Just when you thought California couldn't go any further left, the Golden State does it again. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently signed a bill that allows illegal aliens to serve on state boards and commissions. In signing the bill, Newsom said it will eliminate "barriers that prevent talented and qualified Californians from consideration of public service." The move comes months after California lawmakers passed legislation expanding Medicaid to illegals.
The new bill covers a wide range of state boards and commissions, most of which are appointed by elected representatives. But columnist and deputy editor Monica Showalter blasted the policy in a new American Thinker piece. "Talk about disenfranchisement," is how she opens the article. She goes on to call it a "shocking encroachment" to the idea of "consent of the governed."
Showalter tells KTRH this new move puts non-citizens in charge of some important matters. "Some (of these boards) oversee bond issues, some oversee judges, some oversee prisons, and all of these things can be used as quite an intimidating factor on supporting illegal immigration," she says. "If you have an illegal immigrant, they're going to be standing for those interests instead of the interests of whatever the board is supposed to be for...it's basically a foreign national ruling over us."
Showalter also argues that this is a slap in the face to the idea of American citizenship and American sovereignty. "They're just putting people on boards saying citizenship doesn't matter in any way whatsoever," she says. "That renders citizenship meaningless, and that renders loyalty to the U.S. meaningless."
In fact, the bill is so radical it was even vetoed last year by former left-wing California Gov. Jerry Brown. Showalter wants to see it challenged in court. "It's a legitimacy question," she says. "Do we really have to take orders from someone who's not here legally, and who doesn't even bother to obey our laws? It's really shocking."