It nearly brought a tear to my eye when I heard Sen. Hillary Clinton say “no woman is illegal” and “no man, either.” Message to Hispanic voters: I care.
But as the Washington Times editorialized, Clinton isn’t the first to invoke that phrase to avoid talking about the hot-button issue of illegal immigration:
Thus does Mrs. Clinton put her own twist on a very common immigration dodge: pretending that when critics of the Bush-Kennedy open-borders philosophy use the term "illegal alien," they refer not merely to matters of immigration status, but to some innate human characteristic. To hear this classically impassioned campaign nonsequitur issue from the same candidate who cared so deeply that she flip-flopped on drivers licenses for illegals two months ago was rich.
…In its pre-Hillary incarnation, a very similar phrase first surfaced widely three years ago thanks to Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney, who said, "No person is illegal" to parishioners in 2004 amid a denunciation of a state bill to secure drivers' licenses. Cardinal Mahoney's imprimatur, which lent a stamp of Catholic social-justice approval in many eyes, gave the phrase resonance beyond what mere partisans and hardcore activists could provide.
With the Nevada Democratic Presidential Caucus looming, Clinton will worry about Americans’ growing concern over illegal immigration mañana.
So, while Clinton panders to the amnesty crowd in Nevada, bordering states are cracking down on employers of illegals and reversing course on driver’s licenses for illegals.
It’s a sure bet that what happened in Vegas, won’t stay in Vegas.
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For my commentary on race and the presidential campaign, please visit my new blog on AOL's Black Voices.
