donald Trump could only remark that, well, he got more votes back in 2020. That’s true, but it is also true that 2 million more Floridians showed up to vote against Mr. Trump than showed up to vote against Mr. DeSantis.

Anyway, the bloodletting in Florida on Tuesday night would not have been possible without Mr. Trump. He gave Mr. DeSantis his big break in politics that made him Florida’s governor in the first place.

More important than what Mr. Trump did to create Mr. DeSantis is how Mr. Trump has utterly remade the Republican Party and in doing so redrew the entire electoral map. 

Mr. DeSantis is one of many successful MAGA clones who have emerged in this Trump era. They are the future of the party and their electoral potential is limitless — entirely because of the way Mr. Trump remade the Republican Party.

For decades, the two most important states in the country, politically speaking, were Florida and Ohio. Every presidential election for nearly half a century has hinged on those two swing states. 

Red, blue. Red, blue. Not anymore. 

Thanks to Mr. Trump, his MAGA clones and the new Republican Party, Florida and Ohio are no longer swing states. They are untouchable Republican states.

And when democracy wakes up from her nap, the rivers will run red.

• Charles Hurt is opinion editor at The Washington Times.