September 26, 2006

Hit Head On

Donna Locke emailed the following in response to a Tennessean story about Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson's new campaign ad, in which a Bredesen staffer tries to portray Bredesen (falsely) as taking tough action on illegal immigration: Locke writes:

Gov. Phil Bredesen's re-election campaign says Bredesen has "hit" the illegal immigration issue "head-on," but Tennessee victims of illegal aliens are the ones being hit head-on. Our Democratic-controlled legislature, led by Bredesen, has torpedoed every bill but one, sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats, to gain some control over illegal immigration at the state level. Maybe that is what the Bredesen campaign means by "head-on."

The Democrats, led by Bredesen, have stalled and outright killed Republican-initiated bills to eliminate illegal-alien magnets in Tennessee driver's licensing, taxpayer-funded state services, and employment. Republicans sponsored the bill to require that our highway patrol cooperate with federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws (lack of cooperation between law enforcement agencies was cited in the 9/11 Commission's final report as a tragic flaw). That bill went nowhere, because of Democratic opposition.

Tennessee doesn't have a chance of getting a handle on the illegal immigration problem unless Republicans gain control of our legislature and governor's office.

As to the illegal immigration issue, McDowell said, Bredesen was one of the first governors in the country to "hit the issue head-on" in June after it became apparent that Congress was not going to pass meaningful reform.

Given the recent deaths of a Mt. Juliet couple in a head-on collision with a drunk illegal immigrant who was left on the streets by a failure of government at all levels - including Gov. Bredesen's failure to address illegal immigration over the past four years - the campaign's decision to describe Bredesen as having "hit" the issue "head on" shows an appalling lack of sensitivity and judgment.

Facts are facts, and the fact is the Bredesen administration's official policy on illegal immigration is to pass the buck, blame the feds, and avoid meaningful debate on the issue. Sending a few hundred Tennessee National Guard troops to the Arizona border was nothing but a way for Bredesen to cover his sorry record and prepare a possible campaign photo-op or ad backdrop.

Every time - every single time - legislation has been proposed that would make Tennessee less of a magnet for illegals, and protect the public by strengthening law enforcement actions to rid the state of criminal illegals, Gov. Bredesen has actively opposed it.

Only after the deaths of that Mt. Juliet couple and an elderly Bellevue woman at the hands of criminal illegals has Pass-the-Buck Bredesen scurried to fix his image on this issue, though he has done nothing substantive - not one single thing - to actually address the problem itself.