Couldn’t Believe My Ears !
Jul 23rd, 2008 by FrankKnotts
Delaware GOP endorsed gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee who is in a Republican primary race against Mike Protack , was on local talk radio station WGMD’s The Jared Morris show on Tuesday morning.
During the interview Morris was taking calls from listeners , one caller , who later identified himself as a Lee supporter, asked Mr. Lee if elected, what would “Governor Lee” do about the illegal immigrant problem in Delaware.
While searching for an answer Mr. Lee stated that he is in favor of giving Delaware drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. This set off a fire storm of response from listeners who could not believe they were hearing this from a Republican candidate and a former judge from the state of Delaware.
Mr. Lee defended his position by pointing out that there is a large number of illegals driving on our roads right now , and that they will continue to do so with or without a license and no insurance. He also stated that by granting them a license it would allow the state to create a data base to be able to track the illegals.
On Wednesday morning Mr. Lee called the Dan Gaffeny show on WGMD to clarify his statements from the day before. Unfortunately for Mr. Lee no one talked him back from the ledge he was standing on and he decided to jump.
He continued to defend the license by saying it would be a “SPECIAL ” license stating the illegal status of the holder and that it would not be used as a paper trail to citizenship.
But that it would create a data base , though the only use of said data base that he could articulate was for the future when the Federal Government decided to enforce federal immigration laws.
So how does a “SPECIAL LICENSE” guarantee that an illegal will get insurance? To get insurance you must have a legal car registration, will Mr. Lee grant them a “SPECIAL REGISTRATION” also with their status on it? If so then they now have two legal documents, and don’t forget that their insurance policy can be used to show their place of residence. But maybe it will be stamped with their status also.
But let’s look at the fact that Mr. Lee wants to give a license with their illegal status printed on it , to track them. For what? First off by doing this the state of Delaware will become a co- conspirator and accessory to a federal crime by aiding and harboring someone here illegally. But put that aside for now. If this license is given and these illegals are stopped for speeding or involved in an accident or any offence that every other legal citizen is required to show their license, will a “Governor Lee ” instruct law enforcement to look the other way. This sets the precedent of the police ignoring the law of the land under orders of their elected official.
Which brings me to Mr. Lee’s cop out that the state of Delaware has no authority to enforce federal immigration laws. Does this mean that as Governor, Mr. Lee would ignore federal gun laws also?
After last years out cry across this nation against amnesty for illegals , how does Mr. Lee believe that Delaware voters would sit still for giving legal documents to illegal immigrants?
Is this pandering to the Hispanic vote or to moderate and liberal voters in northern Delaware? Is it just a bad idea to generate revenue? Or is it merely an over estimation of the loyalty of conservative voters for the GOP?
Whatever it is , it could spell the end of Mr. Lee’s political career .
I believe the only way for Mr. Lee to fix this , is to come out immediately and state that even though he believes that giving out this special license is a good idea , that he has heard the voice of the people that he seeks to represent in the governor’s seat and will respect their will. And he will promise that he will never propose or support , or sign any bill that would result in giving even the appearance of legitimacy to an illegal immigrant.
And one last thing, we all must remember that all illegals are not here to cut our grass or drywall our homes. Some illegals wish to do this nation great harm. How would Mr. Lee feel if after another 9/11 style attack , we found out that the terrorist made it through a traffic stop with a “SPECIAL LICENSE” from the state of Delawre? I personally would be ashamed in front of the entire nation.
Frank
While not disagreeing with you about the harm Bill Lee just did to himself politically, here’s a note about the driver’s license issue you may or may not know:
Senior law enforcement officials in both the DE State Police and Delaware Homeland Security bureaucracy have quietly been advocating such licenses for illegals for years. They generally do so behind the scenes and “not for attribution,” but they argue that the security enhancement would be worth looking the other way on enforcing immigration laws.
What I think happened to Lee is that he got this opinion from one of two or three people I could probably name but won’t, and didn’t realize it was the “off the record” opinion, and blurted it out.
(If that’s true, it’s worse than flip-flopping, once you think through the implications.)
So while not wanting to go around on the license issue per se, I think you’ve hit on a very important occurrence here.
“Is this pandering to the Hispanic vote or to moderate and liberal voters in northern Delaware? ”
No. I think Judge Lee deserves to be treated better than that. When he takes a position I believe his track record is such that we should assume it is a reasoned conclusion on the merits, as opposed to political chicanery.
Even if you disagree with Judge Lee, as I certainly do on this issue, he is going to be the nominee and he has the right to run on the platform of his choosing. After all, he is the one that Delaware Rs dragged out of retirement from politics because no one else had the guts to step up. His consent to what amounts to a draft from the party establishes his unmistakable loyalty to the party and his devotion to the party’s best interest.
His position here, although I disagree with it, won’t stop me from voting for him; he does not have to change his position as far as I’m concerned.
Steve , I can not for the life of me see any benefit in giving a license to an illegal that states that they are illegal and refuse to enforce the law of the land and deport them. As for this being a tracking device , to what end? If we have conceded that we do not wish to rid our country of these leeches then what point is there in labling them illegal why not just give them the amnesty we fought last year to deny them.
As for the security risk this would only highten it . If we make it easy to get a license for people who admit they committed a crime to be here, what is to stop terrorist from getting one? We should never make it easier , we should only attempt to make it impossible.
Once we decide that the crime of coming into the country illegally is no big deal then we might as well just ignore all laws.
If a person abuses a child do they get to stay out of jail as long as they get a license that states that they are a child molester ?Do they get to stay on our streets hunting our children?
That is exactly what giving illegals this license does. It identifies them as illegals and then allows them to continue to take jobs from Americans and applying for welfare and going to our schools, and most important it allows them to continue to break our law against illegal entry into this country. This is not a message we want to send if we are serious about stopping illegal migration.
shenanigans, yes Bill Lee has the right to run on his own platform , but this is going to be a very squeeky board if he chooses to not replace it . Here in Sussex county emotions run rather high on this issue because it is thrown in our faces every time we go to a store or drive through some expensive neighborhood and see the grass being mowed by what is most likely a crew of illegals. And for Mr. Lee to take this stand , he runs a real risk of alienating a large number of voters that he had pretty much in his back pocket.
No wonder one of Mike’s friends sent me a link to the WGMD show. I had trouble opening it. I agree this issue could make the primary wide open, but voters can be forgiving if someone says, “I heard from the people on this and they let me know it is a bad idea.” “I was just thinking out loud but not enough. I repudiate it”. This could become a non issue for the most part or it could have legs.
We shall see.
Frank said, “Steve , I can not for the life of me see any benefit in giving a license to an illegal”….
Let me play devil’s advocate here. The opinion expressed is not necessarily that of the poster.
The problem with illegals having driver’s license is that it is used more than just for driving. The Feds have said they have no problem with the states giving special driver’s permits that cannot be used as ID’s for other purposes. The Fed’s don’t want an ID which can be used to imitate citizenship.
Illegal immigration is not a felony. It is a civil violation like a traffic ticket. We don’t need to act as if someone who crossed the border is an arch criminal. Most are here because they believe in the American Dream just like us. The states have no obligation to enforce federal immigration law by barring the people from other services. The Feds in fact frown on it when it comes to education, welfare, and law enforcement.
This brings us to driving. Illegals drive. Do you want them driving trained, with insurance, showing they understand our rules of the road and signs, and above board? Would you rather have some one who was underground hurt someone you love because they heard you could do left turn on red and then not have insurance to cover the medical and property bills your special someone incurred?
It is a public safety issue not an immigration issue. The feds should do a better job keeping people out, but they decriminalized undocumented immigration by their neglect. The states are left trying to make the best out of the mess left over. Don’t shoot the guy trying to cope. Blame the people who caused the mess and won’t fix it.
Anyway Frank, I am sure that you can see it is a reasoned position. You may not agree with it–that’s ok because I don’t either.
Does this mean you will vote for Protack in Sept?
It was pandering to the farmers who rely on undocumented labor by stating passively that he won’t spearhead an attack campaign on their livelihood.
The license thing is a security compromise. I cannot see why people with an illegal status would trust the state government by getting a license. Honestly, they peek through the window before opening the door for a pizza delivery, and even then they sometimes send their kids to the door. I don’t think allowing licenses is going to make a difference, because many just won’t trust the system, and would refuse to do it voluntarily.
“Steve , I can not for the life of me see any benefit in giving a license to an illegal that states that they are illegal and refuse to enforce the law of the land and deport them.”
You often use this line of reasoning, Frank, but it doesn’t mean anything. You don’t understand particle physics, either, but that doesn’t negate it. The fact is that law enforcement officials in MOST states want illegals to get licenses, and Lee isn’t the first politician to instigate outrage by agreeing with them. If you want to know their reasons, look them up, for crying out loud. You know, this computer thingy works for research, too, not just spouting your under-researched opinions.
Bill Lee has now reversed himself. “It has become clear to me that it is simply not a good idea” says Mr. Lee
Story at WGMD. http://www.wgmd.com/blog
Thank goodness, if he hadn’t firmed up on this issue I would not have been able to vote for him in the primary.
Thank you Dan. I read Mr. Lee’s statement and I am glad to see him respond so quickly to the feelings of the people. It shows a large amount of character to publicly admit you may have made a mistake.
I must admit that even though this gives me a certain amount of confidence in Mr. Lee once again , it will cause me and Iam sure many others to watch and listen oh so very closely to everything Mr. Lee says in the future.
I now call on Mr. Lee to put together in the coming days a comprehensive plan for dealing with the negative impact that the illegals have on the state of Delaware. I urge him to make it as tough as the law will allow.
I would like to also answer a couple of points made above.
David , it is a felony I believe if the same immigrant is caught a second time. That is why in Florida I believe it was, a Mayor who was, after arresting and documenting with photos and finger prints would pay to send the illegals back so that if they were caught a second time it became automatically a federal felony crime. This is the kind of hard line stance we need in Delaware.
And Al, I said I didn’t see a benefit , not that I didn’t understand what Mr. Lee and others have stated would be the goals of instituting such a policy. I just believe that it wouldn’t work, for the same reasons that Brian listed. It would add to the budget and do nothing to solve the problem. If we want these people off our roads then get them out of the state, this would also open up jobs and bring in citizens to fill the void. And could also put pressure on Washington to come up with a workable guest worker program.
Look we can’t swallow that elephant in one bite, we will have to eat him one piece at a time. Start with illegals committing crimes and work your way from there. And yes this will require the people to lobby their federal elected officials to do something about the problem also, but imagine how much louder the cry would be if our local government official were screaming also.
Bill Lee is a great guy and I still have a sense of respect for him. However, having a driver’s license doesn’t get you car insurance. It the no insurance that victimizes though injured in an accident not the fact the driver doesn’t have a license.
If Lee what’s to address illegal immigrants it time to add some mandatory jail time for employers who hire illegal immigrants.
Seem like Lee and his puppet master Copeland likes the word “Special.” Special interests are responsible for failing public schools! What a joke when it’s the legislators like Copeland that can’t move real reform in education. If he worked as hard promoting his legislation buy working with the public as he does with his charter school agenda and his buddies in Red Clay maybe we could have real reform.
Bill Lee there are special needs students who can’t get into your save the world charter school system. Bill Lee 24% of Delaware charter schools are failing but you hold up the white charter schools and proclaim this is the way follow me and Charlie. Charlie, wasn’t that the name the enemy in Vietnam?
When you go to Copeland about concerns with school board violating state law and can prove it, he doesn’t want to get involved in local school board issues.
Copeland drag Bill Lee who is really unknown how deeply Copeland is in bed with the status quo on the Red Clay School Board. That status quo is being purged as each come up for reelection and Copeland needs to be purged and it is “very” unfortunate Lee and Copeland come as a pair
Even though he appologized, I really think this will have long lasting implications with Sussex voters. Fortunately for Mr. Lee, Sussex does not carry a statewide election.
Wilmington alone had more Republicans vote for John McCain in the primary, than there were total voters in all of Sussex County (both Democrats and Republicans) in that same primary.
Who knows, maybe his stance will help him with the Wilmington crew enough to negate Sussex.
Kilroy is full of shit! Who sponsored the biggest education reform bill of 2008 and did everything he could to push it?
Charlie Copeland.
Kilroy used to be a big supporter of putting school finances online. But now that he’s a Democrat, maybe not.
Old One
“Kilroy used to be a big supporter of putting school finances online. But now that he’s a Democrat, maybe not.”
Still am and we need a man who can get the job done! If Copeland used the same energy as he did rally charter parents against DSEA and applied it to rallying them to push for his school finance reform we would have! If Copeland showed some balls to stand with the Red Clay community by attending a few school board meeting or some Community Financial Review Committee meeting we would have more transparency in Red Clay. His response when called up to help was, sorry it’s a local school board issue. Yet at the same time he works with that board in promoting a new charter school in Red Clay set to open this fall. When informed of improper board vote and violation of state law TITLE 14
Education Free Public Schools CHAPTER 5. CHARTER SCHOOLS § 511. Approval procedure. “(i) After giving 15 days public notice, the approving authority shall hold public hearings to assist in its decision whether to approve a charter application.” Copeland still didn’t want to get involved.
When legislators turn a blind eye to the written law and leave the community members and fellow Republican who believed in his so-called open government indicates weakness.
Democrat! Yea the way I trashed the shit out of them but yet they pick up the “telephone” to discuss the concerns shows better leadership.
“But now that he’s a Democrat, maybe not.”
Copeland the Republican introduces such bold reform but falls on his face rallying the community lack real grit! Come on you know dam well I did my best to support his legislation and if he would have show some ball re: Red Clay meltdown as he call in his little video “ near crisis” he could have moved that agenda! Trashing DSEA out when he know 24% of the Delaware charter schools are failing at the hands of non DSEA members shows he is out of touch even with his pet project. Shall I expose some other Republicans who are in the little “Don” club?
All an all it real doesn’t matter as Matt Denn will be next Lt. Gov. BTW shall I bring up JC’s little agenda?
It is really sad to see a young man who was tracking to Washington attaching himself to local agendas when he could have supported them in a more balanced approached. The Red Clay community really needed him but he failed to stand! Yea I am a big bad red monster because I give a shit about children in poverty of the people the party of Lincoln abandoned. Sweeping the little brothers and sister failing charter schools under the carpet as their plight is nonexistent is not the party I want to be associated with. Christ Carney and Markell at least have a plan with substance. Trashing all public school teachers because of their dislike of DSEA leadership, not smart! I know the divisions in that organization.
So sorry to offend you Old One but dam what about the good kids who happen to be failing who can’t go for the quality charter ride or the choice Choice ride.
Here’s Lee’s statement:
“As a judge and a Marine, I’ve stood for law and order my whole life. After careful consideration and consultation with many experts whose judgment I respect — and also after listening to people and hearing their ideas and how strongly this issue resonates with them — it has become clear to me that it is simply not a good idea to issue any official legal document to those who are in our nation illegally. As I have consistently stated, I favor strong enforcement of our state’s laws. As Governor, I will make sure Delaware is not a favored destination for illegal immigrants and be an energetic advocate for greater enforcement of Federal laws regarding immigration.”
Sorry to threadjack here, but are you guys going to write anything about the Democratic abdication on Sussex County Council?
Sorry to threadjack here, but are you guys going to write anything about the Democratic abdication on Sussex County Council?
Hooray?
From DelawareOnline.com, June 11, 2008:
“He (Protack) also would require all residents over 16 years old to carry a state driver’s license, using the card to comply with federal Real ID regulations. If they don’t drive, “No Driving Privileges” would be printed on the license. Protack estimates the cards would cost about $20 million, but said illegal immigration costs Delaware $65 million a year in social services, education and other costs.
“How many illegal immigrants there are in Delaware nobody knows,” he said. “But the No. 1 obligation of the governor is the safety and security of the citizens. Part of that is making sure you know who is in your state and what they are doing.“
Let’s see Protack wants an easy way to tell if people are legal by complying with the Federal Real ID law. Isn’t that the opposite of what we were talking about?
Judge Lee has taken good advise and listened to the people by repudiating the illegal immigrant license idea. In a campaign you talk all of the time. Once in a while you make a mistake. The test of a person is how he/she corrects them. There is no reason to imagine an attack on Mr. Protack.
I didn’t like the comment Mr. Lee made, that’s for sure. But I have no other choice, but to vote for him.
Carney, Markell, and Protack will all serve only to increase the speed with which the constant march of government intervenes with our lives.