I am not a Vivek Ramaswamy guy. My candidate for president is Ron DeSantis, who I believe to be one of the most effective governors the country has seen in my lifetime, perhaps ever. He has executive experience, good judgment, a fighting spirit, a history of winning, and has the best chance to reign in the administrative state.

But I have to admit, Vivek is on fire.

This flip of the script by @VivekGRamaswamy is brilliant. He walks the media through their major narrative lies, asking if they agree or disagree.

Russia-Collusion Hoax
Origin of Covid Lies
Hunter Laptop Coverup
Media Election Interference
Suppression of Free Speech https://t.co/X3wYEJIsax

— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) January 10, 2024

The only thing missing is an apple, but Vivek substituted a glass of water so it comes close to being a classic.

I have no idea whether anybody in that media crowd has a lick of shame left in their bosoms, but chances are that at least a few of them do. However cynical I am about the media and their allegiance to the regime, at least a few of the people in that crowd of regime stenographers likely know that they have sold their souls.

At least, I hope so.

Not that it will make a difference to them, but for a second, a minute, or even a day, they may feel unclean, and that is a good thing. I have come to believe that the MSM is the greatest single threat to our country, not because they commit the most harm but because they enable it to be done by others.

If the MSM were doing its job, the public schools would be neutered as an ideological institution. Adam Schiff would have been a nobody if they had been honest during the Trump administration. The Hunter Biden laptop would have been openly discussed, the COVID-19 debate would have been vastly different, schools would not have been shut down, censorship would have been averted, and many of the harms thrust upon us would have been averted.

There are many bad actors out there, but the MSM is the lynchpin of the operation to undermine our Republic.

Republicans have been absolutely dreadful in dealing with the corruption of the MSM–and that includes Fox News’ on-again, off-again collaboration with the establishment–and it is only recently that they have begun to fight back effectively.

No doubt Trump opened the door–crashed through it actually–and proved that you can fight back without being destroyed. But as I have said before, Trump is an imperfect messenger because he is so easy to caricature. He is a brawler, when what you need is somebody proficient with a rapier.

Pierre Poilievre still provides the perfect example of a politician taking down an MSM reporter, but he probably couldn’t break through in the United States, where politesse is less valued than Canada.

Pierre Poilievre casually smacks down a left wing journalist while munching on an apple. pic.twitter.com/FeAcjCncvw

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 17, 2023

Vivek’s weakness, of course, is his rather checkered record of policy statements. He has been all over the place, although Trump has also been.

Even with that weakness–and his being untested in dealing with a bureaucracy as stubborn as the federal civil servant class–he serves a great purpose in this race. He is showing how to hold the media accountable in the way that Trump has shown how to go around the media and speak directly to voters.

What neither Trump nor Vivek has demonstrated, to my satisfaction, is consistent competence. Each shows flashes of brilliance, but DeSantis has been relentlessly competent, and he stays on target.

We will soon see what voters think when forced to act, not just speak to pollsters. Trump looks to be solidly ahead, demonstrating conclusively what I always knew–I am not your typical Republican voter. But there is a reason why we hold elections, right? Trump had a 0% chance of winning until he won.

Predictions are hard, especially about the future.