Chris Matthews proves once again that he never gets tired of the sound of his own voice. While he's correct that the topic of immigration has been used as a political punching bag by a whole lot of people who are happy with the status quo as long as the fear mongering wins them votes, I don't see how some national ID card that he's pushing for here is going to solve the problem of people being taken advantage of for cheap labor.
The unions Tweety loves to bash and did so again here want to make sure those immigrants aren't being used as slave labor by allowing them to organize. Matthews would rather paint them as part of the problem while he runs his mouth.
Transcript via Lexis Nexis.
MATTHEWS: Well, let’s get back what I think the heart of the issue. And I think we might all agree. The issue’s illegal immigration and how you look at it, politically, culturally, socially, in terms of human sympathy.
Mr. King, Congressman King, wouldn’t a guy or man, a woman or a young guy, whatever, still try to get into America if they thought there was a job here, even if they couldn’t have their kid born here and become an American? Wouldn’t there still be that great draw of a job in America? Isn’t that why people come from?
And if you outlaw the job hiring, the illegal hiring, wouldn’t that be a better way to stop illegal immigration, stop the illegal hiring?
KING: Well, Chris, I’m for doing all things to put an end to illegal immigration in the United States.
MATTHEWS: But we don’t do that. But that’s the main reason people come here.
KING: And this is one of them.
MATTHEWS: No. The main reason people come to the United States is to get a job. And business will not allow us to have a simple I.D. system, where people coming into the country can be checked out by an employer.
If you want somebody to cut your lawn, you say, can I see your card, a simple card, so you’re not breaking the law and that person is not breaking the law? Why don`t we have a simple system like that? I don’t understand it. You can’t get served in this country if you’re not 21 years old. You have to show an I.D. card.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: Huh?
KING: The E-Verify system. We have a simple E-Verify system.
I’m for making it permanent and mandatory. I’m for incorporating it into the Real I.D. Act, which brings the IRS into this and denies the business write-off for wages and benefits that are paid to illegals. That turns your $10-an-hour illegal into a $16-an-hour illegal and requires the IRS to cooperate with Social Security and Department of Homeland Security, Chris.
MATTHEWS: I don’t think it’s working. It’s not working. Is it?
KING: Well, we have got to get it implemented into law, that particular bill.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: Let me go to -- you know, I have a simple proposal I’m going to ask both of you guys, because I think we’re going to be arguing about this 30, 40, 50 years from now. When we’re all gone, they’re going to be arguing about it. There’s going to be illegal immigration.
There’s going to be hundreds of millions of people here illegally and the conservatives are still going to say, throw them out. And nobody is going to get thrown out. And the people here illegally are just going to try to make it a decent life as best they can.
We will never get any further in this debate until we agree on a compromise. Here’s a compromise. Everybody here gets to stay here. Everybody who comes in tomorrow, if you come illegally, you’re dead, you’re finished, you’re not going to get a job.
What’s wrong with a real tough compromise, a real enforced system, but we don’t throw anybody out? That would be my compromise.
Congressman Grijalva, isn`t that the fair way to do it? If you’re here, you stay here, we give you a piece of paper, you become an American eventually. But anybody coming in tomorrow, we’re going to have an actual I.D. card system and stop the flow.
I don’t think either side really wants to end this issue. I think both sides love the argument. That’s my theory. Your thoughts, Congressman Grijalva first.
(CROSSTALK)
GRIJALVA: I agree. I think a verifiable identification for the ability to work here, I think processing the people that are here undocumented now and giving them the appropriate work permission is a good way to go.
And then I think then you begin to understand who’s here legally and who’s not. Until you do that step, we’re not going to solve this problem.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: OK, Congressman, simple question. If we could stop all future illegal immigration starting tomorrow, they don’t come across the border -- you can put the NBC cameras out there, nobody’s coming across illegally because you can’t get a job in this country anymore without an I.D. card, but the people here are allowed to stay here, what’s wrong with that compromise?
KING: Well, I might be tempted by your hypothetical proposal here if I hasn’t lived through a real one. That was the amnesty act of 1986. And I had employees and I kept the records on that.
MATTHEWS: They never enforced Simpson-Mazzoli.
KING: No, nobody enforced it. And nobody is going to enforce the current laws we have --
MATTHEWS: I know. Well, I’m talking about an enforced bill.
KING: -- because the executive branch doesn’t have the will. That’s the problem today.
MATTHEWS: Well, look, I think we can always have excuses, but I would like to see somebody agree. I like, Grijalva, Congressman, I like the principle. If we can agree on the principle, to stop arguing about something and solve a problem. This is a manmade problem.
Jack Kennedy said the problems of man are manmade. They can be solved by man. This isn’t rocket science. And it bugs me that the unions and all these other people in this country won’t solve the problem. They ought to solve it tomorrow. I’m tired of this stupid bickering over illegal immigration.
Thank you, Congressman King. I don’t like your idea. But thanks for coming on.
KING: Close the border shut off the jobs magnet. And look at the Real ID Act, Chris. Read that. You will like it when you do.
MATTHEWS: Congressman Grijalva, thank you, sir.
GRIJALVA: Thank you.
MATTHEWS: And stop talking about throwing people out of the country. You will get people to listen to you.
KING: You didn’t hear me say that.
MATTHEWS: Up next: David Letterman’s list of what you might not know.
A lot of people talk like that, too many.
