Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Anne
Kornblutt, check your bias. It’s dragging, babe. Or maybe she’s joined the Pat Buchanan coalition?

After all the hoopla, N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer is dropping his plan to provide drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. But the damage to the Democratic presidential candidates – and, overwhelmingly, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton – is done.

Oh, and I just won a bet.

It was clear to me after the debate that Clinton backing Spitzer was because
she refused to push a fellow Democrat under a bus. I applauded that action,
but knew this issue would evolve as it has. Equally clear was that backing Spitzer
on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants was going to cause her a lot of
grief in the general election, but also in the primary because the press eats
this subject up. It sells papers. Rumors are that some of Clinton’s team were
furious with Spitzer for putting Clinton in this spot, so
he pulled his immigration plans. It’s over, just in time for the CNN debate.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday came out against granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, after weeks of pressure in the presidential race to take a position on a now-failed ID plan from her home state governor. Clinton has faced criticism from candidates in both parties for her noncommittal answers on New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s attempt to allow illegal immigrants in his state to receive driver’s licenses. Spitzer abandoned the effort Wednesday. “I support Governor Spitzer’s decision today to withdraw his proposal,” Clinton said in a statement. “As president, I will not support driver’s licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system.” … .. Clinton: No Illegal Immigrant Licenses

This is one of the most emotional issues there is and one easily opened to demogoguing. Democrats made Spitzer wake up, because those against his plan are the types who come out to vote.
That’s the bottom line.

The emotional
value of illegal immigration has two sides. It doesn’t matter which
one is right during election season, because feelings are as they are and you
can’t change an electorate who won’t listen. While intending to solve the challenge
of undocumented or illegal immigrants, Spitzer finally acknowledged that
you can’t move a country to follow your lead until you’ve convinced them you
understand and respect their feelings. You also need a Democratic president to get it done.

This was an ugly one, but it was the right move in the end. Clinton no doubt is prepared for the incoming. Cue Barack Obama’s team:

“When it takes two weeks and six different positions to answer one question on immigration, it’s easy to understand why the Clinton campaign would rather plant their questions than answer them.”

Barack Obama stands by what he said in the last debate. That’s trouble for him if someone cares to ask him about it. Cue Wolf?

Edwards, who came out against Spitzer’s plan, offered this beauty.

“We’re dizzy from all the doubletalk.” –Edwards Spokeswoman Colleen Murray

Mind you, we aren’t solving anything with Spitzer pulling his legislation,
certainly not the illegal immigration issue. But this is the presidential season,
which isn’t about solving problems. It’s about getting elected and you don’t
create problems for yourself by standing up against a hot button issue that
is all emotion and moves people to action, while firing up the entire base of the opposition. It’s not pretty, but that’s politics.

Target employers. Get rid of the fence. Put agents on the border and use technology.
Penalties for businesses who hire illegal immigrants, something Republicans won’t
do. Democrats need to stand up and solve this problem with comprehensive immigration
reform. But before that we have to get a Democratic president elected.

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