I see that Russell Pearce, the Arizona Senate president who authored that state’s harsh immigration law, met defeat in Tuesday’s recall from another Republican.
Although the other candidate, school-executive Jerry Lewis, shares some of the same views, Pearce’s defeat is still a good day for Arizona and America. See, Arizona recall: Why Russell Pearce lost.
The Washington Post reports that
Most coverage of Tuesday’s night’s recall of state Senate President Russell Pearce (R) in Mesa, Arizona has focused on the fact that Russell authored the state’s controversial immigration legislation….
“We are seen as a very unfriendly business state” because of Pearce’s approach, Lewis said during the campaign. “We are seen as something akin to maybe 1964 Alabama.”
When something seems like the Alabama of 1964, it’s time to rethink that thing.
To their credit, the Mormon church had a role in Pearce’s defeat –
The Mormon church has been trying to reach out to Hispanic voters, and Pearce’s virulent anti-immigrant rhetoric, along with his divisive law, was seen as hurting that effort. Pearce has condemned the church for its anti-SB1070 stance and angered leaders by falsely claiming that he had their support.
“The Mormon church clearly percolated below the surface to make sure that its members knew that Russell Pearce was making their missionary efforts in Central and South America more difficult,” said Nathan Sproul, Republican strategist.
Good for them – a return to Know-Nothingism is a dead end for America. So much so, that it’s deeply unAmerican.
It’s a long effort to preserve a fair and tolerant society founded on free markets in labor as well as capital. That effort won’t end today.
On the contrary, it will extend into the new year and beyond.