I’ve been a supporter of Elliot Spitzer, but at the same time, have always been a bit concerned by his lack of diplomatic skills. Once again, in the license argument, Spitzer is showing 0 diplomacy, preferring instead to demand change where there is little to no popular or political support.
DKos writer Samuel Wilson has a great writeup about the destructive path that our governor is taking on this issue. Elliot Spitzer has left himself and all Progressives open to attack by failing to even acknowledge legitimate concerns about safety.
There is little doubt but that, on the political level at least, opposition to the new license rules is entirely partisan. But Republican partisans get their strength from being on the popular side of the issue: there seems to be a majority of the population who either don’t trust or flat-out don’t support the plan. The governor could do himself a lot of favours by simply addressing the issues publicly and sitting down in private sessions with county clerks to try to come to some sort of resolution. But he looks like he will refuse every attempt.
You can’t bitch about politics if you won’t at least try to play the game.
Daily Kos: Has Eliot Spitzer Jumped the Shark?
Spitzer has remained defensive about his policy, refusing to take seriously people’s concerns about allegedly rewarding illegal immigrants. The governor wants people to think of this exclusively in public safety terms, but without thinking about terrorism. He’s right to condemn some definitely overblown rhetoric from opponents, but his refusal to address, even if only to refute, complaints against “rewarding” makes him look arrogant to many people. His comment from the weekendthat “The fact that when you crossed the border you didn’t have a visa, you didn’t come in properly, that is not the purpose of the driver’s license” sounds alarming coming from a former attorney general. His assertion that “you do things that you believe are right and don’t govern based on polls,” given the present context, sounds almost Bush-like in its stubborn certitude. Principle should trump polls on some occasions, but a politician shouldn’t make it sound like he happily ignores the opinions of his constituents on important matters.
