Monday, April 26, 2010
By The Time I Get To Arizona
In the category of "don't do me any favors," Rev. Al Sharpton is promising a march on Arizona to protest the new anti-illegal immigration law. Now, there's a great way to prevent any genuine support building against the law! Because, Sharpton is so, um, persuasive.
Of course, you don't have to be a pal of Rev. Al not to realize that this law is fraught with peril. Civil libertarians on the right and the left should find problems with the legislation -- the biggest of which is yes, the demand that those suspected of being illegal need to carry their documentation with them at all times. This is a blatant invitation for abuse by agents of the state, i.e., the police. As "Saturday Night Live" pointed out quite adroitly this weekend, "Show me your papers" is a phrase that has too many ugly connotations. Well, one, actually:
Arizona reached this point because of a failure by the feds -- on two fronts. First, there was failure to adequately secure the border to prevent the influx of illegals. More recently -- and consequentially -- there's been a failure to tamp down the Mexican narco-war that has moved North up the US border. American citizens are feeling threatened. And Arizona politicians responded to that fear. Alas, as often happens when fear becomes the activating force, some of the decisions expressed through that bill are questionable at best. And, as California's Prop 187 showed, there's a question as to whether the whole language will withstand constitutional scrutiny.
All that said, this is the perfect last bit of legislative c4 to throw into an already-combustible election year. Depending on how Obama handles the immigration effort over the rest of the year, it could end up being the coup de grace that allows Republicans to recapture the House.
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Of course, you don't have to be a pal of Rev. Al not to realize that this law is fraught with peril. Civil libertarians on the right and the left should find problems with the legislation -- the biggest of which is yes, the demand that those suspected of being illegal need to carry their documentation with them at all times. This is a blatant invitation for abuse by agents of the state, i.e., the police. As "Saturday Night Live" pointed out quite adroitly this weekend, "Show me your papers" is a phrase that has too many ugly connotations. Well, one, actually:
Arizona reached this point because of a failure by the feds -- on two fronts. First, there was failure to adequately secure the border to prevent the influx of illegals. More recently -- and consequentially -- there's been a failure to tamp down the Mexican narco-war that has moved North up the US border. American citizens are feeling threatened. And Arizona politicians responded to that fear. Alas, as often happens when fear becomes the activating force, some of the decisions expressed through that bill are questionable at best. And, as California's Prop 187 showed, there's a question as to whether the whole language will withstand constitutional scrutiny.
All that said, this is the perfect last bit of legislative c4 to throw into an already-combustible election year. Depending on how Obama handles the immigration effort over the rest of the year, it could end up being the coup de grace that allows Republicans to recapture the House.
Labels: Arizona, civil liberties, Illegal Immigration
