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Contributors
Patrick
Mallon -
Columnist
 Best
Nanny in a Supporting Role
Hollywood wants drivers licenses for illegal aliens...
[Patrick Mallon] 1/26/05
Fact: In
1993, California Assemblyman Alfred Alquist, a Democrat from
San Jose, authored the bill that eliminated the right of
illegal immigrants to obtain a drivers license without proof
of legal residency or citizenship. Up to that point, the right
existed.
Yes, a Democrat,
12 years ago, sensed the pulse of voters, read the polls, and
fashioned a law in response to public sentiment
and common sense, a mindset sorely lacking with today’s
liberal leftists in Sacramento.
The bill passed with the support of both Republicans and Democrats.
Gov. Pete Wilson signed the measure into law.
But you wouldn’t know any of this today with the volumes
of false impressions being created by the state’s Latino
Caucus, cleverly adept at characterizing opposition to driver’s
licenses for illegal immigrants as right-wing "racism," "xenophobia," and
good old anti-Mexican bigotry brought on by white guys from the
Republican Party.
Perhaps they are softening the tone. California Sen. Gil Cedillo,
he of the life quest to grant the licenses, come hell or high
water, has devised a new tactic.
According
to an AP article in the Fresno Bee ("Actors,
writers and musicians push for immigrant drivers licenses," January
25, 2005):
"On the eve of this year's Oscar nominations, one group
of celebrities has come up with a new category – ‘Best
Nanny in a Supporting Role.’
"The
mock award was featured Monday in an ad signed by more than
30 actors,
writers and musicians in a Hollywood trade
paper, urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to approve a bill that
would allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers licenses."
The ad, posted
in the movie trade publication Variety, is the brainstorm of
Paul
Haggis, the writer of the film "Million
Dollar Baby."
The article further states:
"The ad features a picture of a Hispanic woman and two
young children with the caption, ‘Nominated: Best Nanny
in a Supporting Role.’
“It reads: ‘I am trusted everyday to use my hands
and my heart to nurture and care for children who are not my
own ... I am welcomed into the most personal parts of people's
lives, but I'm not trusted with a license to drive a car.’ The
ad was orchestrated in part by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles,
who has led the licensing effort and is hoping a little Hollywood
influence will give the campaign a boost.”
So, the overwhelming
majority of California voters who oppose issuing immigrant
drivers licenses, the same people who removed
Gray Davis for his last desperate act of endorsing Cedillo’s
bill, should instead listen to ad signatories such as Danny Glover,
Martin Sheen (formerly Ramon Estevez), Emilio Estevez, Diane
Keaton and Carlos Santana.
The argument
they make is that the issue is about "fairness." "A
lot of us in the entertainment business are terribly spoiled,
and we live in a world where we are overprotected and overpaid," said
Haggis.
One wonders
whether Haggis was not only describing his pampered little
world, but
that of the lot of California’s elite
liberal Democrats in Sacramento.
In 2004, the 13-member Senate Transportation Committee voted
7-4 for SB 1160, another in an endless stream of concoctions
drafted by Mr. Cedillo. The vote was split along party lines,
with Democrats in support and Republicans opposed.
Such is the self-defeating irony of California Democrats, for
it was former Gov. Gray Davis who said in 2002, after rejecting
another irresponsible driver's license bill:
"… The tragedy of September 11, made it abundantly
clear that the driver’s license is more than just a license
to drive; it is one of the primary documents we use to identify
ourselves. Unfortunately, a driver’s license was in the
hands of terrorists who attacked America on that fateful day."
Democrats who push their narrow anti-voter agendas are now shocked
to discover that they may have the numbers to dominate the legislature,
but lack even a sliver of credibility to convince the public
that their policies are anything short of laughable.
No number of party retreats, Hollywood twaddle, or PR spin will
correct what has become a sorry excuse for a once representative
party: a party that cannot even admit its own recent history
or the honorable works of its own members.
Such is the paradox when in November of 2003; immigrant advocates
marched in downtown San Jose, ending their rally to demand driver's
licenses in front of the Alfred E. Alquist state building.
Will we ever
see anything different from our out-of-touch legislators? Not
likely. Still
intent on repackaging the pig, they’ll
let the nanny and the kids, the wealthy actors, and a guy known
affectionately as "One-Bill Gil" do their bidding for
them.
And as soon
as any of this funny business prevents two million illegal
immigrants
from driving to work every day, please let
me know, because I’m stuck in traffic. CRO
Patrick
Mallon is a political journalist and author of California
Dictatorship: How Liberal Extremism Destroyed Gray Davis.
[read an excerpt]. Patrick
is a regular guest on talk radio programs throughout
the state
and nationally. His website is at PatrickMallon.com and
can be contacted at patrick@patrickmallon.com
copyright
2005 Patrick Mallon
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