A fool's gold issue
FOR A week now Kerry Healey has acted as if she is running for governor of Arizona. That was perfect for last night's gubernatorial debate since moderator Chris Wallace acted as if he was in Arizona, devoting multiple questions to the topic of immigration, ahead of more pressing matters in Massachusetts such as the Big Dig.
If this continues to be the trend in this race, there are a few things that the Republican nominee and FOX25, the network accused of fanning the perspectives of the right wing, might want to consider. Healey has come out with a series of proposals on immigration that deal with punishment, denying to undocumented people driver's licenses, in-state tuition, and public housing and penalizing businesses that hire undocumented workers.
What her advisers ought to tell her is that US voters, let alone folks in Massachusetts, have long grown much more sophisticated about the immigration debate. It might serve her to remember that two of the four states that share the border with Mexico and where presumably the debate is hottest -- Arizona and New Mexico -- have Democratic governors.
In New Mexico, pollster Brian Sanderoff said this summer that immigration, especially in Albuquerque, the state's largest city, is ``not nearly as salient as core issues such as education, recently the price of gas and water." In Arizona, polls show that while people want tougher enforcement at the borders, they also voice (as do most Americans) pragmatism in giving undocumented workers and families already here a chance at citizenship. Even Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow from the conservative think tank, the Manhattan Institute, told the Arizona Republic:
``In the past 10 years, a lot of politicians have looked at polling and said `Here's this big pocket of voters who don't like immigration.' It has turned out to be fool's gold."
By talking all punishment and saying nothing about pathways to citizenship, Healey is running to the right of even President Bush. Last night's debate showed that she has a lot more to worry about.
Democratic contender Deval L. Patrick never had to sweat, because independent Christy Mihos unleashed bitter attacks on the Romney-Healey record, particularly on the Big Dig. Mihos said the Big Dig made Massachusetts a laughingstock. Governor Mitt Romney is testing the waters for president, sometimes making Massachusetts the butt of his jokes. For Healey, the Big Dig and the indifferent attitude of Romney should be of greater importance than depriving an undocumented student in-state tuition.
Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is jackson@globe.com. 
