True confession: I have never followed local politics closely enough. I've always been drawn more to the interplay of nations than of neighbors. But now, as our federal government has renegged on its solemn duty to preserve and protect our border--the baseline of the interplay of nations--I find that the Board of Supervisors, the local planning commission, the county clerk's office, is increasingly where the action is.
    And, more important, it's where the grown-ups are. I met such a grown-up last night in New York City, where we both had travelled to tape "Lou Dobbs Tonight." His name is Frank Merola, and he is county clerk of Rensselaer County, New York. When NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer recently ordered up driver's licenses for illegal aliens, County Clerk Merola said no. So did 12 other New York county clerks. They said they would refuse to issue such licenses because doing so compromised the security of the document--and therefore the security of the country. The other reason is it's against the law.
    And not just one law. As CNN's Kitty Pilgrim reported, issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens violates Section 1324 of the Immigration and Nationality Act because it makes it easier for illegal aliens to remain in this country. It also violates state law in New York and The Real I.D. Act of 2005, passed by Congress and signed by the President, both of which require anyone seeking a driver's license to have a Social Security number--and a fake one won't do.
    Frank Merola and his 12 stalwart colleagues are trying to prevent Gov. Spitzer from making a mockery of the essence of what makes the USA a nation--its borders, its security, its laws, its order and, yes, its privileges. These county clerks are drawing a line our higher leadership at the state and federal level is unable even to conceive of--a failure of national imagination which is at the root of our current leadership crisis.
    Gov. Spitzer has no clue how irresponsible his capitulation is. “We are not talking about letting more people into this country,” he said, “we are talking about being practical about those who are already here.” If "practical" describes lawless, chaos is our future.
    "This is a governor who requires training wheels," Lou Dobbs commented. And he's right. Gov. Spitzer is acting like a child. Thank goodness for the men and women of New York's county clerk offices who are not afraid to be adults.