The California Assembly has passed Gil Cedillo's latest attempt to give driver's license to illegal aliens, SB 1162. This is just a week after the Democrat-controlled Assembly Appropriations Committe shelved his earlier attempt.

Needless to say, that minor setback didn't deter "One Bill Gil" from his life's work of giving U.S. benefits to Mexican citizens as he weaved, bobbed, and "gutted and amended" SB1162 to transform it into its current form.

In January, it was just about a minimum wage increase (link) and had nothing in there about driving. Now, compare that version to the latest, with vast tracts of struck-through text and italicized sections.

The Senate must pass it by Thursday, and it will probably be vetoed by Arnold even despite his weakened state. Nevertheless, a few phone calls might not hurt. Perhaps you could suggest that they remind themselves of which country they're supposed to represent.

And, Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark has a message for Republicans. They should deal with the "reality" that illegal immigrants are driving. And:

"These people are living in this country, they're working in this country, they're paying taxes... If you want to keep track of immigrants and you're scared of terrorism, vote for this bill."

Yes, indeed! Why, it's almost as if he's speaking directly to me, and his finely-honed logic has certainly convinced me that he's not just supporting this issue in order to gain more race-based political power.

And, Jordan Rau of the Los Angeles Times has some "facts" for us to consider:

The [DLs for IAs] and health insurance bills have been the projects of passion for two rank-and-file Democrats in the Legislature, and are strongly supported by two key party constituencies: liberals and Latinos.

Actually, both groups "strongly support[ing]" drivers licenses for illegal aliens is not entirely accurate. Even "One Bill Gil" admits that 70% of voters oppose what he keeps trying to do. Given that fact, "strong support" by those two groups is impossible. Rau also doesn't mention the curious way in which he changed a minimum wage bill into yet another "vehicle" for his "passion". Write: readers.rep *at* latimes.com