Paul Campos on today’s NY Times pander to wingnuts: Damon Linker advises his “fellow liberals” not to get all hysterical about a potential DeSantis presidency, because after all: Wait a second . . . that sounds like some sort of authoritarian ethno-nationalist who would pursue nothing but the very worst reactionary policies in order to consolidate his own political power. I mean isn’t that terrible enough? No it isn’t, because, um, what is the argument here? Still not getting it Damon. OK finally we get some sort of counter-argument: Note here the rhetorical copium that reduces the ongoing destruction of liberal democracy by a party now dedicated to eliminating it to doing “bad things in office,” as if we were taking about enacting suboptimal tax policies, rather than nuking the whole polity from fascist orbit. The most striking aspect of this argument is that Ron DeSantis has always been a 100% Trumper, only now he wants the top spot in the cult. If you have always been an unambivalent Trump supporter, that means you’re more than completely OK with a president who “displays a lust for power combined with complete indifference to democratic laws and norms that constrain presidential power.” Right? So why would you be any different in that regard? That DeSantis might not be as personally venal as Trump — this remains to be seen of course — is the least significant thing about either man. That Trump steals whatever he can get his hands on is the least dangerous thing…