Thread: Commentary: Foes run over sensible N.Y. license plan

Commentary: Foes run over sensible N.Y. license plan


By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
Special to CNN
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SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Score one for the knee-jerk naysayers. You know the type: those who find it easier to criticize proposed solutions to tough problems than to propose solutions of their own, which then could be criticized.
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Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Two Americas are at odds on immigration -- realists and folks in a state of denial.

Faced with the problem of what to do with thousands of illegal immigrants who drive on state roadways every day to go to work for people who insist with a straight face that they want nothing to do with illegal immigrants, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed a controversial, yet terribly sensible, plan to give the undocumented a state-issued driver's license that would be easily discernible from licenses carried by U.S. citizens and legal residents.

The plan hit roadblocks with the extremes, on the right and the left -- which is always a good sign. But the criticism kept mounting. And now Spitzer has put the brakes on the plan after a brief but intense debate.

Correction. It wasn't really a debate. It was the rhetorical equivalent of a food fight in which pragmatism and common sense took a back seat to name-calling, fear-mongering and misrepresentation of fact -- with a dash of racism.

Yes, racism. That word is sometimes overused in the immigration debate. And yet the concept isn't exactly obsolete. Sometimes the sheet fits.

In this case, racism is the word that Spitzer used to describe some of the more toxic feedback his office received from angry constituents and onlookers from around the country after the driver's license plan was pilloried by everyone from presidential candidates to cable talk-show hosts.

Here's the problem. The naysayers once again let their fear of what could happen blind them to the fact that, well, it already has happened.

When lawmakers proposed a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants, the naysayers reflexively called it "amnesty" -- which is, in essence, what we have now.

When lawmakers proposed offering that path to young people who pursue higher education, the naysayers called it -- wait for it -- "amnesty" -- and imagined a scenario where illegal immigrants would attend U.S. colleges and universities, which is what happens now.

And when a handful of governors, including Spitzer, proposed giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, the naysayers objected lest we end up with a situation where motorists share the highways with illegal immigrants, which is what happens now.

These folks have a simple approach to problems: Ignore them, and they'll go away. Or better yet, portray those who come up with solutions as the problem. That's the game that GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was playing recently when he told CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck that he would punish states that give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

When it comes to the immigration issue, we really are two Americas. There are those who sometimes have to make unpleasant choices because they live in states that are home to illegal immigrants, and then there are those who are just as comfortable living in a state of denial.

Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. You can read his column here.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/20/navarrette/


(my apologies if this has already been posted, I tried the search and kept getting a Fatal Error message)

Ruben Navarrette:

Originally Posted by orchid_noir

Yes, racism. That word is sometimes overused in the immigration debate. And yet the concept isn't exactly obsolete. Sometimes the sheet fits.

The "sheet", of course, describes somebody who is in the KKK. When Brown Supremacists and La Laza types like Ruben lose an argument about illegal aliens they immediately go for accusing Americans of being right-wing extremists.

Keep it up, Ruben. You are only showing how pathetic the OBL has become...

Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Two Americas are at odds on immigration -- realists and folks in a state of denial.

Ruben Navarrette Jr fails to state Americans at odds on two immigrations--legal and illegal. That is the real issue. Illegals are foreign invaders.

Proudly I am in a state of denial and promote:
denial of legal status to illegals
denial of government services to illegals
denial of illegal entry in to the U.S.
denial of drivers licenses to illegals
denial of voting rights to illegals
denial of the right to dishonor Old Glory
denial of conducting public schools entirely in Spanish
denial of Mexian Government attempts to run U.S. domestic and foreign policy

Incidently why now the change of heart over the drivers license issue--Latino activists called Spitzer's three-tiered system of drivers license an "act of shame"; branding illegals "with a scarlett letter". Interesting....

Fences make good neighbors.

This article really ticked me off, hence my posting when I couldn't find it.

The whole thing came off to me as "if you don't just lay down and take it you are a bad person, and why bother anyway." How much more un-American can a sentiment be? (well, I would call it anti-American to tell us not to voice our opinion and to take it to our "representatives," but I'll leave it at "un" for reasons of compromise )

Does he realize he called 77% of New Yorkers, "kneejerk naysayers."??!! Apparently he doesn't grasp the "will of the people" and the fact just as many democrats were against it as conservatives. Apparently his "racial sensitivity" has been offended. There are probably as many illegals from other countries in New York as Hispanics. How can racism be involved? The majority of blacks were also against the license. I wonder how ole Ruben spins that fact.

"Score one for the knee-jerk naysayers."


Ummmmmm.....Ruben, you Aztlan/reconquista warrior.............Actually, the naysayers have scored more than one!!

---Did comprehensive immigration reform pass??

---Did the Dream Act pass???

---Currently, Oregon and Maryland are also contemplating legislation to prevent illegals from getting licenses as well.

---Currently, Pete King is working on legislation to deny highway funding to any states that give illegals licenses. He is totally shocked by the amount of support that he already has for this legislation.

I may send this in an email to the Aztlan warrior.

Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Two Americas are at odds on immigration -- realists and folks in a state of denial.

Let's see. The realists are folks that are against illegal immigration. And the folks in denial are the ones that want some kind of amnesty.

and imagined a scenario where illegal immigrants would attend U.S. colleges and universities, which is what happens now.

The debate was about "in-state-tuition" NOT whether they attended college or not. Sheesh!