November 16, 2007 [LINK / comment]
New York Attorney General Elliott Spitzer has backed down on his flabbergasting proposal to grant driver's licenses to illegal aliens, as a "practical way to increase security and make roads safer." See Washington Post. As we all know, in many parts of the country that would be sufficient proof of legal status to register to vote. (Maybe that's the point.) Spitzer had originally justified this measure on the grounds that the Feds were failing to police the borders, so the state had no choice. In other words, he would match national-level irresponsibility with state-level irresponsibility. I'll bet Hillary Clinton would pay $100,000 to retract her endorsement of that goofball idea.
You know the Republican Party is in big trouble when one of its (presumed) leaders slams one of the party's most respected elder statesmen, who will leave the U.S. Senate next year: "John Warner is the figurehead of the Moderate wing of the party in VA--a wing that thinks that pandering to Democrats will actually garner votes." (Since when did Warner pander to Democrats?) "Elle" thanks Warner for stepping down, the effect of which will be to hand the Democrats an easy seat in the Senate next year. (Is that what she wants?) She then goes on to disparage two "RINO" state senators who "barely squeaked by in their respective (open) primary contests in which they can be grateful that Democrats voted." (That would be Walter Stosch and Emmett Hanger.) Remember Reagan's Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. In contrast, an editorial in Wednesday's News Leader (hardly conservative) praised Warner for telling it like it is to the Virginia Republican leaders, most of whom seem blissfully ignorant of political reality. (See Nov. 8.) It prompted me to update my "Talk Back" user profile ("Cholo1"), which has lain dormant for many months, but not in time to post a comment there. Stay tuned...
Michael Mukasey was sworn in as attorney general earlier this week.