The GOP field is forming It’s begun. And just as we once assumed, it’s a tired re-run of 2020 with former president Donald Trump hopping from rally to rally repeating his boring recitation of the Big Lie and the perpetual “witchhunt” and “hoax” mantras. Only this time, the Republican presidential primary is starting early with what’s shaping up to be a crowded field. Whether any of Trump’s rivals will be able to knock him out remains to be seen — but there’s no doubt they think he’s weakened enough to chance it. We’ve all been closely watching Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t yet made any overt moves to run but is nonetheless clearly positioning himself to do it. At the moment he is the only serious contender who still holds office which gives him the opportunity to demonstrate his right-wing bonafides. And boy is he ever doing that. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the list of his aggressive authoritarian policies is already a mile long, each one designed to curry favor with the far right by provoking everyone else. Just last week he added to the pile by overseeing his hand-picked education curriculum watchdog’s denial of high school AP classes in African American history, saying that “the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.” They will still be able to offer AP classes in European, Japanese and Chinese history, it’s just Black history that doesn’t have educational value in Florida.…