The GOP's Latest Macaca Moment

I'll be damned, some condemnation from the Arizona Republic(an)

The Latino community responded with outrage when state Rep. Russell Pearce called for a return to a 1950s deportation debacle to deal with illegal immigration.

That wasn't enough.

The outrage should have come from the entire state of Arizona. It should have been heard from all ethnic groups and races. From people of all faiths. From people of every political persuasion.

Pearce offended everyone.

Criticism from Democrats was appropriate. But it can be too easily dismissed as self-serving. Republican Party leaders in particular should have immediately decried Pearce's comments. They are being diminished by what this man says. Yet the state's Republican Party "is not issuing a statement," says spokesperson Garrick Taylor.

It should issue a condemnation.

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Russell Pearce is an abomination to any human being with a functioning conscience; but he's only one of countless hyrdra heads that keep attacking with their venom. Look at the racist website the NRSC set up to attack Debbie Stabenow in Michigan:

According to the National Council of La Raza's factsheet (which I cite as a source to make Russell Pearce's head explode), Michigan is home to an emerging population of Latinos, going from 33rd to 17th within the past decade.

Does the NRSC think that every one of those latinos are undocumented immigrants? If they do, then their stupidity exceeds even the lowest depths that I can imagine. The reality is, they're not that stupid. So why the ridiculous imagery on their website and even more offensive commentary?

More pandering to hate.

While the GOP doesn't have the monopoly on this type of fear-mongering, they're also more inclined to put this type of bullet in their shotgun to fire at their political opponents. I would echo what the Az Republic(an) says:

We need much, much better from elected officials. And we've needed it for a long time.

The congressional elections are five weeks away. The results in the polls will be the pulse that measures the U.S. American public's endorsement of this new era of racism and xenophobia. In the meantime, it's up to those of us with basic decency and dignity to keep slaying the beasts' heads until the monster is shamed back into the abyss.

[UPDATE] Well, it looks like the NRSC wasn't through pissing on the heads of our neighbors. They've now unveiled Merci Debbie!