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Recall Election Set For Arizona “Papers Please” Law Sponsor

Posted by: Linda Carbonell on July 13, 2011.

07-13-2011 by Linda S. Carbonell

Russell Pearce at Phoenix Tea Party 09-12-09

Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce has been recalled and the new election for his seat will take place on November 8. Over 10,000 signatures, far in excess of the number required, were recorded for the recall petition.

Pearce is a long-time opponent of immigration, veiled as opposition to illegal immigration. His son, Sean Pearce, a sheriff’s deputy, was shot and seriously wounded in a confrontation with an illegal in 2004. Since that time, Pearce has lasered his hatred of criminals in general into a general hatred of Hispanics. He was Tea Party before there was a Tea Party, advocating strong border security, lower taxes, smaller government, school choice, private property rights and the divine rights of Christian whites to ownership of this nation.

Pearce sponsored the infamous Arizona SB1070, commonly called the “Papers Please” law. It was not his first piece of legislation aimed at Hispanic-Americans. In 2004, he sponsored a referendum, Poposition 200, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote or collect benefits. The requirement for collecting benefits is a redundancy of Federal law, but most Republicans either ignore that or are unaware that proof of citizenship is required by the Federal government for all Federal assistance programs. They point at illegal families that receive benefits for anchor babies and claim that the parents are getting welfare and other benefits.

Originally a close ally of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Pearce takes credit for the idea of the tent city “concentration camp” run by Arpaio for accused illegal immigrants, though his vigilante-assisted round-ups typically pick up as many legal Hispanics as illegals. While in fact illegal crossings have slowed to a trickle under President Obama, with over half-a-million illegals repelled every year and another half-million deported, the Republicans keep claiming that his administration has done nothing about illegal immigration. At the rate Arpaio’s round-ups have been successful at capturing illegal immigrants, 600 a year, it will take him 100 years to clear out the State of Arizona alone.

It is not SB1070 that caused the recall action. It was actually led by a fellow Republican and Mormon, on the issues of extreme cuts to social services and education. Gov. Jan Brewer has seen the state’s deficit skyrocket under her leadership, in part because of the economic damage caused by SB1070, and her choices of budget cuts have come under fire from all over the country. Pearce has been her go-to guy for what turns out to be very unpopular legislation.

Brewer could have set a special election sooner, but by holding it on November 8, she avoids the cost of a separate election. Pearce has vowed to campaign vigorously for his seat. No opponents have yet declared, but it is assumed that there will be a Republican challenger, in addition to a Democrat.