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Every state legislature has its share of incompetent, insensitive, and often incomprehensible goobers sitting in seats of power. Sometimes you have to wonder who helps them work the doorknobs to get out of their houses each morning.
For some reason, Texas seems to have more than its share of Grade-A goobers serving in our state capitol. One is Debbie Riddle, a right-wing Republican ideologue from the town of Tomball. Rep. Riddle is presently in a pout. She’s offended that so many people have been offended by an immigration bill she introduced. It calls for fining and jailing people who “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” hire undocumented immigrants. Okay, that’s a pretty popular position in our state, but then she stumbled and tumbled by adding a little exemption: people who hire unauthorized laborers to work in their homes will not be fined or jailed.
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Yes, it’s a “nanny loophole” for the privileged class. They rail about people they callously brand as “illegal aliens” – yet want a steady supply of these low-wage powerless workers to care for their children, clean their houses, and tend their yards. They don’t want to mess with checking documents, so Debbie blithely gives them a pass, allowing them to hate “illegals” and have them, too. How happy!
She then demonstrated her deep grasp of the immigration issue by explaining that Latinos are coming into our state illegally because we put “a big ol’ bowl of candy” out for them. Yeah, madam lawmaker, those housekeeping and yard jobs (as well as chicken plucking and roofing jobs) are plenty cushy and well-paying, which is why so many of your neighbors are scrambling to grab such work for themselves.
Pious politicos should try walking in the shoes of people they denigrate before they legislate. Reality can be a useful teacher.
“Illegal-hiring bill spurs jest and jeers,” www.chron.com, March 4, 2011.