<\/p>\n
I’ve never watched the show “Survivor,” but I’m reliably informed that one of the main strategies their contestants use is to form alliances.<\/p>\n
Two or three often like-minded (or at least similarly motivated) people work together to defend against other serious threats, so they are more likely to outlast other participants, at least for a while. Of course, if the alliance is successful, it must eventually dissolve, and its members realize that they are also competitors;<\/p>\n
I wouldn’t say that analogy perfectly characterizes the current relationship between the political leaders of Texas and Florida.<\/p>\n
State executives have their own fiefdoms and are relatively independent of each other.<\/p>\n
But as we can see from the current crisis along the southern border, states are not, in fact, islands (figuratively speaking, anyway).<\/p>\n
Sometimes they serve their residents best when they band together as a bulwark to solve a problem or take on a rival.<\/p>\n
And the recent news that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has responded to Governor Greg Abbott’s plea for help. sending resources to Texas<\/a> to help protect the Texas-Mexico border from an expected increase in migrant crossings (thanks to the end of the Biden administration’s Title 42) has all the makings of an alliance move.<\/p>\n DeSantis said Tuesday he was prepared to commit 1,100 National Guard troops and law enforcement personnel, as well as five planes, 17 drones and 10 ships from Florida.<\/p>\n Of course, Texas and Florida have a lot in common politically.<\/p>\n They are two of the most populous states, both with strong conservative leaders at the helm and Republican legislatures in tow.<\/p>\n Both have growing populations, thanks to economic, regulatory and political policies that have broad appeal.<\/p>\n And from pandemic policies to abortion and immigration, both have been a thorn in the side of the Biden administration.<\/p>\n Nothing like good teamwork.<\/p>\n Or maybe it’s more like a sibling rivalry.<\/p>\n After Abbott’s politically astute decision to offer bus rides to incoming migrants to sanctuary cities like Chicago, New York and Washington, he angered big-city leaders who seemed to think small border communities were better equipped to handle the rise of humanity than its bloated bureaucracies, DeSantis. upped the ante<\/a>.<\/p>\n The story continues<\/p>\n He chartered a pair of flights that took about 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, a vacation haven for Democratic politicians and wealthy coastal elites.<\/p>\n