(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

I have never met Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor. But I know him, oh, I know him very well. Some 26 years ago, in an interview by Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou - poet, writer, philosopher and activist - offered this: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

Her advice, quite frankly, is as true as any I’ve ever heard. Ron DeSantis has shown us who he is, and we should believe him. He is the personification of what happens when politicians and political parties lose their way. He is forever lost in an ambitious political bid to mold the rest of the world in his image.

Sadly, he is the belcher, the farter, the disgusting nose picker that once was unacceptable anywhere among polite society. Today, he’s not only acceptable, he has millions of largely ignorant supporters - Republicans - who believe his lies and revel in his hatred.

He wears his hatred - for immigrants, members of the LGBTQ community, Liberals, people of colour, and “woke” folks - like a medal for bravery. DeSantis - like Donald Trump - is full enough of hatred, but being smarter than those who voted for him, he realizes he can say things they know they shouldn’t. So, he’s their hero. Lesson learned from Trump.

The trouble is DeSantis is to Trump what Mussolini was to Hitler, a second-rate wannabe dictator who at best looks more like a buffoon than a leader of people in a democracy. DeSantis has no personality. He has no charisma. He is as repulsive as a cringe-worthy loser trying to impress a woman in a bar, not with charm or cleverness, simply by being a bully.

DeSantis has supporters, but not enough to win a general election. He is one of the many losers in the Republican Party who desperately wants to be King of the United States.

Democrats, Independents and a handful of former Republicans still want a president, a duly elected official who reflects the dreams of the majority of those Americans who vote. DeSantis - like Donald Trump - wants none of that. Presidents have checks and balances, kings do not.

He - like Trump and scores of other Republicans in the U.S Congress and in all 50 state legislatures - wants to rule, unchecked.

The problem for DeSantis is that he’s no Donald Trump, not that it’s such a high mark to shoot for. When DeSantis tries to out-Trump Trump, he comes across as a bad dinner theatre actor, a cartoonish Daffy Duck sort of character.

His lack of cleverness and wit remind me of the old Tommy Smothers comeback to smarter brother Dickie Smothers’ quips: “Oh, yeah!” When you have no answers, no real solutions, you can only bully.

Yes, Ron DeSantris, you’re in trouble — deep weeds — and you’re not smart enough to leave the weeds or even cut them. That’s good news for democracy in America, and quite frankly, freedom lovers everywhere.

DeSantis - like Trump - carries a grudge…relishes revenge…spews hate. But even among Republican voters who value these qualities, which is the vast majority…DeSantis smells of a bad Trump impression. He’s so objectionable, he’s already sending in his wife - Casey - to do his dirty work in public gatherings. Sadly, she is merely hate wearing a pretty face.

There is one authentic hater in the Republican Party…that is Donald Trump. Republicans who support him love him…they care not one bit whether he lies, cheats, steals, shares Top Secret documents, incites riots and treason or anything else.

Look at them at rallies…Republican Party gatherings…in Alabama, Arizona, Iowa or Wisconsin. It is as if someone cloned ignorant folks and dispersed them around America. They do not know the U.S. Constitution…they don’t understand or even attempt to understand policy issues that affect all Americans…and the world.

They reason that true Americans are white people…they are not aware or “woke” about anything. No, they’re simply ignorant…and full of hate. They find truths offensive…divisive. They believe the lies they hear on Fox…Talk Radio…Conservative Podcasts and in churches that never seem to practice what they preach.

There’s another Maya Angelou quote I’ve come to love…and practice: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I hope…oh, how I hope Americans…especially Republican voters…follow this sage advice.

That’s not important, of course, unless freedom and democracy mean something to you. In short, that means everything.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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