By Clint E. Lacy

How interesting it was to read House Speaker Rod Jetton's views in the Feb. 22 issue of the Southeast Missourian ("Jetton: Lazy Missourians could learn from Mexicans").

In it, reporter Rudi Keller writes, "A lot of lazy Missourians, including many in Southeast Missouri, could benefit from adopting the work ethic of Mexican immigrants, House Speaker Rod Jetton said Thursday. Jetton made his remarks when asked about his statement made to Republicans in Springfield, Mo., that he would like to 'trade some of our people for some of the Mexicans who work so hard.'"

Apparently Jetton, R-Marble Hill, was mad because residents in Wayne County did not flock to apply for $8-an-hour jobs for a potential employer who was considering locating there in 2004.

Keller continued, "He didn't back away from that remark. 'If we can find a way to trade them, I would trade them in a heartbeat,' Jetton said.'"

In his Sept. 24 Capitol Report newsletter, Jetton was patting himself on the back for visiting Missouri National Guard troops participating in Operation Jumpstart on the Arizona-Mexico border.

In the newsletter, Jetton stated, "Since Operation Jump Start began, attempts by would-be illegal immigrants to cross the border have fallen by 75 percent. Last year, we stopped 1.2 million illegal aliens from getting into the country. Of those 10 percent (roughly 120,000) were criminals who had already committed felonies."

So what caused Jetton's immigration views to change from 2006 to 2008?

Maybe the answer lies in a Dec. 31 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article that stated Jetton was "earning $6,000 a month on the payroll of GOP candidate Mitt Romney." In that article, Jetton said, "I wish it were more money."

(For the record, that is probably the same reason Wayne County residents didn't flock to apply for $8-an-hour jobs.)

According to FactCheck.org, "During his [Governor Romney[']s] tenure, at least four Massachusetts cities enacted or renewed legislation declaring themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. Somerville affirmed its 'long-standing policies in support of all immigrants,' while Orleans forbade city officials from turning in illegal immigrants without probable cause."

It's amazing how $6,000 a month from a presidential candidate can change a man's views on immigration to the point in which he is willing to trade "lazy" Missourians for 120,000 Mexican criminals who have committed felonies.

One could describe Jetton's own work ethic as an elected official as less than desirable, yet he managed to find time to work for Mitt Romney as well as start Common Sense Conservative Consulting, whose best (and perhaps) only customer is state Sen. Jason Crowell, who paid Jetton $33,000 between 2005 and 2006.

House Speaker Jetton is the last person qualified to criticize Missourians who are on government assistance.

According to the Oct. 9, 2006, issue of the Kansas City Buzz Blog, "Jetton didn't mention that he had been on welfare and lived in subsidized housing while a student at Southwest Baptist University in the late 1980s with a wife and young child."

Jetton walked to Jefferson City to raise awareness about the condition of Missouri highways, yet Highways 34 and 51 are still dotted with the occasional roadside cross marking a traffic fatality.

He pretended to be a friend to Missourians who care about their heritage, yet he co-sponsored St. Louis radical Muslim Democratic state Rep. Talibdin El-Amin's slavery apology bill, another irony considering the fact that illegal immigrants compromise a new type of slavery, one in which corporations can drive down labor costs and men like former state representative Nathan Cooper of Cape Girardeau are able to profit off the importation of them.

The Missouri taxpayer provides Jetton's salary and his medical insurance, which makes him the biggest welfare recipient in his district.

The only difference between Jetton and the underprivileged in Missouri whom he considers "lazy" is the fact that he can pursue as much supplemental income as he wants to and not lose his assistance.

Clint E. Lacy is a resident of Marble Hill, Mo.