We agree to the extent that Ron DeSantis is king — he says what he means, does what he says, and lands direct hits on those things meant to expose the hypocrisy of the Left. We’re with Charlemagne tha God who said DeSantis was a genius for flying around 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. The sanctuary island had them shipped off to a military base in less than 48 hours after calling in the National Guard.
Damon Linker, a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, has a piece on (the dangerously right-wing) Substack declaring DeSantis the “King of the Jerks” and accusing him of reducing politics to playing “practical jokes” on political enemies.
“When politics gets reduced to the performance of practical jokes on political enemies. It’s guaranteed to result in more anger, greater polarization, and less commitment to finding a way forward on the policies that divide us” https://t.co/vxlzcjvew2
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) September 19, 2022
Linker writes:
So why am I nonetheless irate about this whole episode? There are, I think, several reasons.
First and foremost, because the act itself was transparently designed to advance DeSantis’ political ambitions by using several dozen human beings as props. Purely in moral terms, that’s pretty vile. But so is what the stunt tells us about the kind of politics now practiced on the populist right. DeSantis had a single goal here: to shore up support ahead of the 2024 Republican primaries among the kind of jerks who get off on trolling liberals like me and relish treating immigrants like bags of trash you might be tempted to dump on the street outside the home of your greatest enemy.
That’s it. No policy goal was advanced, or could plausibly have been advanced, by the gesture. All it accomplished was to get DeSantis fawning attention from right-leaning media outlets while giving people a fresh occasion to scream at each other on Twitter and cable news programs.
What, pray tell, has the Biden administration accomplished with regard to the border, beside declaring it secure? What policy goals has President Joe Biden advanced, seeing has he sent more than 74 flights of illegal immigrants into Florida? His policy is to just keep shuffling them to military bases or flying them around the country, right?
If 50 is a "practical joke," what's 2 or 3 million?
— Antonio Martinez (@djtechchicago) September 19, 2022
Clearly, it becomes a problem when Republicans respond to the Democrats aggression. Just meekly accepting the Democrats assault on our society is what they are supposed to be doing.
— Hampton Prescott (@hprescott1991) September 19, 2022
When laws have been passed they should be followed by both the people and the government. The Federal government has refused to do its duty, therefore states are taking on the responsibilities.
— junglebob007 (@junglebob007) September 19, 2022
Democrats' immigration policy is the joke.
— Marius Roberts (@MariusRoberts) September 19, 2022
It’s the ridiculous hypocrisy that drives the anger
— WM (@APTeacher1754) September 19, 2022
This wasn't a joke or a stunt.
Alinsky's Rule #4: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
Martha's Vineyard made a lot of hay out of being a sanctuary for illegals right up until the day some actual illegals showed up. Then they called in the military to remove them.
— Occam's Stubble (@TXOdysseus) September 19, 2022
Nope – we aren’t fucking around anymore and we are done being nice! https://t.co/cmsp3PcLCx
— Jay Williams (@yanksfanspo_can) September 19, 2022
Reducing it to a practical joke is a cynical attempt to obscure the real, profound underlying issue
— One Eyed Man in the Land of the Blind (@SJonNantucket) September 19, 2022
Yes, the real profound issue is dumping people to sleep on the streets of overwhelmed border towns while pretending a ticket to somewhere else, anywhere else, is the issue.
— franks_3111 (@franks_3111) September 19, 2022
Have you considered advocating for fixing the problem?
— Sock Puppets United (@ReasonedCenter) September 19, 2022
Democrats love Republicans who don’t fight back. Unfortunately playing the part of the good-natured glutton for punishment doesn’t work in politics anymore (if it ever did), just ask McCain & Romney.
— Stars and Stripes (@StarznStrypz) September 19, 2022
If embarrassing the media and sanctuary city advocates into focusing on the border crisis is a "practical joke" then I say keep them coming
— JEFF2975 (@JEFFWH75) September 19, 2022
Why don't you write an editorial about how deceiving and dishonest our VP is around her comment that our border is secure ?
— JDN (@jaybird5590) September 19, 2022
Just admit it. You got owned. Your hypocrisy was exposed in a big way.
— UltraMAGA Trumpie Cowboy Cheeks (@CheeksCowboy) September 19, 2022
Yep. Call them political props if you want, but 1) Florida has been feeding, clothing, and sheltering these migrants for months with no fawning media coverage, and 2) they admit they wanted to go north.
Again, the Biden administration’s policy to handle the influx of migrants it what, exactly? House them under an overpass in Del Rio, Texas?
***
Related:
WATCH: Charlamagne tha God gives props to ‘genius’ Ron DeSantis for ‘[exposing] the hypocrisy of the Democrats’ with Martha’s Vineyard flights https://t.co/8dGNi5tYxM
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 19, 2022
Join the conversation as a VIP Member