The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Hypothetical Hitlers, the Arizona Gestapo and Other Irrational Liberal Fears

Posted on | April 28, 2010 | 33 Comments

The rhetorical escalation over the new Arizona immigration law has taken a predictable path toward insanity — or inanity, in the case of Meghan McCain:

I believe it gives the state police a license to discriminate, and also, in many ways, violates the civil rights of Arizona residents. Simply put, I think it is a bad law that is missing the bigger picture of what is really going on with illegal immigration. The concept that a law-enforcement official can stop an individual when “reasonable suspicion exists that a person is an alien, who is unlawfully present in the United States” is essentially a license to pull someone over for being Hispanic.

For the benefit of all who, like Cousin Meghan, are too stupid to pay attention to facts, I will repeat: The law hasn’t even taken effect yet, and we therefore do not have one example — not even one — of this law being abused. And most criticism is based on what Jimmie Bise calls the “Arizona Gestapo” meme of cops as fascist monsters.

The “Fourth Reich” portrayals of this law (e.g., “Saturday Night Live“) as laying the groundwork for an Hispanic Kristallnacht are easily debunked by reading what the law actually says. Jimmie summarizes it briefly:

If a police officer comes into “lawful contact” with a person (because their job as a police officer requires them to do so), and the officer has “reasonable suspicion” that the person is an alien or illegal resident, that officer must make a reasonable attempt to ascertain whether that person is in the United States legally. If, in the course of that “lawful contact”, the person provides an Arizona driver’s license, photo ID, tribal identification, or any other piece of identification for which they had to prove their legal residence when they got it, then that person is automatically assumed to be a legal resident.

Certainly that doesn’t justify the kind of histrionic huffing and puffing we’ve heard from liberals. Rich Lowry observes:

The Arizona law makes it a state crime for aliens not to have immigration documents on their person. This sounds draconian, except it’s been a federal crime for more than half a century — U.S.C. 1304(e). Has the open-borders crowd forgotten that it calls illegal aliens “undocumented” for a reason?

Denouncing the law on the basis of hypothetical abuses that you think might happen is the special kind of idiocy we’ve come to expect from Meghan McCain, who at least has the inexperience of youth to excuse her shallow arguments. But what excuse does Jeb Bush have?

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is speaking out against the new hard-line immigration law in Arizona, becoming the first prominent national Republican to do so.
“I think it creates unintended consequences . . . It’s difficult for me to imagine how you’re going to enforce this law. It places a significant burden on local law enforcement and you have civil liberties issues that are significant as well.”

Yes, of course, there may be unintended consequences, there may be a law-enforcement burden, and there may be civil liberties issues, but shouldn’t we balance these hypothetical risks against the reality of what is actually happening in Arizona? Isn’t reality more important than any hypothesis? Less than two weeks ago, federal agents raided shuttle-bus operations in Arizona that are estimated to have smuggled 80,000 illegals over the past decade. And that is but the tip of a very large iceberg.

Marco Rubio’s criticism of the Arizona law was disappointingly Bush-like in its suggestion that the law “could also unreasonably single out people who are here legally, including many American citizens.” Which of course it could, but it hasn’t yet, and how about we see how the law is actually implemented before we start wringing our hands over imagined abuses that might happen at some unknown point in the future? (As Allahpundit notes, Rubio’s statement is “a comparative model of restraint” in contrast to the denunciations from Lindsey Graham and others.)

What causes conservative Republicans to parrot ACLU talking points? Because liberals have so distorted public understanding of what’s in the law that GOP politicians feel obligated to make at least a few dissenting noises, lest they be denounced as “anti-immigrant.”

This kind of defensive stance by conservatives allows liberals to define the terms of the debate to their own advantage. To surrender that definitional battle in hope of gaining some short-term political benefit by debating the issue on terms acceptable to liberals is to accept defeat as a long-term outcome.

Category: Arizona, Immigration, Liberals

Comments

33 Responses to “Hypothetical Hitlers, the Arizona Gestapo and Other Irrational Liberal Fears”

  1. Dave C
    April 28th, 2010 @ 12:30 pm

    “But what excuse does Jeb Bush have?”

    Didn’t you answer your own question?

  2. Dave C
    April 28th, 2010 @ 7:30 am

    “But what excuse does Jeb Bush have?”

    Didn’t you answer your own question?

  3. Frank
    April 28th, 2010 @ 12:32 pm

    What causes conservative Republicans to parrot ACLU talking points?
    It’s been going on for a very long time!

  4. Frank
    April 28th, 2010 @ 7:32 am

    What causes conservative Republicans to parrot ACLU talking points?
    It’s been going on for a very long time!

  5. Guest
    April 28th, 2010 @ 12:36 pm

    Meghan McCain

    What a Highly Educated Vichy is she and without having that Ivy-Inbred degree; she should have her Mommy buy Harvard so she can be validated correctly.

    That said; she is a fashion faux pas if she thinks her hat will help to make her lard head appear any less svelte.

    Why do Highly Educated Vichy always end up Liberal’s Useful Idiots?

    Someone should do a study on Harvard to find out why they produce so many stupid tools for fools.

  6. Guest
    April 28th, 2010 @ 7:36 am

    Meghan McCain

    What a Highly Educated Vichy is she and without having that Ivy-Inbred degree; she should have her Mommy buy Harvard so she can be validated correctly.

    That said; she is a fashion faux pas if she thinks her hat will help to make her lard head appear any less svelte.

    Why do Highly Educated Vichy always end up Liberal’s Useful Idiots?

    Someone should do a study on Harvard to find out why they produce so many stupid tools for fools.

  7. Bitter Clingers for Tim Burns? : The Other McCain
    April 28th, 2010 @ 8:34 am

    […] bitterly clinging to guns and God.Cling on, dear bitter brothers and bitter sisters! I’ll be coming to see y’all soon. var addthis_pub='smitty1e';var addthis_language='en';var addthis_options='twitter, digg, email, […]

  8. kansas
    April 28th, 2010 @ 1:54 pm

    What excuse does Jeb Bush have? Let me see? Oh yeah, his wife.

  9. kansas
    April 28th, 2010 @ 8:54 am

    What excuse does Jeb Bush have? Let me see? Oh yeah, his wife.

  10. Richard Reimer
    April 28th, 2010 @ 2:22 pm

    Hooray Arizona….somebody (Arizona Governor) has stepped up to the plate and hit a grand slam. It is about time!!!!!! Send them home!!! It will ease social security problems and the school overcrowding problem and the drug problem and the gang problem and the crime problem. The rest of the states need to do the same thing!!

  11. Richard Reimer
    April 28th, 2010 @ 9:22 am

    Hooray Arizona….somebody (Arizona Governor) has stepped up to the plate and hit a grand slam. It is about time!!!!!! Send them home!!! It will ease social security problems and the school overcrowding problem and the drug problem and the gang problem and the crime problem. The rest of the states need to do the same thing!!

  12. RJ
    April 28th, 2010 @ 3:04 pm

    Reductio ad Hitlerum…

  13. RJ
    April 28th, 2010 @ 10:04 am

    Reductio ad Hitlerum…

  14. William
    April 28th, 2010 @ 3:09 pm

    I hear ya, Stacy. And that’s why we obviously need Net Neutrality!

  15. William
    April 28th, 2010 @ 10:09 am

    I hear ya, Stacy. And that’s why we obviously need Net Neutrality!

  16. Roxeanne de Luca
    April 28th, 2010 @ 4:01 pm

    I think a lot of the debate over this bill misses the bigger point: without it, a police officer who has come into lawful contact with a person whom he reasonably suspects to be an illegal alien cannot do anything to ascertain whether or not that individual is here legally. Ergo, pre-law, the police could arrest someone for driving without a license, kidnapping, murder, or drug dealing and could not do a thing to check their immigration status.

    The law itself is debatable, but the negative of it is asinine beyond belief, so I’m failing to see the problem.

  17. Roxeanne de Luca
    April 28th, 2010 @ 11:01 am

    I think a lot of the debate over this bill misses the bigger point: without it, a police officer who has come into lawful contact with a person whom he reasonably suspects to be an illegal alien cannot do anything to ascertain whether or not that individual is here legally. Ergo, pre-law, the police could arrest someone for driving without a license, kidnapping, murder, or drug dealing and could not do a thing to check their immigration status.

    The law itself is debatable, but the negative of it is asinine beyond belief, so I’m failing to see the problem.

  18. John
    April 28th, 2010 @ 4:37 pm

    Arizona law requires e-verify when someone applies for a job. Why didn’t people go crazy over that? You are required to provide documents and then must be ok’d by SSA. No different the a policeman asking for license, registration, and proof of insurance.
    Are employers racist and gestapo in their request?

    What do you think, the Arizona Biltmore, The Phonecian, or The Scottsdale Princess for Al Sharpton’s stay? I say the Princess, it has better restaurants.

  19. John
    April 28th, 2010 @ 11:37 am

    Arizona law requires e-verify when someone applies for a job. Why didn’t people go crazy over that? You are required to provide documents and then must be ok’d by SSA. No different the a policeman asking for license, registration, and proof of insurance.
    Are employers racist and gestapo in their request?

    What do you think, the Arizona Biltmore, The Phonecian, or The Scottsdale Princess for Al Sharpton’s stay? I say the Princess, it has better restaurants.

  20. Lazarus Long
    April 28th, 2010 @ 5:06 pm

    So I guess it’s a fascisty and shit when I get stopped by a cop and have to procuce my license, owner’s card and proff of insurance?

  21. Lazarus Long
    April 28th, 2010 @ 12:06 pm

    So I guess it’s a fascisty and shit when I get stopped by a cop and have to procuce my license, owner’s card and proff of insurance?

  22. Lazarus Long
    April 28th, 2010 @ 5:07 pm

    produce

  23. Lazarus Long
    April 28th, 2010 @ 12:07 pm

    produce

  24. Dave C
    April 28th, 2010 @ 6:15 pm

    This brouhaha really needs a ‘Downfall’ parody to be made out of it.

  25. Dave C
    April 28th, 2010 @ 1:15 pm

    This brouhaha really needs a ‘Downfall’ parody to be made out of it.

  26. McGehee
    April 28th, 2010 @ 6:55 pm

    Downfall Hitler: “They call these amateurs Nazis? What the hell has become of our brand!? I @#$!!ing worked hard, exterminating six million Jews and conquering half of Europe, and these wussies in Arizona get to wear my logo for $#!+ like this???”

  27. McGehee
    April 28th, 2010 @ 1:55 pm

    Downfall Hitler: “They call these amateurs Nazis? What the hell has become of our brand!? I @#$!!ing worked hard, exterminating six million Jews and conquering half of Europe, and these wussies in Arizona get to wear my logo for $#!+ like this???”

  28. Lipton T. Bagg
    April 28th, 2010 @ 8:08 pm

    I did a breakdown today of AB 1070 at Viewed From The Right. Shame that the left-leaning race-baiters won’t read it…

    http://viewedfromtheright.blogspot.com/2010/04/arizona-sb1070-debunking-fiberal-myths.html

    -LTB
    (Taking the bobbelvidere Blogwhoring 101 on-line course)

  29. Lipton T. Bagg
    April 28th, 2010 @ 3:08 pm

    I did a breakdown today of AB 1070 at Viewed From The Right. Shame that the left-leaning race-baiters won’t read it…

    http://viewedfromtheright.blogspot.com/2010/04/arizona-sb1070-debunking-fiberal-myths.html

    -LTB
    (Taking the bobbelvidere Blogwhoring 101 on-line course)

  30. Captain Obvious
    April 28th, 2010 @ 9:50 pm

    By this logic, we should do away with pretty much any and ALL laws, because they “might” be abused by law enforcement. Maximum speed laws? Cops MIGHT pull people over who weren’t speeding. Loitering laws? Cops MIGHT start issuing tickets to anyone walking down a sidewalk. After all, it’s in their interest to do so right? They meet their quota, securing their job, and it brings in revenue to pay their salary.
    Oh and anti-gang laws? Well they net a disproportinate representation of minority offenders. Therefore police are racists for only arresting offenders. They should let gang-bangers go free. Eventually they’ll gun down enough WASPs so that the demographics will shift enough to make arrests of minority offenders proportional to their population. Because that’s what’s important here: racial bean-counting rather than rule of law.

  31. Captain Obvious
    April 28th, 2010 @ 4:50 pm

    By this logic, we should do away with pretty much any and ALL laws, because they “might” be abused by law enforcement. Maximum speed laws? Cops MIGHT pull people over who weren’t speeding. Loitering laws? Cops MIGHT start issuing tickets to anyone walking down a sidewalk. After all, it’s in their interest to do so right? They meet their quota, securing their job, and it brings in revenue to pay their salary.
    Oh and anti-gang laws? Well they net a disproportinate representation of minority offenders. Therefore police are racists for only arresting offenders. They should let gang-bangers go free. Eventually they’ll gun down enough WASPs so that the demographics will shift enough to make arrests of minority offenders proportional to their population. Because that’s what’s important here: racial bean-counting rather than rule of law.

  32. PennyAZ
    April 29th, 2010 @ 8:25 pm

    Some local law enforcement agencies have been enforcing the immigration laws for 2 YEARS now (this law was written primarily to force mayors and chiefs of police of sanctuary cities to enforce the law) and we have seen how many complaints and/or lawsuits? That’s right……NONE.
    The DOJ came to Arizona to evaluate the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office when they had an agreement with ICE to enforce the immigration laws. What did they conclude? They were following the procedures outlined by ICE perfectly and were more effective than ICE. Why? Simply numbers. ICE doesn’t have that many agents here whereas there are many Sheriff’s Deputies willing and able to assist in enforcing our immigration laws.
    How did they assist? In the course of performing their duties, when reasonable suspicion led them to believe that someone was in the country illegally, they pursued finding out the legal status of that person.

  33. PennyAZ
    April 29th, 2010 @ 3:25 pm

    Some local law enforcement agencies have been enforcing the immigration laws for 2 YEARS now (this law was written primarily to force mayors and chiefs of police of sanctuary cities to enforce the law) and we have seen how many complaints and/or lawsuits? That’s right……NONE.
    The DOJ came to Arizona to evaluate the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office when they had an agreement with ICE to enforce the immigration laws. What did they conclude? They were following the procedures outlined by ICE perfectly and were more effective than ICE. Why? Simply numbers. ICE doesn’t have that many agents here whereas there are many Sheriff’s Deputies willing and able to assist in enforcing our immigration laws.
    How did they assist? In the course of performing their duties, when reasonable suspicion led them to believe that someone was in the country illegally, they pursued finding out the legal status of that person.