Spitzer Says Clinton Urged Him Not To Give Driver's Licenses To Undocumented Immigrants
Eliot Spitzer Says Hillary Clinton's 2008 Camp Urged Him Not To Give Driver's Licenses To Undocumented Immigrants
But the pressure didn't only come from Clinton, he added.
Elise Foley
Huffington Post
When former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) withdrew his plan to give driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants in 2007, it was partially at the urging of then- (and current) presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the former governor said in an podcast interview posted Thursday.
While Clinton now supports driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, she flailed on the issue during her 2008 presidential bid. Eventually, the Democrat came down against Spitzer's proposed measure to provide licenses to the undocumented.
But Clinton went further than opposing the plan, Spitzer revealed on "The Axe Files," a podcast hosted by David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama (who went on to defeat Clinton in 2008). In fact, the campaign asked Spitzer to drop the proposal altogether.
Spitzer told Axelrod he yielded to that request, although heavy opposition from elsewhere also played a role.
"We heard from folks (on Clinton's campaign) who said they want this issue gone," Spitzer said. "I thought the issue was a metaphor for her vacillation."
Earlier in 2007, Clinton, then a senator from New York, said that Spitzer's plan made "a lot of sense." During a Democratic primary debate in October of that year, though, she walked the statement back, saying "I did not say that it should be done, but I certainly recognize why Gov. Spitzer is trying to do it."
After Spitzer withdrew the plan, Clinton clarified her stance, saying the governor had made the right decision.
"As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system," she said in a statement in November 2007.
Clinton came around earlier this year. In April, a spokesperson for her campaign told The Huffington Post that the candidate "supports state policies to provide driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants."
Related:
The Guardian: Hillary Clinton Flip Flops
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