Bring on the clowns: Exhibit A on how elections have consequences. It's time to act. Here's how
News and commentary for thoughtful Floridians who care about the future of democracy
When you hire a clown to run your government, you get a circus. And don’t be surprised if the clown-in-chief doesn’t end up burning the Big Top down.
That metaphor comes to mind as I am traveling this week, inspired by a couple of stories I read this morning before hitting the road.
I will be posting less frequently while out of the office, but I thought I would share these stories with you from some of my favorite news sources, including The Contrarian on Substack and Florida Phoenix, whose coverage of the Florida Legislature has been second-to-none this session.
The first clown show, unsurprisingly, involves our Narcissist-in-Chief. Here’s the headline and the first few paragraphs with a link to the rest of the story:
Trump’s War is the Worst Conceived in American History
By Jennifer Rubin
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Donald Trump that an attack on Iran would provoke its closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Every president contemplating war in the Middle East has known this and therefore avoided a full regional war. But Trump said he knew better and plunged into war. Of course, Trump was wrong — monumentally, predictably, and inexcusably wrong. Now, the Strait is mined and closed, the war rages out of control, oil prices have spiked, and the economy is teetering.
This catastrophic blunder stems from Trump’s delusion that a forty-seven-year-old Islamic regime insulated by layers of bureaucracy, an enormous military, an entrenched ideology, and a fervent national identity could be bombed out of existence. He convinced himself and his cult that — without adverse consequences — he could replace the mullahs with a friendlier regime (who, exactly, he never said). This madness, enabled by the phalanx of yes-men afraid to tell Trump he is wrong (even about their shoe size), was not unique to Trump.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, another regime change fabulist, frequently insisted, as he did at the war’s start, that full-scale war would “create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”
DeSantis’ resolve to pass his vaccine policies strengthens as measles cases continue to rise
By Christine Sexton
His attempt to alter the state’s vaccine policies for school children failed during the now-concluded legislative session, but Gov. Ron DeSantis says that he remains committed to seeing his policies pass before having to leave his post in January 2027.
The 2026 regular session was DeSantis’ last as governor, but the Republican could have as many as three more opportunities in the form of special sessions to strong-arm his policies through a reluctant Legislature.
DeSantis already has called a five-day special session for congressional redistricting. The Legislature also must at some point reconvene to agree upon and pass a state budget after it was unable to do so during the regular session, although no official dates have been announced.
A potential third opportunity could be the special session on property taxes that DeSantis has indicated he wants.
“There’s more than one way to skin the cat on some of this stuff,” DeSantis said when asked about having the Legislature address some of his priorities this year. “I’m committed to seeing the policies ultimately prevail. And we’ll look to see what options that we have.”
Oh, and a bonus story just to show how utterly out of control this circus has become:
Trump appointee proposes ripping out the White House’s 200-year-old columns for the flashier style found at Mar-a-Lago
For nearly two centuries, the White House’s front entrance has been framed by a row of slender Ionic columns — one of the most recognizable images of American democracy. Now a Trump appointee wants to tear them out and replace them with something more regal.
Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the newly installed chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts, publicly proposed swapping the North Portico’s Ionic columns for the more ornate Corinthian style at a commission meeting last month, according to the Washington Post.
I know, I know, it’s enough to make you want to tear your hair out (in my case, not a big chore).
What can we do?
Here are two suggestions:
There are more than 2,000 No Kings Day rallies planned across the United States on March 28. Find the one nearest to where you live here:
We can’t take back Florida from top-to-bottom Republican control if we don’t have candidates running for office. Here’s how you can help:
Onward thru the fog
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the Free State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog.
Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.
J.C. Bruce
Sharing is caring
As this newsletter was written, Tropic Press was reaching more than 750,000 subscribers in Florida and elsewhere. With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort by sharing this newsletter with friends. If you are reading this as an email, simply forward it. Or you can use the link below. Thanks.
From the very first moment I saw and heard Trump I knew he was the biggest phony I had ever witnessed. I am only one citizen, a voter, a USMC VN veteran, and my experience has taught me that a TV conman is a circus clown in government office. Is anybody laughing at this tragedy?
Jennifer Rubin's analysis neglects too important (to the Powers-That-Be) goals. Those that love the closure of the Strait of Hormuz that initiating this war on Iran would bring about have been rewarded. First, oil interests in the US are ecstatic about profits from higher oil prices. Second, the anti-communist Sinophobes are equally ecstatic about limiting exports of Iranian oil to China. These goals, however, will fail.
My assessment is that higher oil prices might enrich the American oil companies' CEOs and shareholders, but the American public will not tolerate higher prices for long. As for China, she has known about American plans for blockading petroleum imports for years and has taken steps to frustrate those plans. With extensive arrays of solar and wind power as well as solid agreements with Russia for natural gas and oil using the North Sea Route, she can shrug off relatively limited restrictions of energy from the Gulf.