LAPD chief tells critics of illegal immigration to leave California

KABC Radio, Ken Minyard Show, August 26, 2003:

Caller: “The rest of your arguments are humorous. They’re here illegally. His job is to uphold the law.”

LA Police Chief William Bratton: “Inasmuch as California has pretty much indicated that they don’t want us involved in that issue, we’re out of that business. If you don’t like it, leave the state.”

I notice a definite progress of liberalism here. In his acceptance speech at the 1996 Republican National Convention, Bob Dole addressed himself to unspecified “haters” in the Republican party and declared: “The exits are clearly marked.” Now it’s no longer putative haters, but merely people who believe in the rule of law, who are being pointed toward the exits of our society, even as the law breakers are being invited in. Writing at NewsMax four years ago, I employed a somewhat different metaphor to describe the same phenomenon: “The realm of the politically incorrect keeps expanding to embrace more and more people, until even establishment Republicans are seen as vile extremists beyond the pale of respectable society.” Now you’re a vile extremist if you don’t want your country invaded by illegal aliens. Who, then, is left to exclude? America seems to be in the act of expelling—the American people.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 14, 2004 02:19 AM | Send