Washington Post
(Right Turn)
By Jennifer Rubin
July 9, 2015
There
are times when Republicans should be very grateful they have a diverse
and impressive field. Yes, there are the obnoxious and unhinged ones,
Donald Trump especially,
but there is also Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who said in an
appearance yesterday: “I want to remind anybody who cares about
immigration reform, that Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and the stimulus went
ahead of you. [Hillary Clinton] was a public voice in 2009;
I never remember her saying ‘wait a minute, President Obama — you
promised to do immigration reform. Honor your promise.’ She didn’t say a
word.” Darn right.
Hillary Clinton, as on most every topic, has been a follower and not a leader on immigration reform. Huffington Post recounts:
Eight
years ago, it was the topic of driver’s licenses for undocumented
immigrants that first tripped up the seemingly inevitable presidential
candidacy of then-Sen. Hillary
Clinton (D-N.Y.). During an October 2007 debate in Philadelphia,
Clinton was asked whether she supported the efforts of her home-state
governor, Eliot Spitzer, to pass a bill authorizing those licenses.
Spitzer was arguing that it would make the roads safer
since undocumented immigrants with licenses would more likely to get
insurance and cooperate with police.
But
Clinton had fits with the question. She said the New York proposal
“makes a lot of sense,” before adding that she did not support it. Her
Democratic primary opponents
on the stage let her have it, accusing her of deliberate vagueness and
of wanting to have it both ways on the issue.
Then-Sen.
Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) interrupted her answer: “No, no, no. You said yes,
you thought it made sense to do it.” Dodd opposed driver’s licenses for
undocumented
immigrants. Then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who supported such
licenses, quipped that he couldn’t “tell whether she was for it or
against it.”
About
two weeks later, Clinton had a settled answer. “As president, I will
not support driver’s licenses for undocumented people,” she said in a
statement, adding that
she would push for broader immigration reform.
Now
she is back to approving them. It’s typical of her finger-to-the-wind
approach, and Graham is smart to make the case she has been weak on
immigration reform. If the
GOP nominates Graham, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) or Jeb Bush it will
have a good argument that it is the responsible party that supports
border security, reform of legal immigration and some form of
legalization or citizenship.
Graham,
as other Republicans have done, made clear that he denounces Donald
Trump’s remarks. He did not hold back, arguing that Trump’s comment was
“offensive” and “not
accurate.” He continued, “The overwhelming majority of the 11-plus
million illegal immigrants are good, hardworking people who need to get
right with the law, among them are some really bad people, rapists, drug
dealers and killers. As a party we need to reject
the characterization of the 11 million as mostly drug dealers and
rapists.”
Why
must Republicans do this? Quite simply, Trump’s remarks were wrong and
racist and, considering the mixed history of the GOP on immigration, it
is incumbent on them
to call him out. Whether they want border security only, or
legalization or a path to citizenship is irrelevant. Unless they want to
be permanently cast as anti-immigrant (and hence anti-most American
families) they better not mince words. As Graham said,
“We’re going to drive a wedge between us and Hispanics that’s going to
last for a generation if we don’t knock this crap off.”
Those
who don’t understand why Graham is right fundamentally misunderstand
the composition of the electorate and the American values of inclusion
and tolerance. (And
many of the same can’t figure out why the Confederate flag is regarded
as hateful or why we should oppose discrimination against gays in the
workplace.) If the GOP does not want to be the Doesn’t Get It party, it
better start acting like it respects all Americans.
As
Peter Wehner wrote, “If conservatives rally to defend Mr. Trump on the
grounds that he’s ‘refreshing’ and has ‘passion,’ that he’s
‘anti-establishment’ and irritates
liberals, they will do considerable damage to their movement and to the
Republican Party. Mr. Trump is a pernicious figure on the American
political landscape. He can’t be wished away. Which means the people who
have to confront and expose him are conservatives.
We’re the ones who have the most to lose from a successful Trump
candidacy.” In that regard, Graham and others who have spoken out have
done their party a great service.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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