With his poll numbers collapsing, Gov. Spitzer pullled the plug today on his controversial plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.
"I have concluded that New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own," Spitzer said at a news conference after meeting with members of the state's congressional delegation. "I am withdrawing my proposal."
To save face, Spitzer railed against the federal government for its inability to handle the illegal immigrant issue, saying it had "lost control of its borders. ... and has no solution to deal with it," he said.
"States, towns and villages still have to deal with the practical reality of that failure. In New York, that means 1 million documented workers," he said.
Spitzer said public opinion led him to his decision.
"You don't need a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat of the public on this one," the governor told reporters. "There are some moments where emotions are simply too hot."
The embattled governor made the announcement after he met with the state's heavily Democratic congressional delegation, which had grown increasingly critical of the plan.
The decision to wave the white flag was cemented as a Siena Research Institute poll released yesterday showed Spitzer with his lowest approval ratings ever - with just 25 percent of voters saying they would support his re-election if the vote were held today.
Get that? It's not his fault that the plan failed. It's the nasty federal government that is ruining his brilliant plan, and now New York is stuck with one million "undocumented workers". Notice how there was no mention of how handing out these licenses to illegal aliens would undermine security. That's of the least importance to Spitzer. No, what matters to him is that his numbers are dropping lower and lower, and therefore, he's retreating as fast as he can.
Well, at least something got him to do the right thing.
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2 comments:
How would it undermine security?
"How would it undermine security?"
Gee, I dunno, by encouraging criminal behavior? "Oh, you broke the law entering this country? That's o.k., here's a driver's license for you!" So why bother spending years going through the red tape to get here legally if there are no consequences to hopping the border?
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