The controversies over the Arizona immigration plan and the Obama Administration's response to the oil spill in the Gulf may not seem related, but they have a key common characteristic: both originate in the failure of Washington.In both cases, President Obama faces a real danger of a political backlash from which he will be unable to recover. More importantly, they are both part of a rapidly evolving pattern of big government failure that will be a fundamental challenge to our country over the next quarter century.
Before anyone criticizes the citizens of Arizona who are worried about their lives and their safety, they should focus on the abject failure of the federal government to control the border and enforce our immigration laws.
Consider the facts on the ground:
15% of Arizona's state prisoners are illegal immigrants;
The number of kidnappings in Phoenix, Ariz., has exploded as the Mexican drug cartels have brought their violence North of the border;
Two Phoenix police officers have been killed in recent years by illegal immigrants;
A cattle rancher near the Mexican border was recently killed by a drug smuggler;
Just last week a deputy sheriff was wounded in a gun battle with men suspected of being drug smugglers from Mexico.
In response to the dangers they perceived from Washington's failure, 64% of Arizonans overwhelmingly support their new immigration law. Nationally, 51% of Americans who have heard of the law support it, with 39% opposed.
This is despite the frequent distortions and flat-out lies about the facts of the bill being reiterated in the mainstream media (Byron York and Andy McCarthy have been especially good at setting the record straight.)
The Obama Administration will alienate the vast majority of Americans if it insists on attacking the Arizona law instead of solving the problems of an uncontrolled border and a failed immigration system.
The right answer for Washington is to meet its responsibilities: 1) Control the border; 2) Pass common sense immigration reform, including a guest worker program and intense enforcement aimed at illegal employers (without whom there would be no magnet to draw in people outside the law); and 3) Ensure that all Americans can live in safety in a law abiding country.
At that point the Arizona law would become moot and unneeded. Let's solve the problem, not the symptom...
(From the Newt Gingrich Letter in Human Events)
