Raising (hell outta) Arizona

On the heels of HCR passing, we were sitting around with some friends discussing what we would do next if we were President Obama and we all unanimously agreed: Immigration. And we arrived at that answer for one reason and one reason only: it would further bloody the GOP.

Think about the last election cycle. When did the train start to come off the tracks for the GOP? Right after the Palin pick, when their rallies started looking more and more like a cross between George Wallace rallies from '68 and the xenophobic hatred for the bugs after they destroyed Buenos Aires on Starship Troopers. It would paint the GOP further into the corner of having to pander to their far-right, while alienating moderates and downright pushing the fastest growing demographic group of voters right over to the Democrats. Immigration is a fight the GOP can't win. The far-right they've juiced up wants the hard line approach, because that's what the politics of fear and hate has told them they need. Meanwhile, the business-wing of the party knows the country can't survive without the cheap labor immigrants provide, both here and across the border. Not to mention the fact that any realist inherently knows: we cannot completely secure our borders. Can't be done. If someone wants to get in, they'll get in. It's a win-win issue for the Democrats.

So we understood why Obama and the Dems backed away from the energy stuff to push it. We also understand why it pissed Lindsey Graham off. So what to do, what to do? No worries...here comes Arizona! With one unconstitutional state law, Arizona has helped bail Obama out and force immigration to the forefront. See...politically speaking, Obama doesn't need an Immigration bill. He just needs an immigration issue. And the idiots in Arizona handed it to the White House, gift wrapped. (Somewhere, Karl Rove has to be shaking his head as it was Rove who figured out the whole gay-marriage thing could win over minority voters in the black and hispanic community, who are generally have strong conservative religious/social views).

This weekend, there were major demonstrations all across the nation against the Arizona law. And we're still finding out more about this bullshit law as time goes by, like Arizona telling school districts to fire or reassign teachers with heavy accents or that the "drafters" of the law are trying to create new and easy ways for cops to be able to "legally" ask you for your papers. So well done, Arizona. Keep up the good work.