Huckabee: the wrong message to the wrong people?

You know, I think that Huckabee is a well meaning, nice guy.  He’s been on our show a couple of times, and I really enjoyed the interviews.  Smooth, well spoken, and humorous – not a bad combo.

But, as Laura Ingraham is wont to say, but-monkey time!  

One of the things that he said during the last debate on defending his action as Arkansas Governor was their version of the DREAM act – legislation that would give illegal immigrant children in-state tuition benefits.

At the time he was talking about it, he said:

"In all due respect, we are a better country than to punish children for what their parents did. We’re a better country than that."

And that bothered me…a lot…and kept bothering me as I knew that whole line of reasoning to be wrong but couldn’t put my finger on WHY it bothered me.  And then I heard / read the word "consequence" and the lightbulb went off.

To deny illegal immigrant children a favored fiscal status is not a punishment.  Rather, it is a logical consequence of the parents’ action as being responsible for their children. And Governor Huckabee knows this from both legal and a theological standpoint. Unless we as a society are willing to completely sever that responsibility of parents to their children, we have to recognize and accept that basic truth. 

However…

…there are many that ARE trying to sever that important principle.  Many on the Left (yeah, this bothered me,  too, that someone portraying themselves as a conservative is mimicing the philosophy of the Hillary and the "It takes a Village" crowd) have used that same argument in separating the parents actions from the kids.  While it may play well in the immigration debate, one only has to use another example to expose it for what it is: what if I committed a crime and was sent to prison.  Is the State going to step in and do the same for my kids, living in NH, if they want to go to college in Arkansas, as they would for these illegal immigrants?  After all, should my kids suffer for my breaking the law?

Yes, my kids would suffer, and they should, for I as their parent am the responsible actor in this play. The overriding principle is that the parent is an adult and is given that special responsibility.  This should always be uppermost in any parent’s behavior, and their actions will affect their kids – it should keep them honest and upright so as to NOT put their kids at risk (not that it is always followed, but that’s the idea).

One of the things that is happening is that under the creeping socialism of the Left, the State is taking away more and more of the responsibility of child rearing from parents.  The Educationalists want mandatory pre-K, and continue to move their influence to hours outside of normal school time.  Kids are told "call this 800 number if Daddy is abusing you or you are fearful of your parents".  Fathers suffer at the hands of the court system.  And so on.

Implementing the DREAM act at any level using Huck’s (and the Open Borders Lefty types) reasoning weakens that role in general society – "that’s OK, you screw up and we’ll hold you blameless".  In effect, it both severs that tether and continues to serve as a magnet to others yet to come.  It will continue to justify illegal immigrant parents actions – it serves as a great reason to break our immigration laws in that it almost certifies that their children will do better than they have…and what parent wouldn’t do that.

The problem for the Open Borders folks is that this is discriminatory against those that deserve it more: legal citizens.  It is personal for me as this special benefit is not being extended to my son who is a legal citizen that served a year in Iraq in the Marine….and yes, this ticks me off to absolutely no end!

The traditional role of parents is being eroded, and Huck’s statement above is one more step down that slope.