Over the past few weeks, the media has bombarded us with stories concerning the illogical plan proposed by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. According to Spitzer’s office, the purpose of the governor’s proposal was to help illegal immigrants come ‘into the system’ by giving them the access and rights to cheap and easily attainable identification through the state.

Spitzer’s plan is not only illogical, it is dangerous. It places our state and country on a slippery slope that could eventually result in the granting of amnesty for illegals that knowingly broke our laws to enter this country.

While Spitzer thought this plan would be accepted by the public, the general reaction to the idea has been venomous. According to a recently conducted Siena College poll, 72 percent of New Yorkers oppose Spitzer’s plan, with only 22 percent supporting it. This sentiment is not limited to just New Yorkers. A Rasmussen Reports poll this month found that 77 percent of all adults in the United States are opposed to giving licenses to illegals, with 68 percent opposition from registered Democrats – Spitzer’s own party.

These numbers illustrate beyond a doubt that Spitzer’s plan is not representative of the people.

In turn, New York state voters took their disapproval to the ballot box. Spitzer hurt his political party in 2007 with his plan, as a number of key races in New York that could likely have been won by Democrats saw Republicans emerge victorious. According to The New York Times, the key races that the Democrats actually won were those for which Spitzer did not actively campaign. In close races where Spitzer endorsed Democrats – including our local race for Onondaga County Executive – the Republicans saw landslide victories.

Recent Zogby International polling shows that the license plan has also hurt the presidential prospects of Hillary Clinton, our state’s junior senator. Polling in key states that were once considered Clinton’s territory (including our state of New York) show her neck-and-neck with Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani.

These results are due to what should be called the Spitzer effect. It only seems right that a wrench was thrown into Clinton’s political machine for supporting something so plainly wrong.

Thankfully, key Democrats are speaking out with Republicans against Spitzer’s plan in Washington and are now calling for federal legislation to stop plans like these from being put into place. Cities and counties in New York are also passing laws to ban the granting of licenses to illegals, even if Spitzer’s plan eventually gets through.

It’s sad that we would need to pass new laws in order to stop our elected officials from rewarding those who break old laws, but this is the world we live in.

This is not a partisan issue, it’s an American issue. Syracuse University students should think hard about what our governor and our junior senator have said they support. We must actively remind them through our calls, our e-mails and even our votes that ‘illegal’ means ‘illegal.’

Vinny Napolitano is a biweekly columnist for The Daily Orange and executive director of College Republicans. He can be reached at vsnapoli@syr.edu.

Published on November 13, 2007 at 12:00 pm