We wrote about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's border crisis gambit several times over the summer, and I've expressed on a number of occasions that I've been surprised how successful his stunt has been. It was clear that Abbott was seeking to make a point about the Biden administration's failing policies, but what was less clear was how well his plan to bus illegal migrants to various 'sanctuary cities' would work. The Democratic leaders of DC, New York City, and Chicago have all lashed out at Abbott and Texas over the decision to bus just a tiny fraction of the illegal immigrants crossing the southern border to those deep blue cities. None of these mayors can bring themselves to condemn the crisis itself, for which their political party is overwhelmingly responsible. Doing so would come across as a jab at the Biden administration, and would infuriate the leftist, pro-illegal immigration activists in their base. So instead they seethe and posture about Texas. Chicago's Lori Lightfoot has been having conniption fits as busloads of migrants arrive in her jurisdiction:
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot cast doubt on Gov. Greg Abbott’s Christian faith in remarks denouncing the Texas Republican busing migrants from the southern border up to the Windy City. "He professes to be a Christian," Lightfoot said at a press conference on Sunday. "This is not the Christianity and the teachings of the Bible that I know. And I think religious leaders all across the country are standing up and denouncing exactly this." Lightfoot held a press conference after about 50 more migrants bused from Texas reached Chicago over Labor Day weekend. Abbott has been sending buses of migrants to liberal cities such as Washington, D.C., and New York City since April...Lightfoot has slammed the decision to bus migrants as "racist" and added in her remarks Sunday that the policy was "unpatriotic."
Chicago's Mayor is calling the Governor of Texas a racist, unpatriotic, bad Christian because...he's sending a small number of unlawful immigrants to her city? A city whose leadership preens about, and proudly touts, its status as a "sanctuary" for those in the United States illegally? Explain further, Lori. It seems like she agrees with the position of New York City Mayor Eric Adams (who's sent a delegation to the border, at Texas' invitation), which is that Texas and Arizona should just quietly deal with the crisis that he effectively supports -- and that it's their duty to keep it out of sight and out of mind, lest his city's resources he 'burdened' by a sliver of the consequences of the problem. How very enlightened and progressive. In another tantrum, Lightfoot suggested that she'd be eager to "drain" Texas of all its residents, wondering who'd want to live in a place led by someone like Abbott. She also conflated illegal immigrants with "Texans," and said that the proud sanctuary city of Chicago would pay for the buses, to laughter:
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"I'm happy to take and drain Texas, of all of its residents," Lightfoot said. "I wouldn't want to live in a state with a governor like that. I certainly wouldn't want to live in a state where they are doing everything they can to strip people of their basic rights...Lightfoot added that she welcomes "Texans to Chicago" and said that "we'll rent the buses next time to bring them here."
The self-unawareness is cringeworthy. Is Ms. Lightfoot even passingly familiar with the inflow and outflow population patterns of Illinois versus Texas? Here's some help with that. It's not just individual taxpayers and families fleeing her city and state, but major businesses, too. As for her apparent offer to pay for the buses to transport "Texans" to the Windy City, I suggest Gov. Abbott call her bluff and hire a courier to deliver an invoice immediately. Let's see if the Mayor puts her money where her big mouth is. I somehow doubt it, given that her city -- much like her state -- is broke. Very much unlike Texas, I might add. Meahwhile, here's the latest polling out of Abbott's re-election race against Robert Francis O'Rourke:
?? NEW TEXAS POLL by UH/YouGov
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) September 7, 2022
GOV
(R) Greg Abbott 49% (+7)
(D) Beto O'Rourke 42%
LT GOV
(R) Dan Patrick 49% (+6)
(D) Mike Collier 43%
AG
(R) Ken Paxton 45% (+3)
(D) Mercedes Garza 42%
1,312 LV | 08/11-29 | MoE +/- 2.7%https://t.co/q8uE7GIkFP pic.twitter.com/y65vOzdKKK
I'll leave you with this story from Chicago. Perhaps the mayor should spent less time and energy baselessly demeaning the religious faith of a man governing a state hundreds of miles away, and devote more attention to matters closer to home:
A brazen armed robbery of a woman occurred on Sunday afternoon in Lakeview. The entire attack, which happened in broad daylight, was captured by a nearby home's Ring doorbell camera. https://t.co/3nSE3fMItI
— WBBM Newsradio (@WBBMNewsradio) September 5, 2022
And things are about to get a lot easier for criminals in Illinois thanks to a "progressive" new "social justice" law that goes into effect very soon: "The law that will eliminate cash bail as of January 1, 2023, and also restrict who can be arrested." What could go wrong?
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