It’s impossible to imagine what cynical constituency is being wooed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his move to ship immigrants on planes from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. No matter how DeSantis thought the project would turn out, his supporters would have to be a cruel bunch to think he achieved anything they can vote for. The “migrant airlift” was a P.R. stunt, for sure, by a joker using 50 humans (including children) as the humorless punchline, but what hearts could be swelled to vote for such a creep? What is the end game? If he is playing to his base, who are they?
Apparently, the idea of sending migrants to an isolated, but wealthy and Democratic island, came from a Fox News faceman. He also mentioned Aspen, Colorado; Brookline, Massachusetts; Georgetown in Washington, DC; Burlington, Vermont; Malibu, California; and Bozeman, Montana. Most of those sites, with the exception of Georgetown, are fairly isolated, wealthy and Democrat, “Joe Biden took 70% of the vote on that small Massachusetts island over the past four years, according to FEC data,” the Fox guy said about Martha’s Vineyard. Emphasizing the politics of the stunt, he added, “92% of all donations from its biggest town, Edgartown, Massachusetts, went to the Democratic Party”.
Apparently, the DeSantis staff thought the Martha’s Vineyard residents would be horrified. Christina Pushaw, a spokesperson for DeSantis, wrote a cheeky little tweet that tried to be irritating:
“Martha’s Vineyard residents should be thrilled about this. They vote for sanctuary cities, they get a sanctuary city of their own. And illegal aliens will increase the town’s diversity, which is strength. Right?” she tweeted. Her attempt at sarcasm just comes off as immature.
In fact, nothing about the airlift made any sense, no matter whose side you are on, and making the stunt political and financial could backfire. Florida is one of only seven states that attracts millionaires by having no state income tax. Often, these folks avoid their home-state income taxes by spending half the year in Florida and half in their old home states. This is, for sure, a cynical group to begin with. At the same time, they are likely to be fiscally conservative and will be disgusted that DeSantis has secured $12 million of state funds for his effort. And what does that effort do for the taxpayers? Are taxpayers helped by tricking the most helpless people on the planet into the humiliation and anguish of more sleepless days and nights, less security, less clarity on their futures? Don’t be ridiculous.
For Act One, the Governor spent $615,000 for two private planes to carry the humans north. You figured that right—it’s more than $11,500 per person. The plane owners are probably ready to do it again and DeSantis vows to spend the entire $12 million allocation of state money for the relocations. Since the Martha’s Vineyard island shuts down for the winter as residents go south, DeSantis will have to pick other places for his cargo.
Bravo for the Martha’s Vineyard residents that, hearing there were two planeloads of unannounced visitors at their airport, without food, water or plans, turned up to help. Some of the migrants had been traveling for months, leaving their original homes in Venezuela to arrive in Florida, then being tricked into believing there were jobs at the end of the plane ride. The Martha’s Vineyard community, alerted by pastors and community organizers, turned out with food and comfort.
The Vineyard Gazette reported, “We were not ready for the stories of incredible hardship — harrowing stories of fear and persecution, beatings and injuries, and a grueling journey across multiple countries. Some people had been traveling for two months or more … We were not ready for our new Venezuelan friends to be so kind and loving.” Despite their exhaustion, the migrants helped with the work. They set up cots, served food and helped their hosts clean up their spaces.
After nearly two days, the US government came up with a plan to move the people to a military base where they could receive real help with negotiating the maze of the American legal system for services and processing. Maybe some of their dreams will come true and they will be able to get jobs, go to school, become citizens. If De Santis continues his airlifts, the military will be ready to respond in the future.
Florida is an interesting state, with voter registrations leaning ever-so-slightly Republican, but margins slim enough that a stupid move by a stupid politician could flip the results. The Florida Division on Elections reports there are 5,194,845 Republicans and 4,963,930 Democrats, but 257,491 third-party members and 3,909,340 unaffiliated, making a powerful number that could flip an election.
About 2.5 million Floridians are Latinxs, with sizable minorities coming from the same backgrounds as the humans that were dropped in Martha’s Vineyard. The cynical DeSantis scheme could result in Democrat wins in Florida.
Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. She also is a co-founder of CAFOZone.com, a website for people who are affected by concentrated animal feeding operations. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.
From The Progressive Populist, October 15, 2022
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