Lee: My Name is Toby

Filed in National by on July 24, 2008

Do you remember the scene in Roots where the slave was being whipped incessantly for refusing his slave name, Toby?  For the past 48 hours, the batshit Republicans have been screaming their fool heads off and whipping Lee with his “Drivers Licenses for Illegals” comments that he made on WGMD.

After 24 hours of whipping, he said “I don’t me real drivers licenses, I mean one clearly marked as ILLEGAL.”

Today Kunta Kinte is no more.  He is Toby.

After careful consideration and consultation with many experts whose judgment I respect — and also after listening to people and hearing their ideas and how strongly this issue resonates with them — it has become clear to me that it is simply not a good idea to issue any official legal document to those who are in our nation illegally.

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  1. Al Mascitti says:

    It’s worth noting that Eliot Spitzer, pre-hooker problems, went through the same transformation on the same issue. You can’t talk sense to people who “know” they’re right.

  2. liberalgeek says:

    Yes, the transformation was pretty extreme and fast in this case. I wonder if the Lee v Protack polling showed them something that scared them?

  3. anon says:

    Bill Lee has found a debating partner after all – Bill Lee.

  4. anonymous says:

    The flip flop on this doesn’t bother me, at least it shows that he’s listening to the people. Protack wants to raid the state employee’s pension fund, that’s a recipe for financial disaster.

  5. anon says:

    Lee’s initial take on this shows he is hanging out with elite law enforcement officials and is out of touch with the people, unless the people get him back in touch using a two-by-four.

  6. meatball says:

    Nothing like conviction. A man that stands for something. A man with 20+ years of experience on the bench applying the law.

  7. RickJ19958 says:

    Flip-flopping isn’t that bad, if you wind up on the correct side of the issue.

  8. cassandra m says:

    So then he really is making it up as he goes along, then? Sounds like the behavior of a placeholder to me….

    All of this flip flopping is looking like the repub epidemic of 2008.

  9. liberalgeek says:

    He seemed pretty sure he was on the correct side of the issue when I spoke to him on Tuesday. He had taken quite a beating on WGMD all day long on the stance and by 4PM he was standing by the statement. Scared of sockpuppets, perhaps?

  10. jason330 says:

    If the GOP wanted to really do something about not making Delaware a destination for undocumented workers – they would force the chicken operations in SC to pay decent wages.

  11. Pandora says:

    I honestly can’t figure out who Lee is. (no snark.) He seems, well… vague. I visited his website, and it’s, well… vague too.

    Is Lee just about “talking points”? (Charters good, Universal healthcare bad) Is he seriously running for Governor, or is something else going on?

  12. jason330 says:

    …and to check IDs.

  13. liz allen says:

    Protack is a fake. He would turn this state into a homeland security dream. Notice how many of these right wing ideas are coming from Protack.

    I agree with Judge Lee on the immigration debacle, it must be handled on the federal level.

    Interesting that Protack thinks if he were elected he would a “decider on so many issues”.

    Protack should be feared, if you believe in the few civil liberties we have left.

    Women should be especially fearful of him, he doesnt support Roe vs. Wade, perhaps as Guv he thinks he can overturn that federal law too.

  14. meatball says:

    Jason,
    SC chicken plants starting pay for line jobs is twice national minimum wage. Some labor positions pay much more. Some also run their own wellness clinics staffed with employed MDs, NPs, and RNs. The work is messy, smelly, and repetative ….you know, work North Americans won’t do.

    Pandora,
    I’ve been saying the same thing for days. He can’t even parrot firmly held GOP “values.”

  15. meatball says:

    I also have heard from reliable sources that Bill Lee eats chicken.

  16. Anon says:

    From DelawareOnline, June 11, 2008:

    He (Protack) also would require all residents over 16 years old to carry a state driver’s license, using the card to comply with federal Real ID regulations. If they don’t drive, “No Driving Privileges” would be printed on the license. Protack estimates the cards would cost about $20 million, but said illegal immigration costs Delaware $65 million a year in social services, education and other costs.

    “How many illegal immigrants there are in Delaware nobody knows,” he said. “But the No. 1 obligation of the governor is the safety and security of the citizens. Part of that is making sure you know who is in your state and what they are doing.

  17. Anon says:

    Sounds like Protack had Bill Lee’s former position before Bill did.