In the calm before the storm of 2006 congressional elections and 2008 presidential primaries, a group of card-carrying politicians met in Denver this weekend to brainstorm public policy. These happened to be Democrats, but their discussions made it clear that the nation’s most ticklish policy riddles will be tough for both parties.
Participants touched upon a wide range of issues at the new downtown Hyatt as the centrist Democratic Leadership Council met to discuss an agenda that will connect with moderate voters.
Turning around low-performing schools and raising student achievement was a key issue. Middle-of-the-road Democrats favor expanding public school choice, including charter schools.Participants also explored policy options to reduce domestic oil consumption while developing promising new energy sources such as biofuels.
One of the hot issues was one that has dominated Colorado policy debates over the past month – illegal immigration. It was clear that office-holders across a wide spectrum of states must grapple with very different situations, with too few resources.
Colorado earlier this month passed laws designed to punish employers who hire illegals and to limit access to public services. Other states are struggling to tailor sensible policy solutions. One state official said blacks in Alabama are being bypassed for open jobs by employers who prefer cheaper Mexican laborers. New Hampshire Sen. Lou D’Allesandro believes the debate on immigration reform has led to xenophobia that could threaten arrest of French Canadians who work in the mills in his state. He worries that the local economy, which depends heavily on tourism from Canada, could suffer from any backlash in the effort to crack down on border security. Canadians now travel to and from the United States using a driver’s license but could be forced to get a passport, costing $200 a pop, under a proposal pending in Washington.
In North Carolina, undocumented Latino immigrants are an increasingly important part of the economy. Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess of Charlotte said, “We need these people in our workforce. If they suddenly went away, we would be in trouble.” Even so, she says they have “extraordinary needs” and insisted that “the federal government needs to help.”
It is an article of faith among local officials that Washington must address the immigration puzzle – that states lack the means to resolve immigration issues. Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff said that listening to lawmakers from different states grapple with the problem of illegal immigration “exposed the difficulty, if not the folly, of trying to come up with 50 different solutions. I think eventually, you’ll see a bunch of people march on Washington demanding ‘do something.”‘
