After getting caught in a moment of doublespeak in last night’s Democrat debate, HRC today made a political calculation to fully endorse New York’s controversial proposal to issue Driver’s Licenses to illegal immigrants, handing the GOP a front-burner general election issue.
“Senator Clinton supports governors like Governor Spitzer who believe they need such a measure to deal with the crisis caused by this administration’s failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform,’” her campaign said.
Mrs. Clinton’s aides said her statement was intended to signal that she broadly supported Mr. Spitzer’s goal of awarding driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. source
The issue of border security has galvanized conservatives, and is a hot-button issue in the Republican campaign. Just ask John McCain. For HRC to attach herself to amnesty for illegal immigrants, an issue that is favored by just 22% of voters, seems to me to be political suicide. Perhaps she figures she would rather take away the “double-speak” accusations from her Primary opponents, calculating that she can move back to the center in time for November 2008. If so, it is a risky strategy, and one that may prove to be more costly than she reckons.
President Bush on Wednesday nominated Edward Schafer, a former two-term Republican governor from North Dakota, to lead the Agriculture Department, which is hoping to influence the outcome of a new five-year farm bill.
