Before anyone decides to argue that they plan is not unpopular, we have already shown that 77% of American adults are opposed to the idea, according to Rasmussen.
Seventy-seven percent (77%) of American adults are opposed to making drivers licenses available to people who are in the country illegally. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 16% take the opposite view and believe that undocumented immigrants should be allowed to get a license.
Now back to Spitzer hedging his bets here.
Reeling from relentless criticism of his plan to issue New York driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, Gov. Eliot Spitzer indicated on Friday that he had not ruled out shelving the idea.
After a meeting on Friday with Hispanic lawmakers at a conference here, Mr. Spitzer was not displaying the defiance with which he had defended the plan in the past. Asked by a reporter if he would change or table the plan, the governor said he was sticking with it “as of now,” but suggested that he was open to abandoning it.
“Sometimes you put out an idea and there isn’t so much support, and you try to persuade people and you see where you go,” Mr. Spitzer said. “This is the way the world works.”
He added: “I don’t think there’s ever been an executive, a president, a governor who hasn’t put out ideas, that at the end of the day there isn’t support, and so things don’t work out, but as of now, sure, I think this is the right idea from a security perspective. We’ll wait and see.”
If Mr. Spitzer were to withdraw the policy, there would probably be great relief among the many Democrats who have become entangled in the issue, whether they support the plan or not.
The reaction to the plan has far exceeded what the governor or his staff expected, and Democratic incumbents in Congress and the State Senate fear it has given Republicans an issue to use against them next year. It has also earned Mr. Spitzer the animosity of groups pushing for stricter controls on immigration and inspired Lou Dobbs, the CNN anchor, to lead a nightly crusade against the policy.
Mr. Spitzer’s comments on Friday came just after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Legislature’s top Democrat, suggested to reporters that Mr. Spitzer should not push ahead at this point.
He is going to wait and see... or just his way of laying the groundwork to say, it wasn't accepted so I will shelve it?
I believe it is the latter.
Where does that leave Hillary Clinton?
During the last Democratic debate she said she supported Spitzer's plan on giving illegal immigrants driver's licenses, then she said she didn't say she supported it (within two minutes), then the next day she said she supported it and yesterday, on CNN, she hedged again on the issue, that will also cost her support from her own party.
Hillary is having a bad couple of weeks and this isn't going to help her.
If Spitzer does abandon the plan, then he is, in effect, leaving Hillary hanging in the wind because she cannot undo what she has already said...to which many of us have already saved the video of her saying it for prosperity.
I, myself, pointed out how easily Hillary could have avoided this whole thing by just saying NO when she was asked about the Spitzer plan, yet, being a panderer has its drawbacks, as well it should and her gaffe is the perfect illustration of that basic fact.
Spitzer will bounce back if he abandons the idea by saying he listened to the people.
Hillary will not be allowed to live down her answers, because she was asked about this directly, after public opinion was known, and still could not bring herself to stop pandering long enough to take a firm stand.
That is what will be used against her and rightly so.
PS--Just because it is funny, go see the Doug Ross take on Hillary's QuestionGate problem.
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