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New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) Wednesday abandoned his plan to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants after the proposal did not gain traction in his state and became a political hot potato in the 2008 presidential campaign. “After serious deliberation and consultation with people I respect on all sides of this issue, I have concluded that New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own,” Spitzer said with members of New York’s congressional delegation by his side. “It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic. It is also clear that, even if I could convince the public of the utility of our cause, the legislative process, with any number of mounting obstacles, would have prevented us from moving forward.” The plan gained national prominence on Oct. 30 when it was brought up during a Democratic presidential debate in a question posed to front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). The former first lady appeared to waffle on the question, and her answers have opened Clinton up to criticism from her Democratic rivals as well as Republicans. Her botched answer to the question was seen as the first significant chink in Clinton’s armor. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Wednesday took a parting shot at Clinton and Spitzer. “It took long enough to convince him and other open-border Democrats like Sen. Clinton that driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants was exactly the wrong approach to enforcement, but at least Gov. Spitzer finally listened to the American people and common sense,” Romney said. |
