In recent days, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas have sent a bus load and a plane load of migrants to Washington and Martha's Vineyard. The Martha's Vineyard stunt focused the attention of the nation. Michele Norris writes in The Washington Post:
It’s all part of an ongoing shift-and-dump campaign from Southern Republican governors who are using desperate people as political pawns to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies. It happened again Thursday when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) claimed credit for sending two surprise buses full of migrants to D.C., where they were dropped off near the residence of Vice President Harris carrying all they have in clear plastic trash bags.
These moves surely delight those in the Trumpian base who have taken to social media with glee. The surprise drops are meant to underscore the alleged hypocrisy of liberals by forcing them to deal with an influx of immigrants.
But the residents of The Vineyard showed DeSantis and Abbott for who they are. It's a place that practices what it preaches:
It’s . . . a place that has over many decades opened its arms to various waves of immigrants, and it did so this week with no warning or preparation, standing up an emergency shelter within hours — finding food, clothing, inflatable beds, children’s toys, feminine hygiene products, linens and volunteer interpreters who speak Spanish.
DeSantis and Abbott claim to be Christians. One of the tenets of their faith is to welcome strangers. Not so for these hypocrites. In fact, they are two modern examples of the essential American hypocrisy:
It was all a hoax, and similar to the play toward hypocrisy this week, the thought then was that if busloads of Black families with lots of kids showed up in Hyannis and other cities, the Northerners would balk, and their insincerity would be exposed for all to see. Instead, local leaders, Black and White, formed a Refugee Relief Committee and arranged housing and jobs and got the children enrolled in schools.
So, what is the real objective when governors such as Abbott and DeSantis engage in this kind of charade? I think we know.
They are playing with people’s lives to impress their base.
It’s ugly stuff. And it underestimates the generous spirit of this country.
There is a long history in the United States of human trafficking. But, recently, those who engage in it have been indicted and jailed. DeSantis and Abbott should be treated like the many others who have spent time in the Graybar Hotel.
Image: The Toronto Star
