Spitzer to Drop His License Plan

[TahitiNut]

Source: NY Times

ALBANY, Nov. 13 — Gov. Eliot Spitzer is abandoning his plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that opposition is just too overwhelming to move forward with such a policy.

The governor, who is to announce the move formally on Wednesday, said in an interview Tuesday night that he did not reach the decision easily. “You have perhaps seen me struggle with it because I thought we had a principled decision, and it’s not necessarily easy to back away from trying to move a debate forward,” he said.

But he came to believe the proposal would ultimately be blocked, he said, either by legal challenges, a vote by the Legislature to deny funding for the Department of Motor Vehicles or a refusal by upstate county clerks to carry it out.

“I am not willing to fight to the bitter end on something that will not ultimately be implemented,” the governor said, “and we also have an enormous agenda on other issues of great importance to New York State that was being stymied by the constant and almost singular focus on this issue.”

<more>

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/nyregion/14cnd-spitzer.html?ref=nyregion

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Like ... nobody saw that coming. :shrug:

[humbled_opinion]

1. LOL too funny... So was Hillary for it before she was against it... sorry couldn't help myself...n/t

[Double T]

2. Too late Eliot! We have now discovered you're a GIANT A-HOLE..........

and THIS should be your final term in any political office.

[RBInMaine]

32. Baloney!

Oh lighten up! He had good intentions but saw too much opposition. He was smart to pull it and move on. He's a good guy. This is a Democratic site. Support the party for Christ sake!

[Double T]

36. Support the party BUT not the corporate political shills like eliot.

[AX10]

3. It was not fundamentally a bad plan, but it was going no where...

especially considering the current political climate. He has hurt himself quite badly in his first year in office. I see him winning another term in 2010, but he will have to fight for it. Unless the GOP implodes (ala 1930's), he will be getting somewhere in the mid 50's range (percentage) at this point.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Well, he tried to do something to solve a problem, the people said "no", he

scrapped it. That's OK, nothing wrong with trying out different ideas.

[Double T]

11. There is a big difference between trying out different ideas and.......

jamming illegal executive orders down EVERYONE'S throat. This is just the beginning of prince eliot's bushlike tactics.

[IndianaGreen]

13. Yep, Spitzer antagonized everyone across the political spectrum!

I'll say he has a lot of work to do before he runs for reelection.

[Double T]

17. eliot isn't the kind of democrat this state and country need.

[Renew Deal]

20. Oh bullshit

Eliot Spitzer is a role model as a Democrat and an elected official. He fucked up this time, but he's very liberal and he's got backbone. He's a new governor and he's learning, but I wouldn't trade him for anyone.

[Double T]

37. 'ANYONE' would be better than this arrogant idiot.

[bluestateguy]

5. It was bad policy

A majority of New Yorkers and Americans oppose it.

We need to enforce the laws on the books. Punish employers who hire illegal labor and deport illegal immigrants if they are arrested for committing other crimes.

[EFerrari]

6. And meanwhile millions of undocumented drivers are on the road.

That'll work.

[Renew Deal]

8. No they're not.

And if they are, they should be treated like anyone else that drives without a license.

[EFerrari]

16. "No, they're not."?

Good. Then all those people who can't buy insurance while they're not driving won't be a problem for you when they hit you.

[Renew Deal]

18. Every accident I've ever had was with a licensed driver.

So it doesn't matter much if they are licensed or unlicensed. Insured or uninsured. Either way it's a problem. If you really want to solve this problem, ban driving. Then you won't have any accidents.

[EFerrari]

19. Every accident you've ever had so far.

And no, I'm not wishing a collision on you. It just makes no sense for the states to suffer while the Feds get their act together, imo.

[acmavm]

24. OH YES THEY ARE. My daughter's been hit twice. Not only did

they have no license, they couldn't speak a word of English, and remarkably, the plates on BOTH cars belonged on other cars.

[IndianaGreen]

14. They shouldn't even be in this country!

No other country would tolerate illegal immigration like we have.

[EFerrari]

15. But saying that doesn't make the drivers of NY safer.

That's my only point.

[Triana]

21. YEA. What IndianaGreen said, exactly (n/t)

[TahitiNut]

10. "enforce the laws"??

Heresy!

:rofl:


If we're EVER to call ourselves a democracy, adhering to the rule of law instead of the rule of men, then we MUST pass only those laws we're willing and able to enforce, and enforce the laws we pass.

Our (so-called) "immigration laws" are a Rube Goldberg mess that's contrived to facilitate trafficking in human labor - flesh peddling on a national scale. Not just the "illegals," but the hodge-podge of H1B and "guest worker" visas as well - NONE of which permit immigration. In fact, they specifically state that they're for "non-immigrants" ONLY. They're an abomination only surpassed by the attempted FIASCO we called "Immigration Reform" last year. That was an abomination of abominations.

I am 100% in favor of immigration - even at levels 2, 3, or 4 times greater than currently admitted - IF and only if virtually ALL flesh peddling ceases.

The objectification of human beings and treating human labor as a commodity is despicable and morally corrupt.

[Triana]

22. I agree w/ bluestateguy ...

"We need to enforce the laws on the books. Punish employers who hire illegal labor and deport illegal immigrants if they are arrested for committing other crimes."

[Telly Savalas]

35. Aggressively enforce the laws on the books

In particular, traffic laws.

I frequently bicycle to work. When some dumb fucking asshole blows through an intersection when it isn't his turn, it puts my life in danger...and I encounter such scumbags several times a week.

I really wish the self-ordained Rule of Law crowd would focus their energies more on denying drivers licenses to people who are a menace when they get behind the wheel.

[Renew Deal]

7. Hopefully Spitzer learns from this.

And there's a lot to learn. Thankfully this disaster of a policy is dead (in NY).

[NoodleyAppendage]

9. Mark my words. He's backing down to provide cover for Hillary.

Spitzer backs down from his proposal, so now Hillary doesn't have to field those pesky questions about licenses for illegal aliens. If you take a stand on an issue and it turns out to be unpopular, I guess the Hillary logic is to make the issue go away completely. Look for Spitzer to serve in some capacity for her administration in the unlikely event that she wins a general election.

J

[Zavulon]

28. This was my first thought as well.

After Hillary has either won or lost, Spitzer will ram the idea down the throats of New Yorkers again.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Just in time to give cover to Hillary for Thursday's Democratic debate

Can you hear that collective sigh of relief coming out of Hillary Camp?

[TahitiNut]

23. Even so, it'll be an interesting debate.

Let's see how her triangulation comes out this time. :shrug:

[IndianaGreen]

34. My concern about the debate is that idiot Wolf Blitzer

I can't stand that biased sob, anymore than I can the NBC cow Candy Crawley.

[RBInMaine]

33. Stop the conspiracy theories.

The guy saw it wouldn't pass and did the right thing. Had nothing to with Hillary.

[Freddie Stubbs]

25. Spitzer Drops His Driver’s License Plan

Source: New York Times

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: November 14, 2007

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 — Gov. Eliot Spitzer formally announced today that he would abandon his plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, conceding that his best efforts to sell New Yorkers on the merits of his proposal had clearly failed.

The decision ends a bitter seven-week battle over the proposed policy that battered Mr. Spitzer and his fellow Democrats and drew national attention from critics of illegal immigration.

“It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic,” Mr. Spitzer said, standing with a half-dozen members of New York’s Congressional delegation who had supported his original move to give licenses to illegal immigrants.

In acknowledging one of his first major reversals as governor, Mr. Spitzer hit a few familiarly pugilistic notes, lashing into critics who, Mr. Spitzer said, “equated minimum-wage, undocumented dishwashers with Osama bin Laden.” He also said he still believed his proposal would have benefited New Yorkers, citizens and immigrants alike, and lit into federal officials for failing to fix the nation’s immigration system at the national level.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/nyregion/14cnd-spitzer.html?hp

[C_U_L8R]

26. He was on fire

great speech until MSNBC cut him off mid-sentence.

[Zavulon]

30. I thought it was terrible, actually.

He basically called everyone who disagreed with him a bunch of unreasonable extremist rubes. I VEHEMENTLY disagreed with the plan, and I don't equate illegals with Osama at all. Three quarters of the state didn't want the plan, and Spitzer BLAMES them for it - like he's the only one who understands the "complexity" of the issue.

Spitzer is an ass and his speech was an insult.

[NYVet]

27. He missed a couple of points...

Like the fact that he was rewarding people for breaking the law with his proposal.

Like the fact that his proposal violated NY law which requires you have a SSN or a letter from the SSA stating why you were not eligible for an SSN.

[JPZenger]

29. Social Agencies Take Illegals to States that Don't Check

I heard that there are some private social service agencies that drive illegals to a neighboring state to apply for a drivers license - to a state that is less likely to check someone's status.

[amandabeech]

31. How many of them then register their vehicles and purchase more than token insurance?

And with all the fake ID running around, you never really know who you're dealing with.

Or whether the insurance company will pay for the new fender on your car when you're hit by someone the insurance carrier thought was Rodrigo Vega when it turns out that Rodrigo Vega doesn't exist.