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December 01, 2006
 Schwarzenegger
Sells Out On Health Insurance For Illegals
By Joe
Guzzardi
California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s 59-37 percent crushing of Democrat
Phil Angelides in last month’s election is translating into
trouble for the state’s immigration reform advocates.
On
December 1st, Schwarzenegger flew to Mexico to attend
the
inauguration of Mexican President-elect
Felipe Calderon— Schwarzenegger’s second visit in four weeks
to the country that is responsible for
the majority of drug trafficking into the U.S.
And
during Schwarzenegger’s first visit, he extended an invitation
to Calderon to
travel to California in the spring.
On the
surface of it, these might be innocent enough gestures. After
all, why shouldn’t the two
elected officials have cordial relationships?
But
things usually turn out to be more
sinister than innocent.
And,
according to the San Francisco Chronicle, Schwarzenegger
has a grand agenda to offer health care to “non-citizens”
and “undocumented workers.” [
Noncitizens
Key Issue in State’s Health Debate; GOP Balks At Covering
Undocumented Workers, by Tom Chorneau, San Francisco
Chronicle, November 30, 2006]
Although
Schwarzenegger has not revealed the complete extent of his
health plan, the governor commented last Sunday on Meet the
Press, [Transcript]that
his goal is to extend
insurance coverage to all 6.7 million Californians who are
without it—a figure that includes an estimated 1.6 million
illegal aliens, according to figures from the UCLA Center
for Health Policy Research…but not, of course, their
American-born “anchor
babies”.
(Note:
The
Federation for American Immigration Reform, using recent
Census data, established the
illegal alien population in California at
2.2 million.)
And, backing up
Schwarzenegger, Kim Belshé, the governor's secretary of Health
and Human Services, told the Chronicle that the debate
over health care reform needs to include aliens:
"Uncompensated costs imposed
by the
medically indigent, including undocumented residents, place
significant burdens on the
state's health care system, particularly
emergency rooms. Any debate about California's health care
system demands examination of the impact of this population."
Fortunately,
Schwarzenegger’s irresponsible plan faces heavy resistance.
Non-RINO Republicans in
the State Assembly form a solid enough core to keep the
Democrats from giving Schwarzenegger his way.
Among some of the most
vocal are:
-
Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, the minority leader in the
state Senate, said: "Immigration issues are radioactive
in California -- not just Republicans, but for many
Democrats too.”The cost is huge to California for illegal
immigrants in medical costs, incarceration and education"
- Assemblyman Mike
Villines, R-Clovis (Fresno County) and
newly elected minority leader: "I don't believe there
would be any support for it. The health care debate—and it
will be a debate—will be about what should be done for the
legal citizens of California."
In addition to debating
about what
medical care might cost or what compassionate treatment to
illegal aliens might include, there are two other and larger
questions.
Why does California insist
on creating more
magnets for illegal immigrants?
And why must our
governors be agents for Mexico?
Joe Guzzardi [
e-mail
him] is the Editor of VDARE.COM Letters to the Editor.
In addition, he is an English teacher at the Lodi Adult School and has
been writing
a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive
to
VDARE.COM. |
