Jennings, a legislator since the 1970s, said he was frustrated by Martinez's unwillingness to compromise.
Democrats in the Senate tried in wintertime to limit foreign national driver's licenses to two years and to mandate that applicants be fingerprinted. Jennings said this would have eliminated fraud, but Martinez fought the measure. She wanted nothing short of a repeal of the law.
"If this issue truly is about public safety, then why didn't she support a proposal that actually would have taken steps to prevent and punish fraud and protect public safety?" Jennings asked.
Democrats will offer half-measures, which will avail nothing as long as illegal immigrants are still able to obtain licenses. Rather than dealing with the symptoms of such unserious legislation, Governor Martinez wants to attack the root of the problem, which will protect taxpayers and save money.
Martinez calls the licensing law "dangerous" and says her goal is to erase it from the books.
Many governors, Democrats and Republicans, have taken a stand similar to Martinez's.
No matter how desperate one party in power may become, the outcomes of legislation, the unintended consequences which frustrate the strain for cosmic justice and "social equity", if the laws on the books create more problems for the voters and the state, then those in power will have to contend with the outcomes and offer solutions. Unlike federal officials, far removed from the consequences of their legislation, governors and state legislators are more closely connected, attached, and dependent on their constituents. Therefore, if their voters are not happy, state-side politicians will never hear the end of it.
In politics, compromise is a matter of pragmatism or principle.
For politicians who want to advance their careers, win votes, receive key committee assignments, pragmatism is the ruling policy, regardless of the consequences.
Governor Susana Martinez has dedicated her efforts to repealing the immoral and illogical law which permits the Undocumented to obtain driver's licenses. She is doing the right thing, and to compromise on repeal would be to compromise on principle, and vacate any meaningful restoration to New Mexico's dignity and state sovereignty.