Quotes from a White Supremacist

The Arizona Daily Star has an article published today outlining the latest efforts by Russell "National Alliance" Pearce to force local law enforcement and officials to enact Operation Wetback throughout the state in the form of SB1070.

In the article, a white supremacist posing as a credible source is given the opportunity to spread his bigotry:

Glenn Spencer, president and founder of American Border Patrol, a nonprofit group that aerially monitors the border, favors stricter illegal-immigration policies.

He said he generally was in favor of Pearce's bill, provided it includes sufficient limits on interagency information-sharing.

"It's time we have to stretch the envelope" (on immigration enforcement), he said. "It's time we have to take some firm action." Loose immigration policies, he said, would be tantamount to "importing poverty" and would "destroy Arizona."

Here's a refresher, courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center on some of Mr. Spencer's previous rants:

“Americans, especially white Americans, should get out of California — now, before it is too late to salvage the equity they have in their homes and the value of their businesses.”
— Glenn Spencer, “White Fight or Flight,” American Patrol website, 2003

And the Anti-Defamation League has this to say about him:

Spencer’s rhetoric departed sharply from that of legitimate immigration reform groups; Spencer did not target immigration so much as he targeted Hispanics, particularly those of Mexican origin, regardless of whether they were immigrants or not. Many of his writings and comments were simply thinly veiled diatribes against “Mexicans” (like many anti-Hispanic activists, Spencer rarely differentiated between Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent). In a 1996 letter to the Los Angles Times, for example, Spencer said that “the Mexican culture is based on deceit.” Spencer denied the letter was racist. “It has nothing to do with race,” he said. “It has to do with culture…there’s no way to pass enough laws to protect yourself from a deceitful culture.”

linkage - .pdf warning

The Star should teach its apprentices the importance of researching who they're using as quotable sources before allowing them free reign on its pages to escalate the already dangerous situation for Latinos in Arizona.