O’Sullivan’s Law, propounded by the prescient British journalist
John O’Sullivan, teaches us that “any organization or enterprise
that is not expressly right-wing will become left-wing over
time.”
Exactly so. We see this in our foundations, corporations
(especially large ones), schools, universities, churches, news
media, entertainments, even military services. My shorthand term
for the animating driver of this is leftrifigal force. It is
everywhere and all-powerful in the West. Most everything falls
before it (save a few obstinate remnants like TAS). The
force has been too much with us, and growing stronger since the
sixties.
The law and the force apply to individuals as well. The latest
victim of the force, and a particularly sad case, is Marco Rubio. I
had the privilege in 2010 of covering the three-way U.S. Senate
race in Florida for TAS, the one Marco Rubio won by 20
points over a Democrat and that political shape-changer Charlie
Crist (who was first a Republican then an independent during that
race, is now a Democrat, and doubtless one day, if he sees a
political advantage in it, will announce that he’s a Druid). So I
know how smart, knowledgeable, and articulate Rubio is, three
qualities few politicians have, and which Marco is richly blessed
with.
But to be a conservative and to count on politicians is to
invite heartache, headaches, tremors, night sweats, panic attacks,
and large bowel complaints. I’ve learned not to do it. So Rubio’s
accommodating the Left on women in combat, and becoming a
co-conspirator with them on immigration, is a disappointment but
hardly a surprise.
After the Joint Chiefs caved to the political Left on women in
combat, Rubio threw his support to this cultural disfigurement,
saying that we ought to send the “best soldiers” into combat
“regardless of gender.” This statement is high-minded, beside the
point, and silly on the face of it. I’ve had enough face time with
Marco to know that he knows this, and is simply, like so many
others in his party, accommodating what they consider inevitable.
(Since November, the Republican creed seems to be, “Where do we go
to surrender?”)
But the most serious charge and specification against Rubio
concerns his putting forward the “We Don’t Need No Stinking Borders
Act of 2007 — 2.0,” a capitulation to the Left on immigration
(though with millions having walked and driven across our southern
border, invasion is a better word than immigration). No surprise
that the gang of eight pushing this frontal assault on American
sovereignty contains a guy name Flake. We’re all flakes if we let
them get away with it.
High sounding principles aside, giving even provisional status
to the 11 million (or is it 15 million or 20 million?) citizens of
other countries illegally here, most from south of the border,
would put an end to such little deportation as in going on now, and
would act as a magnet for millions more to come to El Norte, adding
to our burden of government-service-sucking unemployables. We don’t
have enough administrative capacity to keep up with the people here
now on tourist and student visas. To administer all the hoops Rubio
says he wants illegals to jump through as part of his
“comprehensive” plan would require hiring thousands more federal
bureaucrats, whose high-priced document stamping would not lead to
anyone being obliged to return to the country he is a citizen
of.
It’s particularly pointless – other than as a craven attempt to
attract the votes of people with Spanish last names – to float this
very bad legislation now. Our current president has made it clear
that he has no intention of enforcing current immigration laws. No
reason to believe he would do anything but bob and weave around any
new laws.
As on all days, there were plenty of hustles being run in Las
Vegas Tuesday. But none bigger than President Obama’s knee-slapper
of a claim that his administration is doing a swell job on border
security and just wants to get better at it. This one would give
Pinocchio whiplash. Anyone who believes Obama and the folks in his
party are the least interested in staunching the flow of
undocumented Democrats into the United States would believe that
Lucy will hold the football so Charlie Brown can kick it.
One can have compassion for people who wish to leave a poor and
corrupt country for a better life, without concluding that the
United State should accommodate the tens, perhaps hundreds of
millions of people who fit this description. Compassion becomes us
all. But as G.W. Bush proved, it’s not a policy.
Obama tried to grease his hustle by suggesting yesterday that
comprehensive immigration reform would bless America will all
manner of high-contributing citizens. The sad fact is that for
every engineer, scientist, or entrepreneur Obama’s open borders
approach would net us, we would also be on the hook for the support
of a large multiple of unskilled and unemployable people, many
illiterate in two languages. Prosecution stipulates that America is
a “nation of immigrants.” But earlier waves of immigrants came to a
country in need of their labor. Today we are more than topped out
with superfluous pool cleaners and leaf-blower operators.
The policies Rubio and his colleagues are ginning up –
essentially the same ones American voters made clear they wanted no
part of in 2007 – would, if enacted, not even benefit Republicans
politically. Every poll shows that people with Spanish last names
aren’t that different from people who don’t have Spanish last names
on immigration policy. (I use this longer form because I so dislike
that horse-pucky word “Hispanic,” which describes a universe of
people with more differences than similarities.) Democrats looking
for votes and voters, indignation groups, and general left-geeks
want open borders. I can’t see that walking-around Americans with
Spanish last names are keen to give all the line-cutters
get-into-America-free cards.
We’ll be hearing a great deal more about this emotional issue
over the next weeks and months. Obama says he’s in a hurry on this
one; Rubio says he’s not. Smart money says Obama knows nothing much
will come of this and he just wants the issue as a continuing
excuse to call Republicans heartless meanies. On the other side,
Republicans will natter on about how they just love folks with
Spanish last names. The traffic will be noisy, but, sadly, on both
sides of the aisle, mostly fraudulent. Including the slight-of-hand
nonsense we’re getting from Marco Rubio, a very smart guy who is
having us on a bit just now, and hoping his conservative supporters
won’t notice.
Photo: UPI
