Florida's Trumpist Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a bold power move to seize control of the state's congressional redistricting process from the state's benighted Republican legislature. He vetoed their maps and now seeks to impose a racist gerrymander of his own design that is unconstitutional under both federal and Florida law. It bolsters his power and his prospects for the 2024 Republican nomination for president if Trump is unable or unwilling to run, and it cements a 4 seat national Republican advantage in the 2022 midterms.
To achieve his goals, DeSantis is targeting the Congressional Black Caucus and boldly eliminating Voting Rights Act minority influence districts, which are also mandated by Florida's constitution. He is doing this because it is a fight he wants to have. DeSantis wants to pose as a fighter against an imaginary reverse racism that he believes has highjacked congressional redistricting for far too long.
DeSantis has watched carefully and learned how to weaponize prejudice and racist propaganda while serving as Trump's understudy. He's betting on the facile partisanship of Republican-dominated federal and state courts to side with him against the 3.44 million African Americans residing in Florida whose votes he'd like to suppress and dilute.
DeSantis has shrewdly cast a wide net and raised an enormous $100 million on his way to re-election, which he isn't using to supplement his lifestyle, keep the family business afloat, or stave off a host of federal and state investigations. He's building a formidable political juggernaut reminiscent of George W. Bush circa 1998.
He's done all this while effortlessly mimicking Trump's ostentatious ignorance, authoritarian style, and eccentric mannerisms. To paraphrase the late Gilbert Gottfried, DeSantis is Trump without the warmth or baggage. He is waiting in the wings for the doddering old man to stumble and fall and if he doesn't I believe that DeSantis has the cojones to push Trump's ass off the stage completely.
I wasn't in the Trump-isn't-going-to-run camp before I wrote this, but now I see that it is a strong possibility that shouldn't be discounted. The January 6th Committee is sitting on enough incendiary information to bring the full force of the Justice Department down on Trump's politically desiccated carcass. DeSantis has every incentive to want that to happen.