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August 17, 2010 11:56 PM UTC

BREAKING: GOP Legislators Plot Arizona-Style Law...In Arizona?

  • 78 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: The Associated Press is now reporting, but remember, friends…you read it here first.

—

UPDATE #3: FOX31’s Eli Stokols:

Three of the legislature’s most conservative senators, Dave Schultheis of Colorado Springs, Scott Renfroe of Greeley and Kevin Lundberg of Berthoud, are part of the 11-member travel group, which includes most of the “Republican Study Committee of Colorado”. State Rep. Kent Lambert, who’s running to replace the term-limited Schultheis in the senate, is also in Arizona.

Reps. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, Laura Bradford, R-Grand Junction, and Ken Summers, R-Lakewood, are also making the trip, along with three Republicans running for statehouse seats. [Pols emphasis]

UPDATE #2: The Denver Daily News’ Peter Marcus reports:

The Republicans, members of the conservative Republican Study Committee of Colorado, plan on holding a news conference Wednesday in Arizona to discuss their visit with Arizona lawmakers.

Senator-elect Kent Lambert, formerly Rep. Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, told the Denver Daily News today that Republican state lawmakers are planning legislation that would mirror Arizona’s new controversial immigration law.  The law requires local police there to verify the legal status of suspected illegal immigrants.

Critics of the law say it will lead to racial profiling and harassment.  A federal judge last month blocked major parts of the law from taking effect just one day before the legislation was set to become law.

We’ve just learned that numerous GOP Colorado state legislators have traveled to Arizona (including most of the ultra-right wing “Republican Study Committee of Colorado” members) to plot the introduction of an equivalent to that state’s controversial anti-immigration law, SB1070. We have heard that as many as a dozen lawmakers and top strategists are in Arizona right now, and will announce plans for legislation as a major electoral plank in the next week.

The story is that Republican strategists are trying to capitalize on momentum from Tom Tancredo’s insurgent campaign, and perhaps minimize downticket damage, with an electoral platform designed to cater to his supporters in particular: we have made the point in this space about both the short- and long-term demographic peril of this approach. But facing disaster at the top of the ticket, it’s easy to see why some legislators are trying to grab what attention they can.

This issue has done a lot of good for the re-election chances of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, but Colorado’s immigration problem isn’t really comparable to a border state. Depending on what they come up with (ie, assuming they don’t overreach), Republicans could gain from this in November. The question remains as to whether those gains would be offset by the losses they would incur by angering Hispanic voters.

This story is reportedly developing rapidly, we’ll continue to update.

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78 thoughts on “BREAKING: GOP Legislators Plot Arizona-Style Law…In Arizona?”

        1. should pick up the bill or maybe an Obama jobs grant from bailout money.

          They could also pick up the bill when Democrats gather to ‘plot’ tax increases.

            1. – have taken AFL-CIO and Teamsters jobs?

              – allow thousands of Coloradans access to low cost lawnmowing, house painting, and more skilled construction jobs?

              2. He’ll come out against union workers tomorrow as socialists or some other nonsense.  I guess fear mongering about union jobs is easier than actually proposing any new ideas about immigration reform.

  2. It’s sickening how people who profess such love for the Constitution and the Founding Fathers are ready to toss them under the bus to cater to the basest instincts of their supporters.

    1. Reactionary right wings in any society do not adhere to any limitations to them seeking or maintaining power, constitutions are to be used when appropriate for them and to be ignored or challenged when appropriate.

      This reactionary right is no different than the reactionary forces that was present in Germany and England in the 1920’s when Jews were the undesirables to the economic falling middle class where instead of  understanding that the rich and powerful have subverted the system but instead they are finding scapegoats in this decade it is the Latinos from Central America, mainly Mexico.

      Now what is interesting is that the establishment CO reactionary right have written off the top of the ticket.  

    2. Doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy, just an ineffective administrator.

      These illegal aliens have forced to the unemployment line millions of union craftspeople. Its a double cost to you and I.

      3. they should be asked about The War on Terror and whether we have won.

        It doesn’t matter that Obama sent National Guard to the border.  It doesn’t matter that enforcement has been focused on audits of companies to punish those corrupt owners who seek to exploit this untouchable class of people.  It doesn’t matter that Congress allocated another $600 million dollars to strengthen border security.  None of it matters because they don’t really care about the issue except to use it to instill fear and win elections.

        The War on Terror was their hot button issue five years ago but it is a worn out brand and the 9/11 symbol is so overused that it barely registers on the fear scale anymore.

        Come on Libby tell us how fucking scared shitless you are that an evil swarthy brown skinned person is going to sneak into your house and cut your head off.  Come on dude talk some fear smack about the evil jihadists who will take over the country if we don’t vote Republican.  The correct answer to fear mongering about those horrible immigrants is what about The War on Terror you scared fucking pussy?

  3. A bunch of Republicans getting together to plot campaign themes during election season is news?

    Anyway, I hear a little deja vous here.  Colorado already had a special session on immigration long before the Arizona legislation.  

    Our Congressional delegation already voted on more funding for border enforcement this month.

    Denver voters are already voted on car impoundment.  The Denver City Council already passed an immigration status enforcement law this month.

    Deportations are already record high, and undocumented immigrant populations are record low.

    The Arizona law has already been tentatively declared invalid under the U.S. Constitution.

    It is too late to put any ballot issues before Colorado voters on the subject.

    And, Republicans in Colorado think that there is political hay to be made out of trying something that failed somewhere else?  They want to jump on the bandwagon of someone who can’t win the Governor’s race and has been beating the drum on this issue for a decade or more?  How exciting.  Not.

    1. Just those dumb enough to answer the phone at dinner time.

      Seriously though, you really think this legislation will fly with two new Latina Senators in the legislature?

      1. But since they’re Latina, they’ll probably support it (presuming they’re here legally). Illegal immigration hits Hispanics hardest. Your first comment was just dumb.

              1. How do they keep sneaking into the country illegally? In case you haven’t noticed, we share a large border with a country called Mexico, moron.

            1. But never mind that.

              In answer to your comment, it’s not my credibility that’s on the line. (I’m being charitable to you on that point.) There are long-established rules to debate, and I’m merely insisting that you abide by them. You’re an obnoxious jerk who has long since lost the privilege of being treated with respect. You’re simply paying for your (free) choices now.  

                1. But alas, wiser people than me came up with this long before any of us lived. It’s been passed down through good schools for millenia, and smart students have learned the value of the system. Fools think that they are above it.

                  But you do have a point. On this thread, at any rate, I’m finished until you provide your link.

                  1. What’s the magic word? I believe wiser people than me came up with it long before any of us lived, and it’s been passed down from parents to kids for thousands of years.

                    1. And come up with your own original retorts. This is why I have the right to make demands of you.

                    2. But apparently you can’t be bothered with little things like facts. All you have to do is ask nicely, say please, and I will post it here. ROFLIYF (Rolling on the floor laughing in your face).

                    4. Everybody who has looked for it has found it. I’m not falling for your stupid tricks, and it’s not my obligation to show everybody what a fool you are. You should be thanking me.

          2. Why bother trying to engage in discussion with this child?

            I wonder if he’s going to tell his committee to look up their own damned references when he defends his dissertation?  Provided he can tear himself away from Colorado Pols long enough to write one, of course.

            1. I don’t view it as “engaging” as much as letting him know that his bullshit will not pass unchallenged. But let me know if I start dragging it on too long. I don’t want anyone to feel like they need to create a special thread for beej and me.

              1. Here you are in a room with a bunch of people smarter than yourself.  You desperately want to join their club.  Yet you’re failing because one of them asked you to cite facts to back up something you wrote.

                Think of it as practice for the day you go down in flames before your committee.

  5. A few weeks ago while I was helping out a friend of mine who’s running for office, I knocked on close to a hundred Democratic doors and I heard repeatedly that they agreed with the Arizona law. Scary. I do think this issue will have a blow back effect on Bennet’s campaign not to mention the Hickmaestro. If it was just a two candidates in the Gov’s race i’d say Hick would be in trouble largely due to this issue.  

    1. that these folks really didn’t take the time to read the law and its various profiling provisions. All they hear is the overly simplistic solution to deport all the illegals. Hell, if that happened,  most of the state’s service and construction industries would collapse, not to mention agricultural. MY BIL lives in rural Eastern Washington,known for its fruit orchards, and he is reading there that the farmers are losing money and harvest because of lack of help to pick.

        1. That what Advocate wrote is that “…the farmers are losing money and harvest because of lack of help to pick.” Where are all those unemployed Americans? There are fruit picking jobs for, well, the picking.

        3. Those employers advertise for weeks on end and cannot fill those positions, precisely because of what Advocate says at 11:19:21.

          You could take one of those jobs… it would give you plenty of time to think while you were bent over picking crops!

      2. The one thing I have been most disappointed with the Democrats over is how they continue to lose the messaging wars.  Whether it is health care, the recovery act, the energy bill or this racist bill from Arizona, the Democrats simply lose the messaging fight and then are put on defense.

        Blame it on the existence of Fox “News” or the intellectual desire of Democrats to engage people on a level above basic, gut reaction but we simply don’t do a good job of explaining in simple, easily digested facts.  Look at health care, now that the fear-mongering has died down a bit there is much more public support for the bill because people understand what is actually in it.  This support should have been there from the start but Democrats did a horrible job with the public on it.  

        1. Where the hell are the messengers for Colorado? Degette only pops her head up for her own pet projects. Udall is scared shitless to stray from his little environmental fiefdom. Bennet made a stab at Senate reform, but he’s hardly eloquent. Biden has lapsed into the role of f-bombing court jester. Time and time again we’ve had to rely on Obama to make “the big speach,” and he’s alway been behind the curve, reacting instead of leading the narrative. It’s frustrating to say the least.

          2. Time and time again we’ve had to rely on Obama to make “the big speach,” and he’s alway been behind the curve, reacting instead of leading the narrative. It’s frustrating to say the least.

            He is behind the curve because of all the other responsibilities.  If you heard the ‘town hall’ in Ohio this morning, it gives you a good idea of how the President is knowledgable on every question asked of him.  Considerably different than the previous President with the thicker resume who answers a question about jobs from someone who was working 3 jobs with “Isn’t America great!”

            I am sure that that is part of Gibbs’ frustration too.  It would be nice if more than a handful of Dems would help with getting the message out, forcefully.  I can see frustration too with the congress’ expectations, or moving expectations.  As I have said before, they complain that he hasn’t told them exactly what he wants but when he lets them know what he wants then they say “We don’t work for the Administration!”.

            But you are also right that the Administration needs to be on the offense all of the time.  It seems to me that if they are too busy to see what is coming, then the DNC should keep them informed and come up with a lot of the messaging, maybe then informed with input from the Administration.  The Administration, the congress, the DNC, the DGA and OfA all need to be working with the same messaging, just tweeked a little here and there.  They could even take one of the President’s recent fundraising speeches and pluck out the parts that they think would work best with the audience that they are addressing, well, if they are addressing an audience.  Actually, Tim Kaine does a pretty good job when he is on TV, I just don’t see him there often enough.  

            The members of congress who know the difference between speaking to ‘logic’ and speaking to ‘feelings’ need to be out there speaking to ‘feelings’.  Just because you are speaking to ‘feelings’ doesn’t mean that you aren’t also talking facts.

      3. That’s the problem, ordinary people are too busy trying to make ends meet and keep their jobs let alone to learn the intricacies of potential bills. That’s why we’re a republic, democracy can lead to witch hunts and nonsensical solutions.  

    2. Don’t you get this Deja Vu feeling that we have been here before.

      Find some group that is different and then demonize the hell out of them to make them the dreaded evil.  Insist that Democrats are either soft on this group or a part of them.  Proclaim that good white folks needed to be afraid of these devils.  Tie fighting the devils to voting Republican.

      1) Gays and Lesbians – check

      2) Muslims – check

      3) Hispanics – check

      The next time you run into these scared people ConcernTrollModerate, ask them how they think the War on Terror is going and whether we have won yet.  You can also ask them if their wedded bliss is safe from the evils of Gay Marriage.

      How many fucking times to we have to go down this road where Republicans use fear mongering to try and win elections?  How about asking this half-wits what Republicans have done to help strengthen our economy and put people back to work?  That should stump them.  They want to talk about immigration but not do anything about it because then they don’t have to talk about their plans for creating jobs and reviving our economy.

      Fucking stupid people to fall for this bullshit time after time.  Even Charlie Brown wasn’t that fucking stupid with Lucy.

        1. Instead of pursuing and capturing Osama Bin Laden and bringing to justice those responsible for the mass murders of 9/11, the Republicans went off and started a trillion dollar war with a country that wasn’t responsible and our country hasn’t been right since.  We lost our moral authority when we invaded Iraq and tortured people.  In short, Republicans are big talkers about how they are going to be tough guys but they suck at actually doing anything well.

          The War on Drugs is another bungled affair.  It gave rise to the drug gangs along the border and contributed to record incarceration rates in our prisons and for what?  Possession of a controlled substance?

          Anyone who thinks that Republicans are going to win this War on Hispanics is just a fool.

      2. You hit the nail on its head regarding the economic message, however people are emotional about this issue. Once emotion enters the picture, folks lose all sense of reality and common sense.

        We all may not like this notion but it’s the political environment we face this November. So you either swim upstream or you figure out a way to pivot the emotion and ride it out.

        Dem’s have done a terrible job with this issue and are losing the messaging war on almost every level. These are the messaging battles that will determine this Nov.  

        1. because they are being manipulated by the Republicans the same way Republicans manipulated an emotional response out of the 9/11 tragedy.  Republicans have been substituting emotional manipulation for reasoned and innovative policy proposals ever since Nixon.

          If you want to be emotional then just call it The War on Hispanics but I think it is a losing strategy because you can’t out emotion Republicans.  I would also be disappointed in Democrats is they failed to focus on solutions.  President Obama in his speech before House Democrats prior to the Health Care Reform vote said that good policy makes good politics and I believe it.  He got hammered over his Gulf Spill speech because he supposedly wasn’t emotional enough but he laid out what it would take to contain the damage and his scenario was the one that worked.  Nobody is calling it his Katrina now.  All the emotion in the world is no substitute for competence and he showed he was competent in a crisis.

          If you want to counter the emotional impact of The War on Hispanics then talk about border security and true immigration reform.  Forcibly deporting 12-20 million people is never going to happen so what do we do now about those people who are in the United States but live in the shadows?  Substitute reason and real dialogue for demagoguery and we might make a difference.

  9. I don’t even want to think about who among this crowd is sharing rooms.  Maybe they got an old VW microbus and headed out singing “Alice’s Restaurant” or maybe the old Coca Cola theme “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”.  Being on this trip takes the levels of Dante’s Inferno to a whole new and very, very scary depth.

    While this is just fun for all of us, the good news is that no one cares what they are doing and what they assert when they return.  They cannot get it through the legislature even if the R’s take both houses.  They can’t get it on the ballot for at least a year – if they can make the TABOR election test – and probably not until 2012.

    I say let them go forth (hoping that they are not guided by the Biblical charge to go forth, be fruitful and multiply) and give them lots and lots and lots of media attention.

    1. This isn’t Arizona. I think many of those who say they agree with the Arizona law, do so because they actually feel it makes sense for Arizona. When it comes to applying it to Colorado they’ll wake up and realize it’s no “solution” for us.

      And if we needed an issue to wake up the progressive base, this just may be it. Old civil rights warriors, the idealistic young and our increasing Hispanic citizenry will see this as reason to re-engage. This is naked bigotry. It’s anti business. And it’s just plain wrong. Dems will look back on this in November and thank these scum suckers.

    2. This isn’t about whether or not they can actually pass the legislation — it’s about what they can talk about doing to get votes in November.  

          1. Whether or not Republicans could pass an illegal immigration measure similar to the one in Arizona is completely a secondary issue. What the GOP wants to do here is to propose some kind of measure and then try to get Democrats to have to go on the record about it — before November — while at the same time using it as an issue to rally the non-Tea Party conservative base. This is about September and October 2010, not January 2011.  

  10. (Originally posted in the Wednesday Open Thread – I thought I would do a rerun here)

    This is the first time I ‘regret’ losing HD56 in 2008…

    …I never ‘regret’

    It’s just not my way – one door closes – many more open – that’s how God has treated me and I’m very Blessed

    However – this is the first time that I genuinely ‘regret’ losing HD56 in 2008

    Had I won, it would have been deeply fulfilling to be able to admonish my fellow Colorado GOP legislators for traveling to Arizona, in an attempt to replicate a racist 1070 law in our good State, from the bully pulpit of a State House seat

    I knocked on 20,000 doors in 2008, carrying the Conservative flag and in the process, forcing CODA to spend around $500,000 against me, an amount NO ONE thought would be spent against me, which ultimately opened the door of victory for Reps Bradford and Priola – as Mike May kindly credited towards me, Colorado was one of few States where the GOP gained seats in the State House in 2008 and that was credit to Team Hasan – we busted the CODA budget, single-handedly!!!

    …but now… now… this is what I knocked on doors for?

    I hope the GOP legislators from Colorado who have gone to Arizona, stay in Arizona – if they like it down there so much, then they should stay… forever…

    …knocking on 20,000 different doors throughout HD56 brought a humility to me that will never escape…

    …the differences between those who lived in mansions in Vail, compared to those in trailer homes on the outskirts of Edwards – the Victorian homes of Breckenridge, compared to the ‘rent-control’ apartments of Silverthorne, mostly occupied by Somalian refugees fleeing from oppression… the many searching for work in Leadville…

    …the enormous size of one State House district, stretching from Dotsero to Dillon, a land far greater than the size of any one ego…

    …the touching realization when, after knocking on your 20,000th door, you look back and realize… no matter the disparities of income… no matter the land they live on… we all had one thing in common – we all lived for an American Dream – the most precious entity on this entire planet

    Colorado laws have no place for racism – nor does the American Dream  

  11. so I would guess that it will help Republicans to push for a 1070 type bill in Colorado.

    The Democrats have resisted passing much better legislation that would have required all employers to utilize the E-verify system, so it leaves an opening for the more aggressive 1070 type legislation.

    When reasonable people fail to act (by passing a mandatory e-verify bill that the vast majority of voters from all parties support), it only strengthens those who support even stronger measures.  The Democrats only have themselves to blame if they lose because of this issue.

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