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Ross Douthat tries to gloss DeSantis’ abusive treatment of migrants. It goes about as well as you would expect.

Eric Kramer | September 17, 2022 3:33 pm

Politics

DeSantis’ decision to send migrants to Martha’s Vineyard on false pretenses was clearly repugnant. In fact, it seems to have been even worse than it appears: the organizers apparently tried to trick the migrants into reporting their whereabouts to the wrong authorities, which would have jeopardized their status.

But over on twitter, Ross Douthat tries to put a bit of lipstick on the pig:

This was always the obvious point of the stunt, not to show that NE liberals would mistreat migrants but to provoke a huge mobilization – National Guard! – and imply a contrast w/a liberal WH failing to help border communities dealing w/far larger influx.https://t.co/nSD4vD9dTI
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) September 16, 2022

The thing is, Douthat is misrepresenting the purpose of DeSantis’ stunt. He explained his careerist motives to a group of Republican donors. From WAPO:

Flying immigrants from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard is the latest move by DeSantis to seize the national spotlight and solidify his place among conservative supporters.
The 51-minute speech to the donor retreat gave a clear outline of how he might sell himself to Republican base voters during a potential 2024 presidential bid. The remarks were full of grievance and culture war pugilism, casting the nation’s political future as a battle against a conspiracy by leftists to impose their ideology and turn dissenters into “second-class citizens.” His message, according to the people in the room, was that America should become more like Florida — and that he would be a culture warrior.

Or check out what Tucker Carlson had to say about DeSantis abuse on Fox:

For hundreds of years, Martha’s Vineyard has suffered from the soul-crushing effects of its own whiteness. Island residents understood there was only one cure. They badly needed diversity.

Relief finally arrived from an unlikely source yesterday: Ron DeSantis. pic.twitter.com/8Z6Bw1hQxS
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) September 16, 2022

This guy is *seething* that this didn’t play out like he thought it would. https://t.co/fOITcwvZs0
— Matt Ford (@fordm) September 16, 2022

18 Comments

Fred C. Dobbs says:

September 18, 2022 at 9:30 am

Now this is an op-ed.

Perla, the woman migrants say enticed them onto planes, reflects an ugliness we must contend with

Boston Globe – Yvonne Abraham – Sep 17

I can’t stop thinking about Perla.

She is the woman who enticed those desperate migrants in San Antonio to board the planes that landed on Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday. Some of the Venezuelans flown to Massachusetts told reporters the tall, blond, well-dressed woman with the white truck scouted for passengers outside a migrant shelter and in a fast-food restaurant, promising them immigration paperwork, jobs, and free housing if they’d agree to get on the planes. She even put them up in an airport hotel until there were enough of them to fill the flights.

As everyone now knows, Perla was lying. She was the frontwoman for a depraved stunt by Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, who used taxpayer money to fly recently-arrived migrants out of Texas — not even his own state — and into Martha’s Vineyard. He did it with no notice, in the hopes of visiting chaos upon the island and scoring himself publicity.

Perla, the kindly coyote, is straight out of a Dickens story. I hope she was paid well enough for her acting to allow her to sleep at night.

But the scheme in which she played her role was only half successful: For it wasn’t chaos and hardship which greeted the immigrants arriving in this state, but compassion. Vineyard residents, some of whom struggle themselves, quickly came together to feed and shelter the Venezuelans. Attorneys descended to help them navigate the immigration system. In addition to deceiving them about their destination, an incensed immigration attorney Rachel Self told reporters, authorities in Texas had set up the migrants’ paperwork to make avoiding deportation almost impossible without legal intervention. That was a nice touch.

Still, DeSantis got his fawning coverage on Fox News, where pundits and Republican politicians have been positively giddy at what they claim is comeuppance for hypocritical liberals. To do so, they’ve had to conveniently ignore the fact that what actually happened was that a community, and a state, that has long welcomed immigrants swung into action yet again. …

… DeSantis and others claim these stunts are meant to force a solution to the crisis at our border. But how do we to fix our broken immigration system when one side sees the people coming in as sub-human, who claim their own despicable behavior is divinely inspired?

“We have strapped on the full armor of God,” DeSantis recently said, previewing for top donors his plan to send migrants to the Vineyard, according to The Washington Post. …
- run75441 says:
  
  September 18, 2022 at 11:06 am
  
  Fred:
  
  The content of these articles makes for a good post. Why not write a post using these articles? It would get posted.
  - Fred C. Dobbs says:
    
    September 18, 2022 at 11:18 am
    
    Delete whichever one you want, but not all if you please.
    
    When posts go into ‘moderation’, one never knows how long they are going to stay there. If there’s a way around that, I am going to take it, if I feel a need.
    - run75441 says:
      
      September 18, 2022 at 11:43 am
      
      Fred:
      
      That is not what I said. Your posts go into moderation because of their numerous links and the length of them.
      
      I am not here 100% of the time and neither is anyone else. Moderation helps to keep the creeps out who are deliberating posting foul things such as porno. The system looks at various things and makes a determination. You end up there unfortunately with some of your comments.
      
      If you do a post, you have better control. A post is not 100 percent copy and past of links and articles either.
Fred C. Dobbs says:

September 18, 2022 at 9:32 am

Now this is an op-ed.

Perla, the woman migrants say enticed them onto planes, reflects an ugliness we must contend with

Boston Globe – Yvonne Abraham – Sep 17
- Fred C. Dobbs says:
  
  September 18, 2022 at 9:33 am
  
  I can’t stop thinking about Perla.
  
  She is the woman who enticed those desperate migrants in San Antonio to board the planes that landed on Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday. Some of the Venezuelans flown to Massachusetts told reporters the tall, blond, well-dressed woman with the white truck scouted for passengers outside a migrant shelter and in a fast-food restaurant, promising them immigration paperwork, jobs, and free housing if they’d agree to get on the planes. She even put them up in an airport hotel until there were enough of them to fill the flights.
  
  As everyone now knows, Perla was lying. She was the frontwoman for a depraved stunt by Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, who used taxpayer money to fly recently-arrived migrants out of Texas — not even his own state — and into Martha’s Vineyard. He did it with no notice, in the hopes of visiting chaos upon the island and scoring himself publicity. …
  - Fred C. Dobbs says:
    
    September 18, 2022 at 9:34 am
    
    Perla, the kindly coyote, is straight out of a Dickens story. I hope she was paid well enough for her acting to allow her to sleep at night.
    
    But the scheme in which she played her role was only half successful: For it wasn’t chaos and hardship which greeted the immigrants arriving in this state, but compassion. Vineyard residents, some of whom struggle themselves, quickly came together to feed and shelter the Venezuelans. Attorneys descended to help them navigate the immigration system. In addition to deceiving them about their destination, an incensed immigration attorney Rachel Self told reporters, authorities in Texas had set up the migrants’ paperwork to make avoiding deportation almost impossible without legal intervention. That was a nice touch. …
Fred C. Dobbs says:

September 18, 2022 at 9:37 am

Still, DeSantis got his fawning coverage on Fox News, where pundits and Republican politicians have been positively giddy at what they claim is comeuppance for hypocritical liberals. To do so, they’ve had to conveniently ignore the fact that what actually happened was that a community, and a state, that has long welcomed immigrants swung into action yet again. …

… DeSantis and others claim these stunts are meant to force a solution to the crisis at our border. But how do we to fix our broken immigration system when one side sees the people coming in as sub-human, who claim their own despicable behavior is divinely inspired?

“We have strapped on the full armor of God,” DeSantis recently said, previewing for top donors his plan to send migrants to the Vineyard, according to The Washington Post. …
Fred C. Dobbs says:

September 18, 2022 at 9:45 am

Above is an op-ed. Below is a news story.

Migrants head to temporary shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod

Boston Globe – Sep 16

In an emotional farewell Friday, the roughly 50 Venezuelan migrants flown unannounced to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday in what critics derided as a cruel political stunt by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis left the island for temporary housing on Cape Cod.

Just before 10 a.m., one large bus and two smaller ones from the Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority pulled in front of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church to a crowd of families waiting in the driveway with backpacks and suitcases.

The teary-eyed migrants hugged volunteers, took selfies, and gave the church — which had doubled as an emergency shelter for them — a round of applause before embarking on the next stretch of their journey to Joint Base Cape Cod in Bourne, which Governor Charlie Baker’s office said Friday was being offered as temporary shelter. …

The individuals and families will be housed in dormitory-style spaces on the base, which is designated as an emergency shelter in Barnstable County, with separate spaces accommodating solo travelers. Families will not be separated.

“We are grateful to the providers, volunteers and local officials that stepped up on Martha’s Vineyard” to offer assistance, Baker said in a statement.

The base, officials noted, has previously housed and cared for displaced individuals, including Louisiana residents affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

A Baker spokesman declined a Globe request Friday to interview the governor about the situation.

At around 11 a.m., the migrants departed the shuttle buses and boarded a Yankee charter bus, which rolled onto a freight ferry at Vineyard Haven for the trip to Woods Hole and the Joint Base.

During the ferry ride, migrants took in the view of the ocean, which glimmered and sparkled under the sun and clear blue sky. They took photos on donated Motorola cellphones and called family back in their home countries.

Some propped their children onto the side of the ship so they could see. Others smoked cigarettes, even though they weren’t supposed to. Rafael, 23, climbed up on a side railing and smiled a wide, braces-adorned smile. He took a selfie.

Another migrant, a 27-year-old man named Pablo, watched the coast line fade as he remembered his whirlwind stay in Edgartown.

“It was very warm, very kind, very collaborative, very kind-hearted,” he said in Spanish. The volunteers “helped me. We started as political pawns in the middle of a political game. . . . I understand that they don’t want immigrants in Texas and Florida. However, human life is not a game.”

He said he was impressed with how the Massachusetts authorities quickly got the group the help they needed.

“It is a great country, with many opportunities, and we come to add, to try to be part of society,” Pablo said. …
- Fred C. Dobbs says:
  
  September 18, 2022 at 11:01 am
  
  “On behalf of the Commonwealth, I thank everyone on the ground who quickly came together to provide assistance on the Vineyard. The Commonwealth has many resources for assisting individuals that arrive in Massachusetts with varying immigration statuses and needs and is working with all partners involved to make sure those resources are available to the migrants that arrived last night. In addition, the Baker-Polito Administration is exploring setting up temporary shelter and humanitarian services at Joint Base Cape Cod and will share additional information as soon as it becomes available.”
  
  – Governor Charlie Baker
  
  Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s reaction
  
  Cape Cod Times – Sep 15
- Fred C. Dobbs says:
  
  September 19, 2022 at 4:10 pm
  
  Baker calls for fix to ‘screwed up’ US immigration system
  
  Boston Globe – Sep 19
  
  Governor Charlie Baker had a strong message for Washington policymakers after planeloads of migrants were sent unexpectedly to Martha’s Vineyard last week: The United States has a broken immigration system in dire need of reform.
  
  “Obviously, sending people all over the country, many of whom have no idea why they’re being sent, where they’re going, is no solution to the very screwed up immigration system we have in the US,” Baker said Sunday at a press conference related to the MBTA. “We have a lot of ways we can help people who are here or who come here. But what we really need, more than anything, is for the folks in Washington to get their act together.”
  
  Baker said he has been urging Republicans and Democrats in the nation’s capital to work together to pass meaningful immigration reform for “many, many, many years.”
  
  “It’s not a secret to anyone that our immigration system is broken, and it’s not a secret that the border is also broken because our immigration system is broken. And states can’t fix it, OK?” Baker said when asked if he had anything to say to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. …
  
  “What really needs to happen here is Washington needs to do its job,” Baker said. “And its job is to come up with an immigration system policy that is enforceable, that works, and that people understand, because we certainly don’t have that now. And [the Martha’s Vinyard incident] is just another example of that.”
  
  (DeSantis seems to understand it well enough to abuse it.)
Fred C. Dobbs says:

September 18, 2022 at 11:10 am

Just to review…

White Americans are the racial and ethnic majority, representing 57.8% of the population. Hispanic and Latino Americans are the largest ethnic minority, comprising 18.7% of the population, while Black or African Americans are the largest racial minority, making up 12.1%. (Wikipedia)

So, that would be who the GOP is trying to appeal to. They have about ten years left.
- Fred C. Dobbs says:
  
  September 18, 2022 at 11:12 am
  
  Ok, longer if you consider gerrymandering & voter suppression, going forward.
  - coberly says:
    
    September 18, 2022 at 4:54 pm
    
    Dobbs
    
    longer.
Fred C. Dobbs says:

September 18, 2022 at 11:25 am

Actually, what DeSantis was doing (with some help from Texans & others) was to keep a valuable GOP wedge issue alive, without investing much effort or funding to do so. Use tax-payer funding wherever possible!

It seems that it works for them, even in FL with its large Hispanic population, which seems odd.
Kaleberg says:

September 18, 2022 at 1:20 pm

Are these the only people DeSantis and Perla have been trafficking? They seem to have it down to a science: lies, more lies, chartered flights to an unexpected destination. How many other of their victims got out of the plane and found themselves trapped in some form of slavery or prostitution?
coberly says:

September 18, 2022 at 5:03 pm

Is it possible that Douthat has forgotten that the Nationa Guard plays a role in disaster relief when it is not called upon to ix bayonets and repel boarders?

This was always the obvious point of the stunt, not to show that NE liberals would mistreat migrants but to provoke a huge mobilization – National Guard! – and imply a contrast w/a liberal WH failing to help border communities dealing w/far larger influx
coberly says:

September 18, 2022 at 8:45 pm

The second paragraph in my comment @ 5:03 is a quote from Douthat.

since writing it i have discovered that a lot of people think that sending the migrants to shelter at the Guard base is the same as Texas using force to send them to incarceration. You only have to ignore the rest of the story to believe that.