Is DeSantis the Anti-Trump or Trump Lite?

Is DeSantis the Anti-Trump or Trump Lite?
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
May 25, 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially launched his campaign for president of the United States last night, Wednesday May 24. He rolled the dice on an unusual format and method, and came up snake eyes - DeSantis was snakebit by the failure of technology to provide him a smooth transition from will he or won’t he to I’m in.

While I have nothing against DeSantis, and should he be the Republican nominee in 2024 I will certainly vote for him. I have to ask, is this his time? Just reelected governor of Florida in 2022, he would complete his second and current term in office in early 2027, giving him an entire year before the Iowa caucuses and first in the nation primary, New Hampshire. With two successful terms as governor, DeSantis, currently only 44, will have concluded his electoral obligations to the people of Florida and have nothing but time to launch his campaign for 2028. While most of the 2024 candidates will have been vanquished in that election cycle, and less likely to run again, save for Vivek Ramaswamy, who at 37 years old today, could sit out even two DeSantis terms and still be one of the younger candidates in 2036, at 51.

If this is DeSantis’s time, with a growing field of GOP nomination seekers, his opportunity to catch and surpass former President Donald Trump becomes increasingly slim. Trump already has, depending upon which poll one reads, anywhere from a 25 to 35 percentage point margin over the Florida governor. On the other hand, with DeSantis officially in the race, voters may be more willing to support him and be able to close the gap with Trump. But it begs the question, if DeSantis is considered the best possible GOP alternative to Trump, wouldn’t it make sense for the rest of the field to bow out? That’s not to say the field won’t shrink organically, and as history dictates, the early frontrunner is guaranteed nothing. After all, was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush elected president in 2016? Or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 2012? Or former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in 2008? Or former New York Senator Hillary Clinton in 2008?

But the 2024 election campaign will be an unusual one - of course that goes without saying as it involves Trump, hoping to do his best impersonation of former President Grover Cleveland. And as anyone with a pulse knows, Trump is more than a bit polarizing. Make no mistake, if Trump is the GOP standard bearer in 2024, he will garner my vote. I voted for him in the general elections of 2016 and 2020. I just don’t see him winning a national race next year, in spite of Joe Biden’s glaringly, painfully, excruciatingly, miserable time in the White House - failures aplenty - gas prices, prices in general, weakening military, embarrassing Afghanistan surrender, mortgage equity debacle, a return to energy dependence, and of course, the invasion at the southern border.

All that said, Trump can’t get out of his own way - he’s still harping on the 2020 election, a “perfect phone call,” and will forever be blamed for January 6, 2021. While I agree there was chicanery and a less than honest outcome in the 2020 election, sans hardcore proof, there’s virtually nothing that can be done, and certainly not now, two and a half years into the next administration.

And the juxtaposition of Trump continues. He’s bombastic and more direct than might typically be expected of the diplomacy of a politician. On the other hand, as I told so many people who didn’t like Trump’s antics, but knew what a good job he had done as president, we’re not electing Miss Congeniality. And if history is fair, Trump will go down as one of the best one term presidents in American history, with, in my opinion, the likes of John Adms and James K. Polk.

So the question remains, can DeSantis close the gap and overtake Trump? Can DeSantis, a decorated Navy veteran with both legislative and executive experience as a member of Congress and governor, govern as successfully as Trump, but without the circus atmosphere that sometimes befell his administration? DeSantis has experienced tremendous success as governor of Florida, keeping the state open and vital during Covid, and welcoming more than 580,000 new legal Floridians in 2022. 

Even lifelong New Yorker Trump became a Florida resident in 2019, so all his grandstanding about Florida failing under DeSantis is Trump posturing as a candidate would. Yet, by doing so, by going after DeSantis with a sledgehammer, Trump is repeatedly violating Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of thy fellow Republican.” Sadly, Trump is not the only candidate to violate that commandment over the last many election cycles. Yet while Trump assails DeSantis, DeSantis in his kickoff speech, directed his criticisms appropriately after Biden; after all, it’s Biden that the GOP, whoever the nominee is, wants to defeat in 2024.

If not Trump, if not DeSantis, the GOP scorecard is fast filling up as South Carolina Senator Tim Scott declared his candidacy on Monday May 22 to join fellow Palmetto Stater Nikki Haley, the former governor and United Nations ambassador. Also declared are radio talk show host and attorney Larry Elder, who unsuccessfully challenged Gavin Newsom in the California recall for governor, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and the aforementioned Ramaswamy - any of this septet would be a far cry better than the current occupant of the White House.

I happen to be wavering in my support between the two South Carolinians, Haley and Scott, but Elder and Ramaswamy have solid ideas as well. But do any of that quartet have enough gas in the tank to get them across the finish line? And there’s still the possibility of former Vice President Mike Pence throwing his hat in the ring. I like Pence personally, but see the previous question. If it’s a choice between DeSantis and Trump for the GOP nomination, DeSantis can beat Biden. Isn’t that the goal in 2024?

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Indiana.

The Good Penny in the Subway

The Good Penny in the Subway
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
May 22, 2023

On Monday May 1 Daniel Penny and Jordan Neely were two among thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, and tourists alike to climb aboard a subway car in New York City, not knowing at the time their lives would intersect in perpetuity. When the F train reached its destination both men were on the floor of the subway car surrounded by witnesses.

Those very witnesses reported that Penny’s heroics saved many innocent subway riders from a menacing, threatening, erratic Neely who had to be subdued by Penny via a temporary chokehold, as well as by two other passengers who assisted Penny. Video footage supports the witness's statements.

Neely said, according to corroborating witnesses, “I would kill a motherf…er. I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail,” as reported by a 66 year old female passenger to the New York Post. She also indicated Neely said he was “ready to die,” and “I don’t care if I die.” This same woman publicly thanked Penny for his heroics.

Other witnesses said Neely flailed his arms around wildly, slammed his jacket down on the floor, claimed he was hungry and thirsty while threatening other passengers. “He was hungry. He was thirsty. That he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care that he gets a big life sentence, it doesn’t even matter if I died, he said,” reported Juan Alberto Vazquez whose viral video shows Penny and two other passengers restraining Neely. “He was trying to help,” Vazquez said of Penny.

Neely, 30, although unconscious when help arrived, still had breath in his body. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Afterward, Penny, 24, went to the police station, answered questions, and no arrest was made. 

When Penny did not face arrest, protesters took to the streets - or more accurately - to the subway tracks. On May 6 protesters literally lowered themselves into the subway tracks causing stoppages and delays preventing people from getting to their destinations. There is plenty of video footage that can be reviewed to determine who the scofflaws are as they should be arrested and charged to the fullest extent of the law. These are not peaceful protests, but instead obstreperous - designed to disrupt innocent people’s lives. 

The ever hypocritical US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called Penny a murderer, demanding he be arrested and charged with murdering Neely. AOC’s fellow “Squad” member, US Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) called the death of Neely a “lynching.” In the case of AOC and her hypocrisy, she shouts from the mountaintop for the defunding of police, yet she and her ilk become apoplectic when the inevitable happens - ordinary citizens protect themselves and others when in harm’s way. She wants to defund the police, then demands the police step up and arrest Penny for murder.

This is not a murder; that was neither the intent nor goal of Penny - he simply wanted to get Neely under control for the betterment of the other passengers. Even the bought and paid for by George Soros District Attorney Alvin Bragg understood that as Penny surrendered himself on May 12 facing charges of second degree manslaughter. Penny voluntarily surrendered himself at the Fifth Precinct. He “did so with dignity… that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation,” said Penny attorney Thomas Kenniff of the former United States Marine. Penny, from West Islip, NY (Long Island) served four years in the US Marines, earning seven medals.

While Penny, having no arrest record, served his country, Neely, in a juxtaposition, served time - arrested 44 times. Among the violent career criminal’s greatest hits, Neely attempted to kidnap a seven year old girl. Additionally, Neely punched a 67 year old woman in the face breaking her nose and fracturing her orbital bone. But, as Neely family attorney Donte Mills correctly asserted, Penny did not know of Neely’s excessive arrest record, calling it “a non-factor,” and called for more stringent charges against Penny.

It’s true - Penny did not know of Neely’s extensive arrest record. Penny acted in response to Neely’s erratic, harassing, menacing, behavior frightening fellow passengers. But, the City of New York certainly knew of Neely’s aberrant behavior and arrest record. According to the New York Post, Neely appeared on New York City’s Top 50 homeless people in need of urgent help. With 44 arrests and a history of mental illness, why was Neely on the streets in the first place? Where was the Neely family attorney Donte Mills?

Penny’s attorney Steve Raiser described the scene in the subway car. It’s a “small area underground where the doors are closed and locked. It’s a scary situation because there is no escape. When you see someone who’s being threatened and you have nowhere to run, the only thing you could do is to wait for the police. But it could be too late by the time the train stops, the doors open, and you get a police officer. In fact some people won’t even have cell service down there to even call a police officer. And no policeman is just going to show up there at that moment. It’s just not going to happen. So they’re stuck there with this threat.

So when Danny [Penny] stepped forward, he didn’t know what was going to happen. He didn’t know if he was going to be successful in restraining Neely or not. He didn’t know if he would become the victim. He didn’t know if he’d be overpowered or even if Jordan Neely had a weapon. He didn’t know. But he took a chance… to save those other people on that train. He took that chance and he is the one who put himself in danger. To save who? All the people on that train - black people, brown people, white people - it didn’t matter to Danny,” said Raiser.

On May 12, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams - the first black speaker in New York City - commented on the charge of second degree manslaughter, and chalked it up to systemic racism. It’s “systemic racism that robs us of our basic humanity in life and death should no longer be denied after being on full display for the past 11 days… This should be an inflection point for our city to focus on ensuring New Yorkers have access to the essential services needed to be healthy and safe, and we make the budget investments and policy changes necessary to achieve this,” said Adams.

Yet, with billions of dollars spent by New York City, Adams insults the residents of the city with her statement, especially after city leaders called for defunding the police, making subways and other public spaces unsafe. And how does a man with 44 arrests walk free among the people?

Civil rights attorney Richard St. Paul took issue with Adams’ statement. “We’ve got to stop that narrative of race here in this particular situation because there are a lot of other things at play that come before race just because Penny happened to be white and Neely happened to be black. Penny was arrested, so let’s kill that narrative. It really boils down to mental health issues and what the city is doing to keep people out of the subways who have mental health [issues]. This could have been prevented. It’s politicians who make irresponsible statements about race - it’s just not responsible…. As a New Yorker we’ve got to stop and take account of what we’re doing to combat mental illness and crime in this city,” said St. Paul. 

Perhaps New York City, and quite frankly, all of the United States, should stop spending money on services for illegal aliens - hotels, food, drugs, and put money into the schools and mental health services for citizens and legal residents.

Ron Kuby, an attorney who represented one of the teens shot by Bernhard Goetz in a New York City subway on December 22, 1984, debased the entirety of the Penny-Neely interaction to race. “Penny is a white Marine and his victim was a mentally ill, homeless, queer black man. So that’s the agenda of white supremacy playing out right there,” said a clearly convoluted Kuby.

“Danny put his life at risk to save all those people - it had nothing to do with race,” said Raiser.

Neely no more knew Penny was a Marine, than Penny knew Neely was homeless, queer, mentally ill, or a 44 time arrestee. Neely suffered from depression following the 2007 murder of his mother by his step-father, but Penny could not have known that either. Clearly, the system failed Neely (partial solution above), but he didn’t do himself any favors with his recalcitrant behavior either.

Released on $100,000 bail, Penny is expected back in court on July 17 to face the grand jury. Whether a grand jury, or juries from potential civil or criminal trials, a jury of Penny’s peers should be chock full of subway riders. Public opinion certainly seems to side with Penny as more than $2.7 million has been raised for his legal defense as of May 22.

“I know Manhattan very well. The reality is that there is not a single living, breathing New Yorker, particularly anyone who rides the subways who can’t relate to exactly the sort of situation that my client was in,” said Kenniff on May 12 on WABC radio.

Penny, who potentially saved numerous lives, does not deserve to be punished for stepping up instead of standing down and acting like an emasculated bystander. More Daniel Pennys should ride the subways of New York City and elsewhere. Good Samaritans are few and far between these days, and that’s to the detriment of honest law abiding citizens.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. Born and raised in North Jersey, he is no stranger to the NYC subways.