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When Gov. Ron DeSantis arranged for two charter planes to carry 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, many people wondered why he was meddling in another state’s affairs. Was it a “political stunt” designed to bolster his chances for the Republican party’s presidential nomination in 2024? Or was DeSantis just trying to highlight the hypocrisy of many liberals around this issue? Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette explains why he appreciates the point DeSantis was trying to make but abhors the way he went about it.
Neither side, neither political party, gets immigration right. Yes, DeSantis deserves some credit. But he also deserves a much greater share of blame and scorn for the despicable act of using desperate people, including women and children, as political props.
The migrants who arrived on Martha’s Vineyard were misled and deceived by representatives from DeSantis’ office. They were told that there were jobs waiting for them in Boston.
Guess what? Had the offer been on the level, it’s likely those people would indeed have found jobs in Boston, because in the age of “quiet quitting” and “the great resignation,” and “help wanted” signs from sea to shining sea, it’s clear that a lot of Americans don’t want to work anymore. But the offer was a lie. See, that’s how DeSantis rolls. That’s how he gets his jollies.
He finds desperate and downtrodden people, refugees, with nothing more than the clothes on their back and desire to work at jobs that Americans won’t do. Instead of welcoming them and giving them a hand up, he kicks them while they’re down. Such a big man.
DeSantis pulled this stunt because he wants to be president in 2024. That’s the whole thing. And he thinks immigration is one of the issues that can get them to the White House.
So what if, as governor, the only borders he really has to worry about are the ones that Florida shares with Georgia and Alabama. That’s what poaching and private jets are for.
How ironic. DeSantis wanted to show the country what a practical joker he could be and all he did in the end was show the country what he really is. In the words of my friend and former grad school professor, former Wyoming Senator Al Simpson, DeSantis is the south end of a horse headed north.
