June 26, 2006

Looking Tough

A story in Friday's Nashville City Paper says state Sen. Jim Bryson, the likely Republican nominee to face incumbent Gov. Phil Bredesen in the November election, will run a "bold, unconventional and unpredictable campaign." And a big angle of attack on Bredesen - in addition to the easy shots at Bredesen over his failure to fix TennCare (and the subsequent dumping of 193,000 sick, old, poor and disabled people off the TennCare rolls), and the string of ethics scandals that have cast a tinge of backroom smoke and dirty dealing over the administration (remember those state troopers getting promotions in exchange for campaign donations) - will be Bredesen's failure to protect the people of Tennessee from the negative impact of illegal immigration.

Bredesen has said that immigration is a federal problem and opposes giving state troopers authority to enforce immigration law. He recently did agree to allocate 100 National Guard troops to the border.

He is anything but.

While Bredesen's administration hands out "driver certificates" to illegals, it did nothing to stop the Mexican consulate from using a public high school in Nashville - government property - as a site to distribute those dubious "matricular consular" cards to illegals living here, a form of ID for illegals that presents a very real security risk.

Bryson supports legislation that would involve the THP in enforcing immigration laws, and also supports giving driver's license tests in English only. Bredesen opposes both - and when pressed on illegal immigration he merely passes the buck and says it's a federal matter.

But the federal government is doing nothing or the wrong thing most of the time on that issue, and Tennessee taxpayers are spending millions for healthcare, education and a myriad of other services for people who have no right, legal or otherwise, to be here.

And the gravest danger of Bredesen's inaction and buck-passing on illegal immigration was brought home to the Nashville area a few days ago with the killing of a Mt. Juliet couple by an illegal immigrant drunk driver who, if anyone in local or state government had done their jobs right, would not have been here.

No, Bredesen won't do what is necessary to address illegal immigration. He IS willing to send a paltry number of TNG troops to the Mexican border, if they're requested, which they haven't been. Of course he's willing to send them - they'd a good backdrop in a Bredesen campaign ad showing him as "tough" on illegal immigration.

But looking tough and being tough are two different things. And Bredesen is as far from tough on illegal immigration as Nuevo Laredo is from the North Pole.

Illegal immigration is the hottest political issue nationwide - and polls consistently show people want tougher measures taken. It's an issue that could expose Bredesen, a supposed 800-pound political gorilla, as a paper tiger instead.

Donate to the Bryson campaign here.