The Oklahoman and Sons

The Daily Oklahoman published an editorial today urging state Rep. Randy Terrill (R-Moore) to slow down with new plans to create a “son of 1804,” which would require more reporting of illegal immigrants from educators.

But the editorial (“Slow down: Too soon for more immigration law,” November 12, 2007) will not make a bit of difference, and its writer knows it. The newspaper’s editorial page has been supporting right-wing Republican politicians like Terrill for years. The newspaper created the playing field for Terrill and politicians like U.S. Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe.

It does not matter how crazy these politicians get or how much they embarrass the state. We can go from Terrill’s “son of 1804” to Coburn’s “rampant” lesbianism in schools to Inhofe’s global warming is a “hoax." These three Republican politicians get a free ride from the state’s largest newspaper.

Terrill authored House Bill 1804, which the legislature passed last year by a large margin. The anti-illegal immigration law, which makes it against the law to help undocumented workers and denies them state aid, went into effect recently. It is often called one of the strictest such laws in the country. Terrill now says he will propose additional laws, which he calls “son of 1804.” The proposed law would require state schools to keep better reporting records on illegal immigrants and allow law enforcement to seize assets used to help illegal immigrants.

The latest editorial makes this big claim: “Unfortunately, Rep. Randy Terrill is too excited about publicity over what some are calling the nation's toughest immigration law.“ But that is really the only criticism in the entire editorial. So Terrill is “too excited,” huh? Can you imagine what the rhetorical verbiage would be in an editorial going after a Democrat with whom the newspaper did not agree?

The editorial talks about Terrill “promising even more such reform.” Note the word “reform” here. How can you consistently call something “reform,” and then oppose it? It is either “reform,” or it is not. Those who oppose Terrill’s agenda do not see his actions as reform. They see them as misguided, if not hateful and mean-spirited.