English: Official photo of Governor Dave Heineman (R-NE). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Just as Republican governors have done a dominoes routine over rejecting establishing health insurance exchanges for Obamacare, it was inevitable that Republican governors would line up behind Arizona governor Jan Brewer and topple over to reject the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman was the first to step into line, announcing that his state would not permit those young immigrants covered under the Executive Order to get drivers licenses or any state benefits. He stressed that the program does not make those immigrants “legal citizens” and does not entitle them to any Nebraska services.

Gee, another totally worthless grandstand.

The program does not provide a path to citizenship or qualify those covered under it to any entitlements. If a state chooses, it could allow these young people to get drivers licenses and attend college with resident tuition, as Texas does. It grants those old enough two-year work permits which will allow them to get jobs, pay taxes, pay into Social Security and generally benefit the nation.

There are only 1.7 million of them, aged 5 to 30. With up to 16 million Americans unemployed, and about 3 million jobs going unfilled because of requirements for skills, these young people are not going to make a major difference in our unemployment situation. And they certainly will not be allowed to vote – the other stupid claim from the right wing. Didn’t you know? Obama was elected by the illegals, all 11 million of them, babies, children, they all got out there and voted for Obama. Let’s just forget that they don’t have enough numbers to have impacted the election results in any individual state.

But, the Republican Party has built up its base with hate – hatred of immigrants, hatred of Muslims, hatred of Jews, hatred of women’s reproductive rights, hatred of non-fundamentalist Christians, hatred of liberals and Democrats. So, to prove their bonefides and retain their power, Republican governors are going to punish young immigrants for the crimes of their parents.