NEXT STEPS
While former Republican Congressman David Trott of Birmingham is officially out of office, he’s kept his finger on the pulse of political activity, and definitely has an opinion on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, newly declared for a run for president in 2024. As Trott told Politico, the two sat right next to each other while serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and yet the fellow Republican never said a word to Trott. “He’s the wrong guy for the country,” Trott told Downtown. “He’s a bully. He’s using culture wars to start fights to pit groups of people against each other. If he becomes the 47th president, he’d be a divisive and acrimonious president. He’s a polarizing figure – and he does it with intent to energize his base.” Trott noted that DeSantis goes out of his way to get involved with business affairs – take his Disney obsession, which recently lost the state $1 billion of new business. “Is he (Senator) Elizabeth Warren? That’s not Reaganomics,” he said. Where Trott and other establishment Republican are turning their focus is towards the Common Sense Party, which he said is not a typical third party. “Third parties are futile endeavors, and there’s no reason to raise money,” Trott acknowledged. “If we are successful in getting fusion voting returned in Michigan – which we had until 1890, which is where with moderate candidates and moderate ideas, the Common Sense Party could interview both candidates running for a seat and pick the one who is less extreme.” He said voters would then see three choices on a ballot – a Republican, a Democrat and a Common Sense, and if the Common Sense and the Democrat are the same, with fusion, the total of the two would be added together to produce a winner. Trott and others see Independents and moderates from both parties endorsing this idea, and said it is different from the No Labels Party, which is seeking to nominate candidates. “It’s not intended to punish one party over the other but to choose moderate, mainstream candidates,” he said. That’s an idea we all could get behind.