WARNING - RedState - WARNING: Tea Party Victory Against Illegals in Maryland

[pampango]

http://www.redstate.com/dhorowitz3/2011/06/01/tea-party-victory-against-illegals-in-maryland/

Liberal politicians incessantly demagogue the issue of illegal immigration by offering a false choice between amnesty and a police style roundup of 12 million aliens. Obama believes that without a pathway to citizenship, even a moat with alligators can’t preempt illegal immigration. They always forget the third option; enforcing the laws on the books and not offering them hospitality that isn’t afforded to legal Americans.

Last month, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley offered such a taxpayer funded courtesy by signing a bill granting in-state tuition benefits at state universities to illegal aliens residing in Maryland. ... Maryland is not known for its strong Tea Party presence. But against all odds, Maryland conservatives have successfully passed the first hurdle in securing a ballot referendum to strike down the tuition law.

The salient observation that was noted by the petition organizers was the fact that so many Democrats signed the petition, and even offered to circulate it in their communities. I bumped into many hard-core liberals who support every big government program imaginable, yet categorically rebuffed the whole concept of offering benefits to illegals. “What part of ‘illegal’ do the politicians not understand?” was a common refrain from numerous Democrat supporters. A Democrat state Senator from Baltimore County even volunteered to circulate the petition.

Republicans must learn from the Maryland experience that illegal immigration is not a wedge issue for Republicans. Quite the contrary, it is a wedge issue that divides commonsense Democrats (to the extent that they exist) from the party elites. All too often, the supercilious wizards of smart in our own party lament how immigration is a losing issue for us. Well, according to Gallup, Maryland is the most Democrat state in the country, yet a pro-illegal bill is headed to defeat. No amount of spin can ameliorate the negative reaction that people intuitively garner towards lawbreakers.

RedState doesn't pop up very often on my google searches, but it did this time. Maryland has a Democratic governor and legislature, so it has headed in a different direction on immigration issues from all the republican-controlled states which are trying to copycat Arizona. I guess this gives RedState and Maryland's conservatives something to do while they are out of power.