Memo to Marsha
The world looks pretty white from Murray Lane in Brentwood, where Republican state Sen. Marsha Blackburn gets to lay her state-health-insured, per-diemed little head every night.
But an air-conditioned, import-car trip not far from that neighborhood might open one’s eyes to the immigrants waiting at the nearby bus stops. These are the people, after all, who’ve fixed the likes of Blackburn’s roofs; fed, clothed, cleaned, and cared for their children; and even mowed their tall fescue lawns. Some of these immigrants are legal, some of them aren’t, but they’re all hoping for a better life.
Blackburn, meanwhile, in a legislative effort rife with racist overtones and meant to kowtow to her narrow, overindulged constituency, is doing everything in her power to keep such immigrants—mostly Hispanics—from being able to get driver’s licenses, a crucial tool to beginning a new life in a new place where getting from point A to point B is fundamental to participating in the local economy.
A new law allowing people to get licenses without having a Social Security number is the target of Blackburn’s—and other state Republicans’—wrath. They want to repeal it, as part of a Pat Buchanan-esque effort to assuage the concerns of the Rebel-flag-waving nationalists who tend to populate Middle Tennessee. The lines are too long at the testing centers, which is, of course, leading to the very downfall of state government.
Meanwhile, Blackburn & Co. are standing by, spewing venom at the idea of an income tax that would better educate, equalize, and protect Tennesseans and their state infrastructure. Cut the budget, they say. Blackburn, however, can’t seem to come up with any real ideas to do that. One idea discussed during the many months that the state’s budget has been the most pressing legislative topic is to close the money-losing resort park areas that tend to cater to the more wealthy Tennesseans. Yeah, that’ll happen—when Brentwood gets a trailer park.
It may well be true that the new state law creating all the fuss wasn’t as thoughtfully executed as it should have been. Of course, one of the reasons for the long lines at the testing centers is the backlog of demand. Once this first wave gets processed over the next few months, there won’t be such long lines.
In the meantime, the state Department of Safety has proposed relatively small spending to staff the testing centers with bilingual employees to help speed the process.
That, Ms. Blackburn, is the thoughtful response. Yours is not.
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