Added 4 April, 2014: Note, a similar version of this commentary also appeared in the Macon Telegraph, the Gwinnett Daily Post, the Cherokee Tribune and on ZPolitics.com the same week. We are grateful for the space.

Marietta Daily Journal

Welcome to Republican-ruled Georgiafornia

March 28, 2014

D.A. King
Columnist

In early January, the sad prediction from this weary denizen of the Gold Dome was that it would be after the November mid-term elections before pro-enforcement immigration conservatives would be put on the full-time defense in Republican-ruled Georgia.

I was very, very wrong. That change is here.

The adventures of legislators regarding immigration, protecting public benefits and English as our common and official language in the state Capitol during the 2014 General Assembly will likely come as a surprise to most of the sometimes-unaware Republican faithful who accept what “political experts” often feed them. Four examples that I know of:

• The leadership of Republican super-majority Georgia Senate refused to allow SB 404 out of the Rules Committee for a vote by the full body. The bill was aimed at ending the practice of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens who have been rewarded with “deferred action” on their deportation proceedings by President Barack Obama. As the White House acknowledges, these illegal aliens who have been promised an exclusion from the same rule of law governing Americans are still illegal aliens. They do not have “lawful status.”

Early in the session, when informed of the fact that illegals were obtaining drivers licenses, more than one confused legislator howled that “It isn’t our fault, Obama did this with his DACA virtual amnesty!”

True enough. But they have the power to adjust Georgia law to stop these — and future — illegal aliens from accessing the de facto national ID card issued by Department of Driver Services as well as the other benefits they are now collecting.

When finally given a chance to vote on an allowing an amendment with the language of SB 404 to be attached to another bill (SB 392) only eight state Senators voted “Yea.” Why? The business community and the far-left ethnic lobby opposed the action.

You can see how your own senator voted on my MDJ blog page.

There was no legislation offered in the Georgia House aimed at keeping drivers licenses from illegal aliens.

• The leadership of the Republican state Senate refused to allow SR 1031 out of the Rules Committee for a vote. The resolution would have simply allowed the people of Georgia to vote on a November ballot question on amending the state Constitution to make English the constitutional official language of government in the Peach state. If approved, it would also have ended the dangerous practice of offering the written driver’s license exam in 11 foreign languages.

A similar ballot question passed in Oklahoma in 2010 by a 76 percent margin. Nobody in the Capitol believed the result would be much different in Georgia.

Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle runs the Georgia Senate.

• Despite having been educated on the appointment, the state Senate confirmed Gov. Nathan Deal’s shocking appointment of a radical anti-enforcement immigration activist to the Board of Corrections. Rocio Del Milagro Woody, also on the board of Jerry Gonzalez’s Jane Fonda-funded GALEO, will serve her five-year term after all.

You can see how your own state senator voted on my MDJ blog page.

• The Republican Georgia House passed a bill (HB 1051) that would have removed safeguards from public benefits protection law and allowed the illegal aliens who have driver’s licenses to more easily renew those benefits. The vote was 167-3.

You can see how your own state House rep voted on my MDJ blog page.

After HB 1051 passed the House, it was amended and made even more illegal alien-friendly by a Senate committee. Having finally bent to the rising awareness and public outrage, on day 39 of the 40-day session, the bill died on the Senate floor at almost midnight. The vote count was 19 “YEAs” and 34 “NAYs.”

You can see how your state senator voted on my MDJ blog page.

It has been clear for years that the various business interests who demand “cheap” foreign workers were becoming more and more brazen in their state-wide efforts against protecting American workers. But the hopeful assumption was that the pressure of the looming election, the fact that Georgia suffers more illegal victims of borders than Arizona and Republican Gov. Nathan Deal’s reelection campaign would be sensitive to the values of the conservative base — at least until fall. Like I said. Very wrong assumption.

The above is going on while many past state immigration laws are treated as “compliance optional” and while Border Patrol Agents risk their lives daily. And while Obama is in the process of expanding the number of illegals he is rewarding with ‘deferred action’ on deportation.

Welcome to Georgiafornia.

D.A. King is president of the Cobb-based Dustin Inman Society. He is not a member of any political party.

Twitter: @DAKDIS – Dustin Inman Society on Facebook.

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal – Welcome to Republican ruled Georgiafornia