Birther. Russell Pearce, the originator of SB1070, the Arizona anti-immigration law that resembles something you might see in a fascist state, bragging on said law during a panel discussion recently:
A little levity is okay, I hope cause I like to [inaudible] at most things. But I can tell you that the best thing about [SB]-1070 is that Obama may not be visiting Arizona because we actually require papers now.
Today, a right-wing organization called Judicial Watch hosted a panel discussion on the “current and upcoming fights over immigration enforcement” featuring Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce (R). Pearce, the author of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, railed against the Obama administration for “siding with a foreign government” against the state of Arizona.
Russell Pearce has a propensity for making nutjob anti-Obama statements, so it’s no surprise that his “moment of levity” tied in with entirely serious statements he has made in the past.
Pearce may have been joking, but it’s not the first time he has indicated that Obama isn’t fit for office. Back in November, Pearce accused Obama of waging jihad against the state of Arizona and stated that it was an impeachable offense. “When you talk about jihad, that is exactly what Obama has against America,” said Pearce. “It’s outrageous and it’s impeachable.” At a tea party rally in August, Pearce similarly stated, “I think it’s treasonous, in my opinion.”
Pearce, not surprisingly, has ties to white supremacists.
Arizona Immigration Bill Sponsor Russell Pearce Has White Supremacist Ties, Nativist Views
In 2006, Arizona state legislator Russell Pearce got himself into a bit of trouble.
Pearce is the chief sponsor of Arizona's brutal new immigration law.
In '06, he circulated emails from the National Alliance, a white supremacist group. The email defended a racially conscious white person who "looks askance at miscegenation or at the rapidly darkening racial situation in America." (Miscegenation refers to interracial relationships.)
The email went on to blame the media for forcing on the public the notion of equality of the races, the truth of the Holocaust and "the wickedness of attempting to halt the flood of non-White aliens pouring across our borders ... ."
Pearce claimed later to not know what the group was or what was in the email, but the chairman of the state Republican Party called the email a "severe mistake."
Then-U.S. representative J.D. Hayworth, who is no softy himself on illegal immigration, said: "Given the regrettable and disturbing nature of the e-mail Russell Pearce circulated earlier this week, I cannot in good conscience lend my endorsement to his candidacy for State Representative."
If the email "slip" had been Pearce's only tie to racism and nativism, maybe it would be no big deal on the scheme of things. But there's more.
- Pearce, who is now a state senator, has been videotaped and photographed palling around with nativists and white supremacists at anti-immigrant rallies, including with neo-Nazi and white power activist J.T. Ready.
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