Ron Desantis is Proud to Portray Himself as an Idiot to Show His Devotion to Trump

Don’t skip this ad just because you don’t live in Florida. But first, tie a bow around your chin so your jaw won’t get hurt when it drops to the ground.

Florida’s choices for governor are a Republican who is owned and operated by the NRA and Big Sugar (and whose agency stopped conducting background checks for concealed carry permits because it couldn’t remember its password), a Hillary Clinton-esque moderate Democrat who is almost guaranteed to lose because of the lack of enthusiasm she inspires among voters, and…this putz.

To paraphrase the old saying about Mexico, “Poor Florida — so far from God and so close to the United States.”

Russsia Has Liquidated Most of Its U.S. Treasury Bonds

84%

“The Russian government has sold off the vast majority of its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities for reasons that remain mysterious, in a dramatic move that experts are calling unprecedented,” the Daily Mail reports. “A U.S. Treasury report released on July 18 shows that Russian holdings of Treasury securities declined by 84% between March and May, down to just $14.9 billion from March holdings of $96.1 billion.”

Half of Republicans Want to Defend Trump in Russia Probe

49%

A new CBS News poll finds that 49% of Republicans say that hearing criticisms of President Trump on the Russia investigation only makes them want to defend him more. Another 42% say they want to wait to see what the facts show. Seventy percent of Republicans call the Russia investigation a “witch hunt,” while 77% of Democrats call it a “critical” matter of national security.

Nightmare Scenario is Too Simple, Too Close

Norm Ornstein’s nightmare will be yours after you read this.

The magnificent Diane Rehm recently had the very smart Mr. Ornstein as a guest on her podcast. His book with his writing partner, Thomas Mann, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, was criticized for its lack of false equivalencies in mostly blaming Republicans for obstructionism under Obama, but to many others this only lent him greater credibility.

That’s why I can’t get his nightmare scenario for how Trump could end our democracy out of my head. Here’s what Ornstein said on Rehm’s podcast. You must understand it too. […]

Abrams Could Be the First Black Female Governor in the U.S.

“Describe someone as ‘commanding the room’ and you generally conjure an image of gravitas — a man, likely white, in a suit, emitting soaring oratory. Abrams is a big-boned, natural-haired, youthful-looking woman with a quizzical smile and a gap between her front teeth. She’s as likely to geek out about tax policy or Star Trek as she is to summon the spirit of justice. … Yet when she speaks, all kinds of people — from black folks in rural communities to yuppie ‘resistance’ moms around Atlanta to this crowd of rough-handed electrical workers — go quiet and listen. In a Democratic Party divided and desperate for fresh faces, Abrams is already becoming a national star.”

Molly Ball

GDP Up in Second Quarter, Not Expected to Last

4.1%

“United States gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 4.1% in the second quarter, up from 2.2% in the first three months of the year. It was the strongest quarter of growth since 2014,” the New York Times reports. “The second-quarter acceleration was widely anticipated by economists, a result of a confluence of events unlikely to recur. Most economists expect growth to slow in the second half of the year.”

Dems Ahead in Three Midwestern Governor Races

Three

NBC News/Marist polled possible match ups for governor in three key Midwestern states:
• In Wisconsin, Tony Evers (D) leads Gov. Scott Walker (R), 54% to 41%.

• In Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer (D) leads Bill Schuette (R), 47% to 38%.

• In Minnesota, Lori Swanson (D) leads Tim Pawlenty (R) 51% to 40%, while Tim Walz (D) leads Pawlenty (R) 51% to 40%.