Those of us with a few years under our belts remember when Star Wars was a series of fun space operas before Kathleen Kennedy ruined the franchise with her woker than thou garbage. Anyway, in the first film, there is an important scene where Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader are dueling lightsaber style. Near the fight’s conclusion, Obi-Wan says to his opponent, “You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Shortly thereafter, Kenobi catches a glimpse of Luke Skywalker. Kenobi smiles and allows Vader to strike what seemingly should be a fatal blow … only there is no Kenobi present.

Reading about the Mar-a-Lago raid reminded me of this scene I first saw in the theater back when I was finishing my senior year of high school (ouch). While Donald Trump isn’t an Obi-Wan Kenobi variant, the referenced scene accurately portrays what will likely be coming down the pike. It won’t be pretty for Trump’s opponents.

If Trump has evidenced anything in his political career, it’s that the field where he grows his ƒ’s has never produced a crop. He does not care about opinion. Opposition never dissuades him. Trump will say and, more importantly, do what he believes is best. You can either get on board or not. Either way is fine with him.

It is painfully apparent to all, save perhaps a few liberals, that the raid has nothing to do with accusations of Trump breaking any laws and everything to do with doing whatever can be done to thwart his running in 2024. The media is fully aware no one believes their bilge water about how the economy is excellent, foreign policy is silky smooth, and anything the Biden Administration says or does is a-ok because climate change will kill us all if we don’t kill our individual, collective, and economic freedom right now. They pump it out regardless in hopes they can somehow filter through to the low-information voters, but inside they know it is a lost cause. All they can do is try and keep the Democrats in power through fear and lies.

It is ironic the Democrats should be so focused on preventing Trump from any future runs at political office. If they somehow do block Trump, they will immediately position Ron DeSantis to challenge them in 2024. If anything, DeSantis is a more formidable foe to their plans than Trump. DeSantis has a record on which to run. Florida survived COVID by opening up early, thus faring far better than every other state that shut everything down. DeSantis leads by doing, backing up his words with, for example, direct action against agenda-driven teachers on multiple fronts, be it gender-based or CRT. DeSantis walks the talk.

There are obvious differences. DeSantis is hardly Trump’s apprentice. However, he comes from the same cloth; the wearers readily identified by no ƒ’s given and no quarter offered. DeSantis works with people of like mind. For a delicious thought, envision a White House correspondents’ press conference led by Christina Pushaw. By its conclusion, every “journalist” in attendance would be standing because their happy selves would be too roasted to sit down.

It is natural to feel righteous anger at the cowardly, blatantly political Mar-a-Lago raid. But do not let it consume you, provoking rash words or more. Stay calm and focused. Chances are more than excellent Trump emerges from this more potent than ever. Even if he doesn’t, Ron DeSantis is next man up, he’s got a lightsaber, and he’s definitely not afraid to use it.