Brer Bill McCollum Hippity-Hops Around Very Miffed Hispanics

After hippity-hopping back and forth on Arizona's immigration law -- it's too much ... no, not enough; we don't need it ... yeah, let's bring it -- Brer Bill McCollum, the Republican gubernatorial candidate-bunny, decided to propose his own, tougher version for Florida.

What did Hispanics -- his largest supporters in the briar patch -- say?

J.C. Planas, speaking on a popular Miami Spanish-language current events TV show said, "I hope the rest of the Republicans will see this is a great economic failure for Florida." Planas said McCollum doesn't understand the needs of the economy because "McCollum has been a politician and a lawyer and has never been an economist or businessman."

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who serves as an Hispanic adviser to McCollum, was caught offguard by the attorney general's announcement. She told the Miami Herald: ``I'm disappointed and was blindsided by Bill's decision to promote this, and I encourage the candidates to focus on plans that will improve Florida's economy, bring jobs to our state and jump-start our tourism. I fail to see how promotion of this issue will accomplish that, and I was taken aback.''

Ana Navarro, a native of Nicaragua and former Nicaraguan ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, had an even stronger reaction: "I will not campaign against McCollum but I will also not lift a finger or raise one additional dollar to support his campaign.''

So, what has Hispanics hanging a big target around Brer Bill's neck? The law he offered was even more stringent than the one proposed in Arizona. It does these things --

* Requires all immigrants to carry their immigration paperwork or be subject to 20 days jailtime.
* Empowers police to question anyone they reasonably suspect to be here illegally.
* Imposes harsher penalties for crimes by illegal immigrants.

You'd think a wabbit with a law degree would have a better handle on the Constitution. Apparently Brer Bill is slipping up in one of two ways. Either he's spent too many years hanging around with his wascally cousin Bugsy Crist, who is a better hippity-hopper than he is, or he's been rubbing noses with the wrong campaign advisers.

Either way, no wonder Brer has taken to his hole.