Has Arizona become a “rogue state”? This week, the state of John McCain (Obama’s opponent in the 2008 presidential elections) is becoming a front-runner for that title with three laws challenging the 44th president, and even certain Republicans, head-on.
You see where Arizona is — far, far away from Washington and very, very close to Mexico, even bordering it. Out there, we’re in the savage West … I say that to evoke the historical precedent. When we look at a map, it is easy to understand the problems this state has and the political acts that could be put into place to control them. All the same.
As Arizona is John McCain’s state and he developed a bipartisan image on the subject of immigration, I stupidly believed that he would continue down this path. I was completely wrong. These last few days, three laws have been or will be passed that will render an atmosphere hostile to the 44th president and will serve as a basis for national debate. This weekend, Daily Beast asked, “Has Arizona lost its mind?” and supported this title with a troubling rundown of the facts.
Let’s start with this “chestnut” that blooms intermittently but never truly leaves the scene: Obama’s birth certificate. To clarify: Obama could not have been a presidential candidate in 2008 because he is not American. What follows is a fuzzy reasoning based on his birth in Hawaii. Two states, Florida and Oklahoma, have already tried their hands at passing a birthers’ law, but neither were passed. On several occasions, the White House has taken this affair both seriously and jokingly, and the state of Hawaii assures that they are in possession of the correct documents.
Therefore, we can assume that the subject has been buried. Not at all. The Arizona state representatives have just passed a law requiring all White House candidates to produce their American birth certificates before entering the race. Otherwise, their success will not be on the part of Arizona. It may be pathetic, but it’s not a joke. One might think that Arizona has other fish to fry than wasting time over this issue, but Governor Jan Brewer has this case under the stack of papers in her office and come election time, it will be of real importance.
Another person who is straddling the fence in Arizona is John McCain. He has always succeeded at appearing to be a bipartisan moderate on the hot topic of immigration, but here, he seems to have been pushed with his back up against the wall by Sarah Palin. Otherwise, he would not be supported by her on the podium of his Senate campaign. One loan for two returns: She supports him, but only if he follows suit with her and the others on immigration matters. McCain already seemed like an old child caught with his fingers in the cookie jar in Tuscon, Arizona, last month. Along with his smartly dressed wife, Cindy, he was forced to listen to Sarah say that he was very “Tea Party” until he was on the edge of collapse. That is distasteful.
Struggling in his own state for his party’s primaries, McCain has just come from supporting the anti-immigration law, which is a breach of human rights and permits the state police to force citizens on suspicion alone to produce their papers justifying that they are not illegal. McCain’s position is based on the Obama administration’s slowness on the subject, which was a great promise of the political campaign that Obama launched in 2009. The 44th president reacted by calling the legislation “misguided” and pressed the American Congress to act to prevent other states from plunging into this process, which could ruin reform efforts already in place. This system relies on trust between the police and the communities, and it is invariably very fragile. Again the governor is sitting on a bed of wasps. The influential Latino Republicans in Arizona told her that it would disintegrate the party if she signed the bill and whoever was responsible could end up taking the fall.
Still missing an extension on the Arms Act? Bingo, it’s done. A few days before the bill on immigration, the governor signed a document granting every citizen over the age of 21 the right to carry a weapon without a license. According to the governor, the citizens of Arizona are enforcing their rights under the Second Amendment. Arizona is following the decisions already made by Vermont and Alaska, and even the police are in agreement. Only the Democrats opposed them. A little flashback: It was in Arizona that a protester was arrested with his loaded rifle during Obama’s visit in 2009.
Hurry up and visit this year before this law is put into place; it starts this summer.
By the time John McCain has drunk the cup to its dregs, it will be the primaries. Will Arizona voters recognize their 2008 candidate? Even looking at his own reflection while shaving, McCain himself could have serious doubts.
does no one else comment?