WA GOP Out Of Touch With Washingtonians

If you needed any more proof that the Washington State Republican Party was out of touch with the people of Washington you need look no further than their adopted platform.

Yesterday, with little debate on the matter, and despite the unconstitutionality of it, they declared that children of illegal immigrants should not be allowed to become United States citizens.

Let me remind you that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on 1868 states:

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

But that doesn't matter to these GOP delegates. Pshaw! they say! Screw the Constitution they say!

The Seattle Times goes on...

State Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Tebelius said she believes the party's position reflects how Washington voters feel.

"I think voters realize immigration is a problem and are trying to grapple with solutions to the illegal-immigration problem," she said. "This is what our platform says, and we'll see what happens in Congress."

This woman has her head firmly placed where the sun never shines. She mustn't get out much either if she really believes what she is saying. Indeed, a recent Elway poll indicated that

67 percent of Washington voters said immigrants who have lived here a number of years should be allowed to apply for legal status and eventually become citizens if they meet conditions such as paying a fine and back taxes. Just 13 percent said illegal immigrants should be declared felons and not allowed to work.

So to Diane Tebelius and the State Republican party, that kind of tolerance equates to a party platform that ignores the U.S. Constitution and strips newborns of their right to be U.S. citizens. That's the kind of upside-down logic the State Republican party has come to be known for.

This is the Republican base in action. These are the same people that endorsed I-912 last year that lost by almost 10% at the polls. Even State Attorney General McKenna opposed the platform:

"I believe the [U.S.] Constitution provides otherwise," McKenna said, adding, "I believe that if you are born here, you should be a citizen."

But he's also hoping this doesn't become an issue:

McKenna said he doubted the party's positions on immigration would have much effect one way or the other in the coming election. "By and large, voters don't pay much attention to the platform," he said.

Folks, this is an issue, and we are paying attention!

These are not the values that we as Americans or Washingtonians wish to be governed by. The Reicherts and Hastings and McMorris' of the world and their base of supporters represent a value and morality system that is out of whack with mainstream thinking, and has no place on Main Street U.S.A. We haven't asked soldiers to fight wars overseas so that politicians at home can restrict our freedoms and ignore the U.S. Constitution (while at the same time they complain about "activist" judges when it is their own positions that are "activist").

State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz said the GOP platform "is a punitive and inhumane response to the immigration issue America is confronting."

Pelz predicted it would be an "embarrassment" to Republican candidates. "Abraham Lincoln is turning over in his grave," Pelz said.

This shouldn't just be a moral outrage to dead presidents, it should be an outrage to us all and we should make our voices heard on the matter.