Will Ron DeSantis Become America's Putin?

For a while, I've been saying that if the US continues to support Trump-like conservatives in elected government offices along with their agenda, Russia's present will be America's future. Why did I pick Russia as a preview of our future? It is because Russia is led by a religious tyrant and that his hold on public office partially depends on popular support from the dominant branch of the Church in Russia: the Russian Orthodox Church. In return, elected officials in that government, especially Vlad Putin, have thrown enough bones to that  Church in order to maintain that support.

And so there are two comparisons to make here. The first one would Trump and Yeltsin and the second would be DeSantis and Putin. 

We should note that the first comparison is not as comparable as the second one. Part of that is because Trump's authoritarianism, and possibly his narcissism, compares more favorably with that of Putin than with Yeltsin. Also, Yeltsin allowed more criticism of his regime than Trump would have allowed if it weren't for the courts. 

However, both Trump and Yeltsin's personal problems often distracted them from what they were doing politically. Except, of course, Yeltsin's personal problem probably interfered more with his Presidential performance than Trump's. In the end, both leaders underwent the impeachment process twice and both leaders  left their respective nations hurting when they left office. With Trump, his lack of respect for the seriousness of the pandemic and the advice of medical science, starting in May of 2020, along with his insistence on the 'big lie' and his attempt to inspire an insurrection and coup left the US reeling. For Yeltsin, his incompetence at handling the economy left the Russian rouble in dire straights. 

In the end, however, the personal lives of both Yeltsin and Trump made them more-less into clowns who could still garner support from voters. 

But after Yeltsin came Putin and he is no clown. Putin demonstrated competence and then ushered in an autocratic rule that protects the interests of Russia's oligarchs, a group that he joined. Though not saying a word now, Gorbachev in one of his books once criticized Putin for his suppression of  alternative political parties and rival candidates. 

Putin has taken revenge on many of his critics and rivals. Putin surrounds himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear. And Putin presents himself as the protector, and even a savior, of his people. Also, he ties his religious faith to that self-image so that he sees himself, and those who agree with him, as having a monopoly on truth.

What have we seen from DeSantis? He has persecuted and is taking revenge on DisneyWorld for taking a public stand against DeSantis's what is commonly called 'Don't Say Gay' bill. DeSantis appointed a surgeon general for Florida that shared his views on the pandemic as Florida quit reporting pandemic information that was requested by the CDC. In addition, under that Surgeon General's leadership, Florida quit following CDC guidelines despite the heavy infection rate and loss of life. 

Currently DeSantis is trying to silence what is commonly called Wokism from being taught in schools and businesses. In fact, he seems to portray himself as this righteous crusader against wokism in the state of Florida. Like Putin, DeSantis is competent in his job.

But what will appeal to many conservative people in the US is that, like Putin, DeSantis projects an image of having much more self-restraint than his predecessor. And so DeSantis will enter a Presidential election without the social image baggage that Trump has in abundance.

But the dreaded trait that Putin, DeSantis, and Trump all share is their authoritarianism. With that authoritarianism is the eagerness to show hostility to those who disagree. All three portray themselves as champions who are defending traditional national values. And do you know what leader from the past did the same? If you answered with 'Adolf Hitler,' you would be correct. One of the campaign issues that Hitler and the Nazis ran on was the restoration of German traditional values.

Fortunately for us in the US, our judicial system has stopped both Trump and DeSantis from being as controlling and ruthless as they appear to want to be. But with a conservative SCOTUS and Trump's other judicial appointments, along with a slew of conspiracy-believing, authoritarian-loving, and January 6th supporting followers, some of whom are now in positions to perhaps interfere with elections as election officials or as legislators, such as those who have passed "colorblind" laws to make it more difficult for minorities to vote, we are seeing some very ominous storm clouds moving closer and closer to us from the horizon.

If DeSantis is elected President in 2024 and this article is correct about him being similar to Putin, we could expect to see a very controlled nation under the leadership of a power hungry authoritarian. If this article is correct, then we might very well be singing our own version of Pussy Riot's Police State.

Again, what has currently held back the authoritarianism of Trump when he was President and DeSantis as the current governor of Florida is our judicial system. Our judicial system prevented the legal side of Trump's coup attempt. But should Trump or DeSantis become President in 2024, all bets are off for whether our judicial system can save us again.