Bush, Kennedy, McCain aiding and abetting lawbreakers

By Wes Vernon

Since this country is so sue-happy, maybe some trial lawyer can do something constructive for a change: Take legal action holding most of the federally-elected Democrats and about half of the Republicans accountable for aiding and abetting criminals.

The action would have to await the expected passage in the new Democrat Congress of a bill granting amnesty to some 12-to-20 million illegal aliens who have crashed our border with Mexico.

The defendants in the case could be "United States Senator John McCain, United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy [major sponsors of the bill], and [if he signs the measure, which he has said he would do] President George W. Bush, et al."

Early Saturday morning, a 16-year-old illegal alien (under arrest) jumped off a highway bridge while handcuffed and drowned in the Occoquan River in Virginia's outlying areas of Washington, D.C. The youth was seated in the car while the arresting police officer was gathering all the necessary information to pursue the case. The young man was stopped for speeding.

This kid — Rodger Rodriguez — was going 90 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. He was drunk. He had no drivers' license. He already had ignored a summons to appear in immigration court.

Monday morning, the Washington Post front-paged the story — obviously pointing out that the boy's mother had committed a string of crimes and — being an illegal alien herself — she would be arrested and put in jail and then deported. Right?

In a sane world where the law means something, of course, that would happen. Do you think it will? Well, if that's what you think, you're just not with it. Maybe you also think that pigs fly and that the moon is made of green cheese.

The mother, Gloria Elena Rodriguez, is blaming the Virginia police. She is demanding an investigation. Oh, yes, it's the trooper's fault, you see. Never mind that this woman's teen-age son was driving without a license, was driving while intoxicated, was driving recklessly, eluded an officer while under arrest, had entered the country illegally, and had failed to appear in court. I may have missed one or two, but those are the charges that come to mind.

Gloria Rodriguez herself entered the country illegally, hired a coyote to smuggle her son over the border, aided in his avoiding the immigration court, and allowed him to drink beer with his buddies in her home while she was there (contributing to the delinquency of a minor). She has broken a series of laws. Clearly, she should be arrested for her own crimes, and if convicted should spend time in jail and then be deported. That's what should happen.

Chris Core — talkshow host on WMAL-AM in Washington — predicts what will happen is this: Gloria Rodriguez will sue the police and sue the state of Virginia. She will get money (she probably already has a lawyer, and likely was bombarded with ambulance chasers only too anxious to take up her case), and she and her second husband — also illegal — will probably be granted full citizenship. One might add that all of this will include court-ordered humble apologies from the authorities for daring to obey the law. Needless to say the arresting trooper — who only was doing his job — can forget about career advancement. He needs to look for other work.

The mother and a few others are suggesting that while the young Rodriguez was in handcuffs, the cops pitched him off the bridge and into the river. If you think that passes the laugh test, stop any ten people on the street and ask them if they seriously think the Virginia police need to take that responsibility on their shoulders, even if some over-the-top irresponsible hothead loose-cannon officer were so inclined.

Contrast this with the case of a returned Marine, Brian Mathews, in Howard County in nearby Maryland, who was hit by an illegal alien drunk driver whose alcohol level was about four times the legal limit.

That crime did not merit a big sob story in the Washington Post, the unofficial (almost official) headquarters for Washington's condescending and judgmental liberal establishment. The Rodger Rodriguez case got precisely that treatment in the paper. Copious tears for the lawbreaker in Virginia. The Maryland Marine on the other hand is a mere statistic.

The upside down attitude on this invasion of our country by illegal aliens (and then sending us the bill to pay for it) is so pervasive that politicians like Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and journalists such as Michelle Malkin, and to some extent Lou Dobbs, have made careers of blowing the whistle on the inmates who are running the asylum.

And it has a domino effect. How can parents seriously tell their children to obey the law when our highest authorities are sending a message that if you don't like the law, break it and you will be rewarded?

But then we had a credibly accused criminal rapist in the highest office in the land for eight years. So maybe that old admonition about "respect for the law" has long since become a cartoon-like punch line for the late-night TV comics.

© Wes Vernon