Sen. Barack Obama is competing for the Latino votes by offering a wide range of government benefits – even to admitted illegal aliens.
During the Oct. 30, 2007, Democratic Party debate at Drexel University, Hillary Clinton ventured into a minefield by suggesting illegal aliens should be issued driver's licenses. After the flack Clinton received for the position she expressed during the Drexel University debate, she quickly changed positions. Somewhat surprisingly, Obama has suffered no similar political liability for his continued insistence illegal aliens should be issued driver's licenses. Since his days in the Illinois State Senate, Obama has supported driver's licenses for illegal aliens, arguing that training illegals to drive and insuring them will actually enhance public safety. Obama's position completely ignores the use illegal aliens make of driver's licenses as a key piece of government-issued identification needed to obtain a wide range of other valuable government documents, including Social Security cards and even U.S. passports. Obama has also gotten a pass on the contradiction his position implies with Real ID legislation, which requires illegal aliens begin the process of obtaining government-issued identification by presenting either a valid U.S. birth certificate or other government-issued identification papers, proving legitimate status to be in the United States. As U.S. senator, Obama has voted "yes" to allowing illegals to be granted Social Security benefits, voting against an amendment aimed at reducing document fraud and preserving the integrity of the Social Security system. Obama has also sponsored a bill to provide in-state tuition rates at state and community colleges to illegals at reduced rates, and he has proposed to provide a health care plan for illegal aliens. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
