Desperate Florida Democrat compares DeSantis to Hitler

 Alex Perez:

Nikki Fried, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture and Democratic candidate for the state’s governorship, recently compared Governor Ron DeSantis to Hitler. Fried’s deplorable comparison, sadly, was right in line with an erratic gubernatorial campaign laced with desperation and idiocy.

Fried has attempted to position herself as Florida’s savior from the supposedly despotically inclined DeSantis. The problem for her — and for anyone who runs against DeSantis for that matter — is that over the course of the pandemic the incumbent has become an extremely popular political superstar. An increasing number of Floridians want him to continue transforming the state as he sees fit. Fried, who is by no means a skilled tactician, has very few cards to play, as evidenced by the Hitler comment.

Fried’s main issue — other than her tone-deafness — is the fact that she’s staked much of her campaign on painting DeSantis as a genocidal freak who kept Florida open during the pandemic. But as even Democrats begin to shift away from unpopular lockdown policies, the premise of her candidacy has collapsed. Realizing this, Fried has pivoted to a histrionic and well-trodden playbook — frame DeSantis as the new Trump. DeSantis, according to Fried and her enablers, is no longer a wild man letting Covid run wild, but a budding fascist who, any day now, will name himself King Florida Man and commandeer Mar-a-Lago.

To hear Fried tell it, everything DeSantis does indicates the arrival of fascism on the shores of the Sunshine State. According to Fried, when DeSantis decided to reinstate the Florida State Guard, he wasn’t merely reestablishing a mostly symbolic state body, but “creating a private army.” This is obviously crazy talk, but given that Fried’s team has encouraged her wackier impulses, it isn’t a surprise. What is surprising is how early in the game she deployed this tactic, betraying just how desperate she really is.
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When one understands that Fried embodies the modern Democratic Party, it becomes increasingly clear that the pandemic has broken that party. If any smart Democratic operatives remain, they’ll study the fiasco that is the Fried campaign and steer the party away from the rudderless emotionality that drives its leaders and members.
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Desperate Democrats are resorting to ahistorical Hitler comparisons early in the campaign.  They tried the same sorry nonsense with Trump too.  Making illogical and inept comparisons to Hitler is a sign of shallow thinking and an inability to make rational arguments for their campaign.