Thursday, April 22, 2010

Lunatics in State Government - Kool-Aid Drinkers Ascendant in Arizona

Bob McDonnell and Ken Kookinelli must have shipped some of the Kool-Aid they got from Victoria Cobb of The Family Foundation and Pat Robertson to members of the Arizona GOP. Bills that have championed by GOP members of the Arizona legislature sound like something the Cooch would dream up in the midst of a wet dream about birthers and anti-immigrant bigots. A reader in San Diego sent me a link to the lunacy which seeks to force Barack Obama to produce a birth certificate and in a separate bill allow those suspected of being illegal immigrants to be arrested and questioned at will by police. This latter bill takes racial profiling to new levels and the potential for abuse is off the charts. Personally, I see these developments further undescore the racism that is becoming more and more a de facto part of the GOP platform. If you are not white, heterosexual and Christian, you are not welcome in the GOP - or the USA. The Cafferty File at CNN looks at the craziness in Arizona. Here are highlights:
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What is up with Arizona? Within a matter of days, state lawmakers have passed two controversial measures that are sparking a national debate. First - there's the so-called birther bill, which passed the Arizona house. It's meant to clarify the birthplace of a potential president - and would require Pres. Obama to show his birth certificate in order to be on Arizona's ballot if he runs for re-election in 2012. The same would go for any candidate who hopes to be on the state's ballot. This all goes back to the "birther" movement... and those conspiracy theories about the Hawaiian-born Mr. Obama.
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[T]he Arizona Senate passed the immigration bill earlier this week. It would allow police to arrest people who can't prove they're in the country legally. Police in this country traditionally don't stop people for no reason and ask "to see their papers."
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Critics say these two measures taken together are turning Arizona into "the laughingstock of the nation." It's a title that used to belong to Florida. Even a former Bush press secretary is critical... Dana Perino says although stronger enforcement is needed when it comes to illegal immigration, this measure goes too far... and she says the so-called birther measure should be rescinded.

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