Spitzer hints at back down on drivers license plan

AP/MSNBC:

Facing growing pressure from his own party, Gov. Eliot Spitzer indicated he had not ruled out rescinding a heavily criticized plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, according to published reports.

Spitzer's proposal has generated a politically charged debate that has reverberated in the presidential campaign. He said Friday he was standing by the plan for now, but he suggested he might consider backing off if he could not build enthusiasm for it, the reports said.

"I don't think there's ever been an executive, a president, a governor who hasn't put out ideas that at the end of the day there isn't support, and so things don't work out," the governor told reporters after meeting with Hispanic lawmakers in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "But as of now, sure, I think this is the right idea from a security perspective. We'll wait and see."

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But criticism has continued. A Republican congressman from Long Island, Rep. Peter King, launched a bid to outlaw the plan this week, while some Republican candidates tried to capitalize on the issue in local elections around the state.

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The plan has already damaged Hillary Clinton's campaign and that of other Democrats running for President. Even if he withdraws it, opponents will still question the judgment of those who supported the Spitzer plan. King's legislation could put all the Democrats in the House in jeopardy if they back Sptizer's bad idea. Encouraging illegal immigration is not only a bad idea, it should be bad politics.