Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has been on a roll lately.
DeSantis has maintained Florida as a top state for freedom during man-made catastrophes like COVID-19 hysteria and the Biden administration’s assaults on American federalism.
The Florida governor has not only been racking up political wins, but emphasizing them with dramatic flair. DeSantis’ team scored again on Tuesday, besting another Biden spin with three simple words and an evocative image.
The exchange was a sequel to what is now DeSantis’s most famous maneuver to expose progressive hypocrisy.
On Sept 14, two planes carrying about 50 illegal immigrants landed in the elite island community of Martha’s Vineyard after leaving San Antonio, Texas, and making a brief stop in Florida’s Panhandle, according to online flight records reported by WCVB-TV in Boston.
The planes were chartered by the DeSantis administration.
Amid a meltdown in the wealthy enclave — where former President Barack Obama and other liberal icons maintain luxurious residences — the uninvited guests were quickly hustled away to a military base on Cape Cod.
DeSantis baited Biden and the establishment media with a follow-up to that highly effective action.
On Tuesday, one of the same aircraft that delivered the illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard was leaving Texas, stopping in Florida, and continuing on to Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware. It was rumored more illegal migrants were coming.
When asked by a reporter about the situation Tuesday, Biden tried to deflect the question by making it about DeSantis. The Daily Wire presented the exchange in a Twitter post.
Reporter: “Any response to DeSantis sending migrants to Delaware?”
Biden: “He should come visit. We have a beautiful shoreline.”pic.twitter.com/jqmFJBLWBd
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 20, 2022
“Reporter: ‘Any response to DeSantis sending migrants to Delaware?’
“Biden: ‘He should come visit. We have a beautiful shoreline.’”
It’s as if Biden briefly regressed to an old-fashioned, small-town pol, extolling the wonders of his local beach community.
Within hours, the DeSantis War Room posted the succinct response that put Biden in his place.
We’re good, thanks… pic.twitter.com/HRJQ2Com1q
— DeSantis War Room ? (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 20, 2022
As far as the threatened flight of illegal immigrants to Delaware, that ended up being another dramatic feint that brought more attention to the real issue.
The plane went to New Jersey, and no illegal immigrants aboard. NBC News went with this headline: “’Punked’: DeSantis keeps White House, Delaware and media guessing on migrant flight plans.”
NBC reported, “Earlier in the day, DeSantis stoked the coals of speculation by refusing to confirm or deny whether the plane would even take off, an intentional effort to keep the issue alive, said a source familiar with the governor’s thinking who discussed the plans anonymously to speak candidly.
“He didn’t tell anyone and purposely left people in the dark. So technically the media, the Democrats, everyone got punked who decided to heed some s— on Twitter instead of waiting for confirmation from the governor’s office,” NBC quoted the source as saying.
‘The entire point of this is to put a spotlight on the border. It’s what the governor has said.’”
Someone in DeSantis’s orbit must be familiar with Saul Alinsky.
For years the left used Alinsky’s notorious book “Rules for Radicals” to manipulate public discourse on political and social issues.
But parts of the advice the book gives are just neutral tools. Some of the rules can be effectively used in service of truth, instead of deceitfully propping up leftist narratives.
Education site Open Culture lists the rules for radicals, some of which DeSantis appears to have adopted to devastating effect.
“4. Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” The progressive elites’ treatment of the Martha’s Vineyard illegal immigrants was a glaring public failure to practice what they preach.
“5. Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” The DeSantis beach scene tweet is funny at the same time it made its point. The fact that there was no effective response once again exposed Biden as clueless.
“9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” After the Martha’s Vineyard debacle, the plane supposedly on its way to Delaware drew almost hysterical media attention — and no doubt the same attention in the White House.
There’s no way to condone all the nastiness Alinsky advocated in his political life. However, the rules remain an educational set of ideas about what we are up against.
Understand them to understand how to defeat the left.
DeSantis, or someone near him, is channeling an inner Patton, and shouting, “Alinsky, you magnificent [community organizer], I read your book!”
Politics will never be the same.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
