Department of Homeland Security Photo
With only a few months on the job under her belt, Janet Napolitano is being pressed to resign from her position as the Secretary of Homeland Security. But, are these demands for her ouster justified, or just the rantings of a bunch of frustrated right-wing politicians?
It would appear that the concerns of those demanding her resignation might have some validity.
While the Secretary of Homeland Security is obviously involved with those areas dealing with international terrorism - oops, I forgot she doesn't use that term anymore unless she's talking about right-wing conservatives - she also is responsible for ensuring border security. It's in this area that she has a sad track record, beginning with her actions as Governor of Arizona.
Ms. Napalitano's record as governor is full of questionable actions taken in the areas dealing with illegals and securing Arizona's border with Mexico.
- In 2005, she vetoed legislation that would have banned giving illegals in-state tuition rates, a move that prompted Representative Tom Boone to say, "The illegal immigrant has in Governor Napolitano (his or her) best friend in the state." This bill also included provisions that would have allowed state law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws on the books at the time.
- In 2005, she vetoed legislation that would have rejected the Matricula Consular from Mexico as an official form of identification. The FBI had determined that this form of identification was too easy for forge to be reliable.
- After Arizona voters had convincingly approved four propositions meant to deal with illegals in the 2006 elections (each passing by over 70%), Janet Napolitano declared that she would not change her approach to illegal immigration. Two of these measures dealt specifically with items the governor had previously vetoed.
- In 2007, she vetoed the "Day Labor Bill," legislation meant to deal with the hiring of illegals who typically hired out on a daily basis.
- In 2007, she once again vetoed legislation rejecting the Matricula Consular as an official form of identification. Her reason was that it would interfere with law enforcement, despite the fact that it would have only applied to receiving government benefits and had nothing to do with law enforcement.
- She supported an amnesty bill for illegals in 2007, a position she recently repeated with President Obama.
As a result of her track record in Arizona, the state was recently recognized as the "Kidnapping Capital of the Country" in a story by the local Phoenix CBS affiliate:
As if this track record weren't proof enough of her lack of understanding concerning the protection of our borders, she has committed a number of faux pas lately that only serve to reinforce the perception that she is wholly unqualified to serve our country in this capacity.
Last week, she fumbled the release of a Homeland Security Report that labeled people as terrorist that are "dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," and went on to imply that returning war veterans could be prone to Oklahoma City Bombing type of incidents. When challenged about the report, she gave a weak explanation about how the wording might have been wrong, but offered no apology.
Recently, she stated that 9/11 terrorists came to America through Canada, a statement that the 9/11 Commission report has already proven to be false. How can we trust her to prevent another 9/11 when she fails to know the facts behind the original event? As the Canadian paper (The National Post) so aptly inquired, "Can someone please tell us how ... Napolitano got her job? She appears to be about as knowledgeable about border issues as a late-night radio call-in yahoo."
That's a question that I'd like an answer to as well.
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Comments
NO SHE SHOULD NOT RESIGN. She's doing a great job
Joseph said she's doing a great job, but what exactly has she done? And how can we trust her with her horrible track record? I think David is right on with this one.
Not only should she resign, she should move to Mexico so she can help the illegals cross the border.
It is imperative that when the officials charged with enforcing our immigration laws issue public statements, that their comments be accurate, clear and unambiguous when immigration laws are discussed. Federal 8 USC 1325(a) clearly states that crossing the border without permission is a crime punishable by up to 6 months in jail.
She definitely has a track record of putting her foot in her mouth. Representing the United States is more than she is obviously ready for. Someone needs to help her step down before she creates a war on our land – our home – the place we take great pride in. This is not a position for politicians to cut their teeth on. This is a position that should be given to someone who has the ability and the knowledge to protect our land; to protect “US”.
Janet Napolitano should go. One of the few people who has managed to unite Canadians from across the political spectrum, against a US official. And Canadians are pretty tolerant and easy going: you have to be a major idiot to get this reaction out of them. US - Canadian trade will rise with her exit, benefiting both countries and more than paying for her severance and replacement.
Janet Napolitano is not "fit" for this position. She did NOTHING to help secure our border with Mexico and help keep our country safe while governing Arizona. She is NOT the person for this job as she's already proving through her recent actions and comments under our new administration. GOD HELP US!!
...a longtime Arizona resident
Yes Ms Nepolitano should resign and then go back to the Soviet Union or whatever communist country that will take her!
She never did anything right as govonor just took us from having a rainy day fund to having huge debt now she is able to screw up and insult and ruin the United States
A reminder for readers.
Who hand selected Napolitano for her position?
Reading a lot of reports about this "conservatives are terrorists" issue, I am noting Napolitano insists this report was not properly vetted, not properly reviewed and Napolitano has added additional "layers of review" for to be issued reports.
Hello? Anyone inside your head, Janet?
Why would reports of this nature need multiple layers of review? My expectation is an author is both trained and qualified to write excellent quality reports. There should be no need for review, other than grammar and spell checking by the author.
My expectation is those charged with defending our national security are to be exceptionally intelligent, exceptionally skilled and exceptionally knowledgeable of national security issues, and most certainly excellent writers if assigned to writing reports.
I suspect Homeland Security personnel write with Crayola brand crayons.
This need for many reviews informs me Homeland Security personnel are about as smart as a bucket of rocks.
Napolitano releasing this report informs me she is about as smart as a bucket of rocks.
This also informs me this boy who hand selected Napolitano for her position, is about as smart as a bucket of rocks.
For fun, speculate on how Sarah Palin would handle national security.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Of course she should resign. She has arbitrarily decided there is no need to uphold and enforce our country's immigration laws. She was an exceptionally poor choice for Homeland Security Secretary.
No she should not resign! SHE SHOULD BE FIRED!
Wow, now doesn't some on the right feel stupid for demanding Napolitano to resign over that report that WARNED some Freeman type would murder someone like Dr. Tiller in church?
"It triggered so much outrage on the right that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was forced to apologize. RNC chair Michael Steele said it accused peaceful conservative activists of being "terorrists." Michelle Malkin called it a "hit job" and a "piece of crap" that offered a "sweeping indictment of conservatives." And Andrew McCarthy of National Review called it "appalling" and "nakedly political."
But in the wake of the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion extremist -- who had also been said by the FBI during the 1990s to have been a member of the radical Freemen group --the report is looking a little more reasonable."
Face it. The right wing Talibangelicals are terrorists.
FIRE THE BITCH,SHE ALLOWS ILLEGALS TO COME HERE,AN MOLEST,RAPE,ROB,STEAL,COLLECT WELFARE,AN REWARDS THEM BECAUSE SHE THINKS THEY DESERVE NUMEROUS CHANCES,DROP CHARGES FOR DRUGS,D.U.I.,FIRE HER!! NO PENSION,SEND HER TO MEXICO,SEND OUR TRASH TO THERE COUNTRY.LIKE ALL THERE TRASH IS COMING HERE.
She needs to resign. Why was this list of "Suspicous People" not made available to transportation agencies,so they could do extra screening on people like Umar Farouk? If KLM/Northwest had access to this list he never would have boarded the plane in Amsterdam. Our country is not safe with her in this position. WHy have a "Suspicous persons list" if we do not make good use of it?
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