My wife is fond of referring to “Rick DeSantis,” an amalgam of the past and present governors of Florida. The idea is to point out the continuity between two basically odious GOP administrations. The two men in question, however, are more different than similar.
Rick Scott is a CL. He really, really, really hates all levels of government. Like Grover Norquist, he wants to reduce the size of government to the point where it can be drowned in the bathtub; unlike Norquist, he probably wants to put it on the rack and torture it first. Scott, predictably, is bored in the Senate and wants to be the CEO of America, Inc. He will try to get there by promising massive reductions in federal spending–particularly for what GOP voters view as the undeserving poor.
Ron DeSantis is a more easygoing Trumpist. Like Scott, he is desperately ambitious for higher office; unlike him, he craves popularity. In the first phase of his administration, he actually took some steps to protect to the environment, because he wanted to respond to what was clearly a public priority. He has bungled the pandemic, however, unlike Scott, who actually did a fairly good job of dealing with hurricanes. Whether he can recover in time for the next election remains to be seen.
They have one thing in common: neither is going to be president. I sometimes refer to Scott as Ted Cruz, but without the charisma. When he took office, I used to joke that he would securitize Florida’s non-working (i.e., unproductive) population and sell them to unsuspecting German investors. His toughness will fly with the base, but his lack of personality won’t; in any event, the base doesn’t really care about spending as long as too much of it doesn’t go to minorities. DeSantis, for his part, will struggle to be re-elected in 2022, and has no national following. If the base wants a Trump clone, there are lots of other, more interesting choices available.