In Florida, Rep. Alan Grayson (D), is running television ads against his Republican opponent, Dan Webster, accusing him of being a member of the Taliban. Webster, a longtime state senator and former speaker of the state House of Representatives, has at least found Grayson's stupid smears have a silver lining: the ads are so outrageous, Webster's campaign contributions have soared, apparently because voters are so disgusted by them they believe Alan Grayson should be given this opportunity to find himself another line of work.
In California, the new third rail of American politics--illegal immigration--has become the October surprise in the race for governor between Jerry Brown, the democratic candidate and one-time governor, and Meg Whitman, the republican candidate and former CEO of eBay. Brown, who at 72, has spent his life running for office, has the support of the state's left-leaning unions, some of whom seem to have taken a part in this smear on Whitman.
The story is that Whitman, who once employed a housekeeper, who showed her a Social Security card, a driver's license, and other paperwork, and for whom the Whitmans paid the proper taxes and produced the appropriate W-2s, turns out to have been lied to by the boarder hopper and become the hirer of an illegal alien. Oh wow. There's a shock.
But the housekeeper, with the help of who knows whom from the Brown camp, has hired attorney Gloria Allred, who has produced the housekeeper (crying, of course) at several news conferences, and who now says she felt exploited by the Whitmans, and humiliated when she was finally fired for being illegal.
Okay. Now let me get this straight. As Americans, if we ask anyone with an accent to show us their paperwork that proves they have a right to live and work here, we are a bunch of racist xenophobes. And if we hire people, and don't press them and double and triple-check the paperwork they produce for us to fill out those endless IRS forms we toil over each year, then we are a bunch of exploiters of foreign laborers whom we employ in our sweat shops.
Sounds like illegal immigration is a big problem! Maybe we ought to address it! But because of the above reasons nobody except the governor of Arizona seems to have the guts.
During the Reagan administration, Congress passed an "immigration reform bill" that gave illegals already in the U.S. a means to legal residency, and added strict penalties to stem the tide of illegals across our porous borders.
The legislature meant well. And at least the president at that time was willing to address it. But boy did that turn out to be a be a flop.
Now, no matter what you say about illegal immigration you stand accused of being "against immigration of people of other ethnic backgrounds." Give me a break!
I hope, here in California, Meg Whitman will use this stupid smear, as an opportunity to talk to the voters about how challenging this issue is for all of us. And show us all how her very own case is a perfect example of why we need to enforce the regulations we presently have in place with regard to immigration. Whitman, as a new technology executive and political novice, may not yet have learned how to turn the smear to her advantage, as Reagan, a real pro at this stuff, himself learned in California.
Remember how he used to say to Sam Donaldson's hectoring questions: "Sam, I'm glad you've asked me that .... " and then smile his nice big smile and smash the tennis ball right back over the net?
Because all this really shows is how totally desperate Jerry Brown is, at 72, to get himself and his friends back in the governor's seat of the most powerful state in the nation. Brown, who was once a bright young man, mentioned in dispatches as a potential presidential candidate, can't believe all these other guys he knew have managed to get to be president of the United States and he--Jerry Brown!!!--has not. And not having Whitman's considerable campaign chest, he's pulled out this ancient political trick-or-treat surprise in a ploy to get back his mojo.
And the issues? Gosh, we hardly ever talk about those darn things.
2 comments:
A recent estimate has around 25% of californians as illegal. Must be hard to find blue collar workers that are legal. Your analysis is perfect.
It gets even sillier: San Francisco has declared itself a "Sanctuary City" meaning it won't prosecute you or report you or deport you for being illegal and will provide you with services ... now how all those people taking sanctuary supposed to live? By producing illegal income, of course. Which is not taxed. But taxes still provide them with services. And by the way, where was it written that a state or city could refuse to enforce Federal law? Does that mean San Francisco has seceded from the Union, like the Confederate States of America and is now going to crown itself a president like Jefferson Davis? I think people have this issue all mixed up--with slavery, with fear of being considered discriminatory, with a real concern for people poorer than themselves--and have forgotten the basic issue that these are people breaking a huge law and no matter how much we feel sorry for them, when we let them stay here without papers we are doing ourselves no favors--because we break laws and mores if we hire them etc etc--and them no favors--because they intentionally came here to be "exploited" and that right there is the basis for a real mess. If we can't fix it any time soon, we might as well just tell the world that becoming an American is just like getting a driver's license, only easier, and have a nice day.
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