Friday's letters: DeSantis destined to burn out, lose GOP nomination to indicted Trump

DeSantis’ campaign going down in flames

“Dead Man Walking”: This 1995 movie title could also be applied to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

He is destined to join the list of Florida politicians who failed in their bids to become the Republican Party’s nominee for president. Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio come immediately to mind.

What sets him apart is how spectacularly he has failed. On the surface, he had everything going for him. A sitting governor, a huge war chest and a list of draconian laws he passed in Florida that would make any dictator proud. Where did he go wrong?

Running against former President Donald Trump didn’t help but having the personality of a wet dishrag seems to have been a real detriment to anyone getting excited about his candidacy.

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But trying to run to the right of Trump – with extreme views on abortion, LGBTQ issues, African American history and parental rights – seems not to have caught on. In fact, just the opposite.

DeSantis will eventually return to governing Florida as a disgruntled, vindictive and bitter loser, which will be the worst thing for the residents.

Felton Marans, Lakewood Ranch

Not much to complain about in Sarasota

Many people who moved here only a decade or so ago now complain a lot.

“Too much traffic, uncontrolled high-rise development, noise and environmental pollution!”

We arrived here more than 65 years ago. The county’s population was about 35,000; now it’s nearly 450,000.

I fondly remember Daisy Byrd’s famous burgers at Dan Byrd’s fish camp on the New Pass Bridge. Part of Beneva Road was sand, with an occasional alligator in the way! Pop Jansen would sell you a smoked mullet wrapped in newspaper at City Island. Sarasota truly was a “sleepy fishing village.”

But today, we “locals” can still eat at many great locally owned restaurants, such as Alpine Steak House, Madfish Grill and Toasted Mango, to name a few.

We have a very mixed community – white, Black, Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander and more. LGBTQ, straight, redneck, very rich, very poor, woke: It’s all here, but surprisingly melded into homogeneous positive fluidity.

I continue to grade Sarasota very high. Maybe not "A+," but a solid "A."

It ain’t perfect, but still a fantastic place to live.

Al E. Bavry, Sarasota

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: DeSantis will return to governing as disgruntled, bitter loser