Democratic Governors Raise Concerns Over Administration's Lawsuit Against Arizona
In a meeting with White House officials this past weekend, Democratic Governors raised concerns with the Administration's decision to sue Arizona over its immigration enforcement law. The Governors were meeting in Boston for the National Governors Association convention, and the Democratic Governors expressed concern over the lawsuit's potential impact on the fall elections.
“Universally the governors are saying, ‘We’ve got to talk about jobs,’ ” Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee said in an interview with the New York Times. “And all of a sudden we have immigration going on. ... It is such a toxic subject, such an important time for Democrats.”
The unemployment rate dropped to 9.5% in June, but the job market shed 125,000 jobs. Instead of talking about ways to address the depressed jobs market, the Administration has instead launched a lawsuit against Arizona, and Pres. Obama has renewed his call for providing an Amnesty, and work permits, to the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens.
While the Governors expressed their concerns in Boston, Attorney General Eric Holder was on the Sunday morning talk shows, saying that this may be the first of several suits against Arizona. Atty. General Holder told CBS' Face the Nation that the suit filed last Tuesday deals only with whether or not the law oversteps federal authority. Holder said its the government's best argument, but they may also decide to also file another lawsuit on grounds that the law violates civil rights.
“I might have chosen both a different tack and a different time,” Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. of Colorado said in the New York Times article. “This is an issue that divides us politically, and I’m hopeful that their strategy doesn’t do that in a way that makes it more difficult for candidates to get elected, particularly in the West.”
For more information, see the New York Times.