Is That Legal?

And what a lovely sentiment you intimate by your snarky reaction. Or am I wrong in inferring that you believe that alien criminals (that is, those who break the law, specifically, in this case, those who break our immigration laws and ask to be treated as if they hadn't) should be afforded the same privileges and opportunities as those who come here and act in good faith by obeying the law?

What's the wrong way? Illegal immigrants aren't eligible for citizenship (though their children are: is that what she means?).

That's what I think she means.

You ought to talk to my wife, an immigrant, about her five year wait, the money, the interviews, and the hassle of becoming a citizen. She flies completely off the handle, flat out goes nuts, about illegal immigration and amnesty programs, about coming into the country while 9 months pregnant so your child can be born here, etc. She's deeply offended by the Bush amnesty proposal, since she believes that she and the other non-law-breaking immigrants have had to pay dues, and those amnestied have cheated.

I'm a bit agnostic on the question - big business appears to be in favor of illegal immigration because it keeps labor costs low and helps 'em screw the unions. So what's there not to like?

I mean, aside from the security risks, the loss of tax revenue, the uninsured drivers, etc.

I think you're imagining a slight, Eric. The option of being born in the U.S. is simply not a possibility for her audience, so she could not have been implying that it was the "wrong" way (besides, Ms. Cubin presumably became a citizen that way, herself), which leaves obtaining citizenship via an amnesty program (or simply enjoying the benefits of U.S. residency illegally) as the implicit "wrong" way.

As the previous poster correctly noted, the naturalization process is not trivial. New citizens can rightly be proud of their accomplishment, and it seems to me that Ms. Cubin and the rest of us, as their new fellow-countrymen, are appropriately proud of them for eschewing the less difficult extralegal option.

It's also worth pointing out that the Casper Star Tribune does not quote an entire sentence, but rather drops Cubins "proud" and "the right way" into the reporter's verbage. Gawd only knows whether the result is an accurate representation of what Cubin said or (more likely) the makings of a Maureen Dowd column.

Your headline rather heavily implies "hate" on Cubin's part--an pretty unflattering charge. I would have hoped that a responsible blogger like you, Eric, would be more careful about jumping to conclusions on such shaky evidence.

Lostingotham, I lived in WY for 4 years and know Barbara Cubin's record well. She is, without a doubt, one of the 10 or 12 most embarrassing Members of the House of Representatives. There is ample evidence--and I mean ample--to support my view of her comments. I've blogged about her before, several times. Just run a couple of google searches and you'll find references to some of her idiocies.

You're pretty sensitive about "hateful" renmarks for somebody who allows Jew/lampshade jokes on his blog.