I take back (almost) every nasty thing I ever said about California Governor Gray Davis. Davis is doing an outstanding job—compared to Arizona's Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, that is.
Davis is bad on immigration—terrible, actually. But he can only aspire to Napolitano's level of deceit and treachery. Next to Napolitano, Davis is a babe in the woods.
On June 26, Napolitano, in front of a cheering Hispanic audience at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials annual convention, vetoed H.B. 2345, a bill that would have required voters to show identification at polling places.
Napolitano, seizing a photo-op, brought her red "VETO" stamp to the meeting to delight the partisan crowd as she killed the bill.
To make this ugly scene even more revolting, six of the nine announced Democratic Presidential candidates attended the NALEA conference; two others addressed the convention via satellite. [see press release, PDF](When will they start to wave pom-poms?)
Without an ID, illegal aliens—or anyone else, for that matter—cannot even rent a video at Blockbuster. But they could vote for Janet Napolitano, a lawyer who promotes law breaking.
And since Napolitano won by fewer than 13,000 votes in 2002, and with tens—if not hundreds—of thousands of illegals registered to vote in Arizona, little wonder she wants to keep that source open to her.
"In Arizona, we want people to vote," said Napolitano, [Click here to send E-mail to Governor Napolitano]who received a standing ovation from the Hispanic officials.
"Welcome to the new Arizona," she said.
Allow me to complete Napolitano's thought: she wants illegal aliens (like some of the subjects in this story: [For the third time in the past four weeks, Phoenix police believe rival smugglers may have ambushed a truckload of undocumented immigrants by forcing them off the road and opening fire. Police suspect slain driver latest victim in coyote war , Christina Leonard, The Arizona Republic, Jul. 4, 2003]) to vote undeterred by the hassle of having to identify themselves. Why else would Napolitano object to requiring voters to present a photo ID, bank statement or utility bill?
But Napolitano and her cronies claim carrying ID is inconvenient and burdensome for the elderly! Really? I tried to weigh my driver's license but it did not register on the scale!
Arizona Republican Representative Linda Gray (e-mail her: lgray@azleg.state.az.us) who wrote H.B. 2345, asserted—correctly—that her bill would prevent voter fraud. Napolitano claimed—absurdly—that it would deter voter participation.
I called Gray to ask about Napolitano's motives. Gray replied:
"This went straight down party lines. But what is the problem in showing an ID? Even if they don't have ID, all that person has to do is sign in and they vote a ballot to be verified. The County Elections would then cross check their signature as they currently do with early ballots, including those dropped off at the polls on Election Day. No one [legally eligible] is not allowed to vote."
Napolitano's pro-illegal alien sideshow at N.A.L.E.O. reminded me of U.S. Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon's appearance two weeks ago at the L.U.L.A.C. national convention to reveal that Hispanics had just become the U.S.'s largest minority group. I marvel at the planning and timing required for prominent U.S. officials to suck up at Latino conferences.
And I note—without surprise—that the NALEO and LULAC crowd treats themselves pretty well. The NALEOs schmoozed at Pointe South Mountain Resort, "one of Phoenix's finest"; for the LULACs, it was swimming, golf, tennis and a private Shamu showing at Orlando's Wyndham Palace!
What a pity the people they supposedly represent don't have it so cushy.
VDARE.COM readers are painfully aware of how shameless pandering politicians are. But Napolitano has left her peers in the dust. Three days before her veto, Napolitano addressed the graduating class at Santa Clara University, her alma mater. Her theme: the importance of ethics, character and honesty!
Things have gotten so bad in Arizona that I—a Californian!—pity the good citizens who are paying the price. Illegal immigration is hammering the state. Once a desert gem, Arizona is overwhelmed by sprawl.
And Phoenix is ranked 9th among the top 100 cities in the US in terms of total sprawl.
The illegal alien impact in Arizona on social services is so huge that even the New York Times wrote about it! Yes, the New York Times!
And this summary written by FAIR of a House Committee on Appropriations report titled "The Immediate Environmental Impact of Illegal Immigration" paints a very grim picture.
Bob Park, a Prescott resident and founder of "The Article IV, Section 4 Foundation" assured me that Arizonans are irate about Napolitano's veto. Park says:
"Talk about having your head in the sand—or the Sonoran Desert to be exact—when it comes to anything having to do with illegal aliens, i.e. setting fires to forest lands along the border, leaving literally tons of trash along the way, destroying our fragile eco system and overloading our jails and prisons, Arizona's governor Janet Napolitano sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil."
A GOP/USA poll confirmed Park's opinion finding that 73% think Napolitano "abused her power."
Arizonans, like most Americans, have been pushed around long enough by illegal immigration lobbyists and their apologists, Kathy McKee, Director of "Protect Arizona Now" told me. "And we intend to do something about it," McKee emphasized.
Earlier this week, in direct response to Napolitano's veto, McKee's group filed an application to collect signatures to place "The Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act" on the 2004 ballot. Similar to California's Prop. 187, the act would require identification and eligibility verification (including immigration status) for all state and local programs, services and benefits except those mandated by federal law. Proof of citizenship would be required to register to vote.
McKee expects that Arizonans will overwhelmingly support her. And from my vantage point as a columnist who hears from all four corners every week, I see growing frustration and anger among the populace at having their will blatantly subverted.
As 2004 approaches, I expect immigration reform voices to grow louder.
And the more noise they make, the harder it will be to ignore them.
Joe Guzzardi [email him], an instructor in English at the Lodi Adult School, has been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM.
