Posted on 09/28/2011 8:43:10 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Gov. Peter Shumlin has added fuel to the fire over this week's bust of undocumented migrant farm workers by the Vermont State Police.
In an interview with WPTZ-TV's Stewart Ledbetter yesterday, Shumlin said Vermont should "look the other way" when it comes to dealing with immigrants working illegally on Vermont farms. "We have always had a policy in Vermont where we kind of look the other way as much as we can," Shumlin told WPTZ. "I just want to make sure that's what's we're doing. [Vermont farms] can't survive without workers from outside America. It's just the way it is. "
On Tuesday, two farm workers from Mexico — one of them an outspoken activist — were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol after state police stopped a car in which they were passengers for speeding. Members of the Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project branded the incident "racial profiling" and formed a human chain to block the border patrol SUVs from driving off with the farm workers — leading to the arrest of three protesters. (Clip below, full video here).
Shumlin ordered an investigation of the incident on Tuesday to determine whether the traffic stop violated with the state police's "bias-free policing policy."
Not surprisingly, the Vermont Republican Party pounced on the gov's "look the other way" comment — after first explaining why Shumlin was partially correct.
"The governor may be correct that there is a need for foreign workers on many Vermont farms, just as there is a need for foreign workers in many of our resort towns," GOP chairwoman Pat McDonald said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. "But Gov. Shumlin's comments that the policy of the State Police should be to 'look the other way' in some cases is completely irresponsible of any elected leader. "
What do McDonald and the Vermont GOP think Shumlin should be doing about the problem?
"Rather than turning a blind eye to laws he doesn't like, Gov. Shumlin should be working with our congressional delegation, as former Gov. Douglas and Sen. Leahy did, towards finding legal solutions that would make every foreign worker in Vermont compliant with federal law, and that wouldn't result in a depression of wages for those foreign workers that are in Vermont legally," McDonald's statement read.
"The hardworking officers of the Vermont State Police took an oath to uphold the law," the GOP statement went on. "The governor's new policy of 'look the other way' may sound good to those that support illegal immigration, but it is not the appropriate guidance a sitting governor should be giving to Vermont's law enforcement community."
(Video: Protesters from the VT Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project being arrested for impeding the Border Patrol vehicles).
Shumlin is a horrible jerk. Vermont finances were out of balance in the 1990s due to Democrat stupidity, but the budget was fixed by none other than Howard Dean.
Now the first thing Shumlin did was to pass a Mitt-type health insurance bill, without spending any time at all considering how it would be paid for. Never mind those unimportant little details was his obvious way of thinking. It will take care of itself.
Yeah he won narrowly over Dubie (I remember following several races election night)
Wikipedia:
>>On November 2, 2010, Shumlin was elected Governor, receiving 117,561 votes to 113,227 for Republican Brian Dubie.
(I think it was even closer on election night itself but the 4,000 vote margin may have been after absentee etc votes
were finally counted)
>>On April 26, 2011, Governor Shumlin appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show via telephone where he discussed health care reform in his state. He said he believes in health care for all and stressed repeatedly “health care as a right, not a privilege”.
On May 26, 2011, “Vermont became the first state to lay the groundwork for single-payer health care...when [Governor Shumlin] signed an ambitious bill aimed at establishing universal insurance coverage for all residents”.[13]
reduce teh minimum wage or eliminate it, and you’d have lots of seasonal aggie labor.
I used to pick strawberries and peaches as a part-time seasonal job, now it’s all “guest workers”, the farmer can’t hire me legally because he’d have to pay minimum wage.
Why did these idiot Republicans even give the guy a "maybe". We have a 9.1 unemployment rate in this country and they are saying that people won't work some jobs. Same old "jobs Americans won't do" BS the dimwits have been throwing around for years. If there were indeed a need for a guest worker program then implement one. You don't wink and let people come here illegally. We have untold amounts of crime committed every year by the illegals who come here not to work, but to steal, pillage and kill. I know, personally, at least 15 young guys who would take one of those "jobs Americans won't do" and I bet many other other FReepers do also.
Ping!
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