By Mark David Blum, Esq.
Finding a candidate of courage these days is a near impossibility. Pandering the masses and avoiding conflict at all costs is the hallmark of a cowardly politician. Locally, a Town Councilor comes out in favor of same sex unions only after he is voted out of office. President Clinton came out in favor of legalization of drugs only after he spent eight years imprisoning millions of Americans.
Then along came Elliot Spitzer; promising New Yorkers no more business as usual. Promising to be independent and not cower to polls or pols, he guaranteed us he would do his job with the best interests of the People of the State of New York at heart. I, along with a majority of voters believed him and gave him the chance.
Reality did not take long to set in. First, Spitzer appoints a censorship minded ignoramus to run the New York State Fair.
Then, Spitzer signed the most fascist bill ever to come out of a State Legislature. Making it the law that a person who has been tried and convicted and served their sentence, can still be held in custody “forever” on the assumption that they are just too dangerous to be in public. Again, this law only applies to sex offenders; not drunk drivers, murderers, robbers, or other violent felons.
Of course, Mr. Spitzer also promised to have introduced legislation removing barriers to Gay Marriage here in New York. Alas, not a whimper or hint of such legislation.
But the ultimate act of cowardice and caving in happened over the driver’s license issue. In what can best be described as a well thought out and near perfect solution to an almost unsolvable dilemma, the issuance of drivers licenses to everybody demonstrating proficiency at driving a car made us all safer.
Yet, the pressure from fat boy Lou Dobbs and Wrong Way O’Reilly has forced our Governor to back down. With that one single move, I have given up my respect for Mr. Spitzer and wonder how much more of our freedom he will give away because he lacks the political courage to stand behind his convictions.
He should be ashamed.
Apparently I have been mistaken all these years. What I had thought was a license to drive a car is now being seen as a national identification card. The uproar and vehement attacks upon the Governor for his idea prove the thesis. Our drivers license is being converted to a national identification card. No longer are we assuring that operators of motor vehicles know what the hell they are doing. That is not important; what is important is assuring citizenship status.
Denying the “illegal immigrant” a drivers license is not going to return the immigrant to his or her nation of origin. It is not going to compel the immigrant to come up from the underground. It certainly is not going to assure that motor vehicle operators know what the hell they are doing.
Suddenly DMV, a state agency, is a conscript for the federal government? Now they have taken it upon themselves to assure the lawful status of all New Yorkers?
No. As much as I think the governor is braindead because he appointed Dan O’Hara as State Fair Director, nevertheless on this one, he is right. It is not our job as New Yorkers to do immigration work. It is our responsibility to make sure that our roads are safe and that drivers thereon know what they are doing. This is how we remain safe.
I enjoy reading how various DMV officials are going to disobey the governor. Of course, I will represent them at their arbitration hearings but every one of them should be fired. New York City lawyers who believe the federal government and FAA will not recognize a New York drivers license are using scare tactics. Seriously, how long would the Airlines allow a ban to be in place if suddenly no New York citizen were flying? Imagine shutting down JFK and LaGuardia and airports all the way to Buffalo. I verily believe that economics would force a change in federal policy – quickly. Mayor Bloomberg is quick to surrender.
The bottom line is this: When you see a driver on the road, you do not know if they have a license or a clue about their immigration status. As you drive down that highway with your precious children in the back seat, which is more important to you … that the driver in the next car be legally in the United States or that they have established a minimum proficiency at driving. The answer to that question could mean the difference between life and death.
A drivers license is not a national identification card. It should never be so. That is not who we are and that is not the legacy I wish to leave for the children of my great grandchildren. Remember who the real enemy is … an oppressive and tyrannical government.
There is only one honorable thing for Mr. Spitzer to do: Resign from office for being a coward and backing down from what he knows is right. Anything less is just his effort to suckle more taxpayer dollars for his ever fattening pension while he does absolutely nothing good for the people he was elected to serve.
