Presidential candidate Barack Obama has taken a major risk in announcing his support for driver’s licenses for immigrants. Here are a few excerpts from an article in the San Francisco Chronicle:
Sen. Barack Obama easily won the African American vote in South Carolina, but to woo California Latinos, where he is running 3-to-1 behind rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, he is taking a giant risk: spotlighting his support for the red-hot issue of granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
It’s a huge issue for Latinos, who want them. It’s also a huge issue for the general electorate, which most vehemently does not. Obama’s stand could come back to haunt him not only in a general election, but with other voters in California, where driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants helped undo former Gov. Gray Davis.
Clinton stumbled into that minefield in a debate last fall and quickly backed off. First she suggested a New York proposal for driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants might be reasonable. Then she denied endorsing the idea, and later came out against them.
Asked directly about the issue now, her California campaign spokesman said Clinton “believes the solution is to pass comprehensive immigration reform.”
“Barack Obama has not backed down” on driver’s licenses for undocumented people, said Federico Pe
Art,
He supports licenses for ILLEGAL immigrants…you always leave that word out when talking about the hordes of illegal aliens that have overrun our southern border.
They’re here ILLEGALLY, and thus not entitled to ANYTHING.
It’s a nice gesture by Mr. Obama in advance of the California primary (and if Mrs. Clinton did this you’d be all OVER her for pandering to the Latino vote), but this wlll not sit well with independent voters in a general election…voters Mr. Obama MUST have to win.
Short-term gain, long-term mistake.
Brave? Perhaps. But not smart.
Eliot Spitzer ran into a FIRESTORM of opposition on this issue in New York…a state not exactly known as a bastion of conservatism.
Obama obviously does not know California. Whether anybody here likes it or not, Hillary will win California on Feb. 5 thanks to this bonehead move by Obama.
this is actually something he took a stand on prior to iowa.. remember the question hillary couldn’t answer for a week?
Hillary has answered the question and now will take California.
FOR THE ONE MILLION TIME . ITS LIKE A BROKEN RCORD WITH ART YOU LEFT OUT THE KEY WORD ILLEGAL ” ILLEGAL ‘ ANOTHER REASON FOR NOT TO VOTE FOR HIM AND HILLARY SINCE SHE HAS FLIPPED ON THIS SO MANY TIMES IT DEPENDS WICH WAY THE WIND IS BLOWING . ANY OF THESE CANDIDATES VOTES TO GIVE LAW BREAKERS LICENSES GETS A THUMBS DOWN .
Hey Art, how come you respond to posts that generally agree with you or are written by Jubal, but you remain silent when you post crap like this and are called on it?
ILLEGAL ALIENS, Art.
Not “immigrants.”
Ted Kennedy states that the “Hispanic community” deserves “respect.”
You guys are just tripping over yourselves to play hide the ball on this issue, and it is disgusting.
When illegal aliens show U.S. citizens respect by abiding by the laws of our society, they’ll get respect. But they deserve nor get any resepct for illegally entering my country and continuously breaking the laws of my country each and every day they remain here.