How Long Did Ron DeSantis Affair With Nicolás Maduro Last?

Ron DeSantis-- not a brain surgeon

Because the Egyptian dynasties were all inbred-- the only suitable woman to bear a pharoah's child was his sister or half sister-- most pharaohs were far from the sharpest knives in the draw. The Egyptian dynasties didn't last long. The admissions officer at the Wharton School of Business and Finance, had been a friend of Trump's brother and he allowed Trump, a mediocre student (at best), to transfer from Fordham. Trump was way out of his league intellectually at Wharton. One of his professors, William T. Kelley, said-- long before Trump got into politics-- that "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddam student I ever had." Was he as dumb as a pharaoh? Possibly. But does that mean Trump wants to turn the U.S. into Egypt? Of course not.

Trump is also a would-be dictator? You know who else is a would-be dictator? Nicolás Maduro! Does that mean Trump wants to turn the U.S. into Venezuela? Nope.

Today I was on the phone with Kim Schrier, the progressive Democratic pediatrist who is running for the open seat congressional east of Seattle. I asked her what attacks Paul Ryan's sleazy SuperPAC had started running against her. Mostly that she was the "most liberal candidate" in the history of the known universe and that she was "against veterans." No Nancy Pelosi's twin sister ads yet? "I think that starts next week," she said. The dull-witted-- perhaps inbred?-- Republicans use the same attack strategy in every district and in every election cycle. But there's a new-ish one they've been testing out this year. Every Democrat is a "Bernie Sanders/Alexandria Ocasio socialist" who wants to turn the U.S. into Venezuela. (It's an alternative to this year's "he/she was in a band" or "was a skateboarder" or has a tattoo.)

Pretty much everyone agrees that this year's dimmest bulb running for governor in any state is Florida Trumpist Ron DeSantis. Whether for agree or disagree with his stands on issues, DeSantis is D-U-M-B-- to the max. Sunday he was on John Catsimatidis' show on AM 970 in New York calling his progressive Democratic rival, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, "untraditional" because he favors Medicare-For-All. You know who else favors Medical-For-All?

You know who's against it? Selfish, greed-obsessed plutocrats, Republican ideologues and staffers at the DCCC. "This Andrew Gillum, he's on the far-left socialist fringe," babbled DeSantis. "He's a Bernie Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez type candidate... If you have a guy like this enacting a socialist agenda it's going to absolutely destroy all the progress that Florida has made. He wants to turn Florida into Venezuela." Maybe that's a signal DeSantis has already  decided to stop with the racial slurs and move on to red-baiting. In any case, expect to hear the newest GOP talking point all season and everywhere in the country: "He/She wants to turn [blank] into Venezuela." If you'd like to help, Andrew Gillum-- and other gubernatorial candidates being attacked as Venezuelan recreaters-- please tap on the 2018 Blue America executive branch thermometer on the right. By the way, I've known Andrew for almost 2 decades and I urged him to run for governor long before he ever did. I think I'd know if he ever wanted to turn Florida into Venezuela. I guarantee you... he never did. Helping the underprivileged get a fair shake?  Yes! Turning Florida into Venezuela? No, not a chance!