The last Governor we had got New Mexico good publicity in the New York Times for what is great about our Land of Enchantment. The current Governor got us on the front page of the New York Times today for being xenophobic. That whole drivers license thing for undocumented workers. Those are the people who built your house and are working on replacing your roof. You know Susana Martinez and her rightwing political consultants must feel like they have scored a coup. Of course this kind of story does none of us any good. Does this bring jobs? Does this fight poverty? No, it just makes us look a little like the nut cases in Arizona.
I had to chuckle at the last few days of letters to the editor in the Journal. Yesterday someone attacked an oped contributor because he had a government pension from years as a faculty member and social security. His total income was $60K a year. We have come to a point where being a former public servant at all would qualify you for concentration camps in some Tea Party member's minds.
There was a group of letters today that attack the Catholic Bishops for siding with those undocumented workers with drivers licenses. They use that church/state separation thing. The right wing authors won't say much though when those same Bishops attack pols for being pro-choice.
Life goes on and double standards endure.
6 comments:
I won't credit our last governor (Richardson) as doing much to enhance the image of New Mexico given all the scandal during his administration. Nevertheless, it's true Governor Martinez is following the right-wing agenda to keep Mexicans out of this country, and doing whatever else to suppress them. It's strange, however, how we never see headlines about a border fence between the US and Canada.
Double standards endure, indeed!
Why do you want "illegal immigrants" in NM. I would appreciate knowing. I Imagine this will not make it on your blog.
I really do not want illegal immigrants in our country. But they are here and paying taxes and generally behave themselves. Like they have been since we became a nation. they are here to better their families chances of a good life. Hardly something to look down upon.
This is all about race to many people. Where is the fence along the Canadian border?
All the hoopla over "illegals" getting driver's licenses is merely a distraction from the fact that there is not a living breathing republican politician who gives a whit about the rapidly declining middle class in this country. If it were about "illegals" taking jobs, then the employers who hire them would be targeted extensively. And don't give me that crap about how "illegals" will take jobs Americans won't do. The fact is, those "illegals" are willing to take those jobs at a wage rate (if they're paid at all) that Americans realize will not support themselves and their families. Twenty "illegals" don't share a 2 bedroom apartment because the want to, they do it to survive on the paltry pay they make.
I totally agree with you, Jim, and Rodney. The Republicans sole effort at increasing jobs is to attack illegal immigrants as theifs of American jobs. Meanwhile, their homes, ranches, farms, hotels, and restaurants are maintained by immigrants, mostly without legal papers. Meanwhile Republicans in Congress demand "deep cuts in federal spending" (translation: "deep cuts in jobs") as their primary economic policy. Race? Absolutely! Middle Class be damned.
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