Monday, May 24, 2010
Legislature Praising Arizona: State House Hails Anti-Immigration Law
Posted by Jeff Woods on Mon, May 24, 2010 at 5:26 PM
House Democratic leader Gary Odom said Nashville tourism officials are worried that the resolution could curtail convention business in the city as we struggle to recover from the flood.
“This law is creating chaos” in Arizona, where millions of dollars worth of convention business has canceled, Odom said.
“It’s the wrong message to send to attract people to our state. We don’t need to put our great state in the middle of this controversy. We don’t need to lose one convention. We can’t afford to lose one convention because we send the wrong message out embracing such a controversial state law.”
“This is all about political posturing,” Rep. Ulysses Jones, D-Memphis, said.
Said Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis:
“I can’t believe in a time of budget crisis and a disaster of unheard-of proportions where we’ve got citizens who are homeless and hungry, and we’ve had people killed, and yet we’re about to get in the middle of somebody else’s mess.”
But the resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Joe Carr of Murfreesboro, said if Arizona is beset by controversy, “that is all the more reason we need to stand with Arizona.” He said his resolution tells that state “you’re doing the right thing by protecting your citizens.”
The debate went on for close to an hour, even though Speaker Kent Williams called it “kind of ridiculous.” House GOP caucus chairman Glen Casada said, “Number one, I’ve never heard so much belly aching in all my life. I have never in my life heard such foolishness.” He said Arizona was merely trying to protect its citizens from illegal immigrants.
Update: Here's the roll call. Democrats voting yes included Butch Borchert, Ty Cobb (the guy Democrats love to tout as the party's future), Charlie Curtiss, Henry Fincher, Dennis Ferguson, Craig Fitzhugh, George Fraley, John Litz, Mike McDonald, Ben West and Eddie Yokley. With Democrats like these Profiles in Courage, who needs Republicans? It's votes like this one that make Tennessee elections irrelevant. Why should voters care which party controls the legislature?
Update II: Carr wastes no time beating his chest in a press release. “For the past decade, this country has seen a sharp increase in illegal immigration. The federal government has failed to take any decisive action to curb this illegal activity, thus forcing the states to act. Arizona is to be commended for taking bold steps to address this problem,” Carr says.
Update III: Aunt B weighs in. "Barker, Bass, Borchert, Ty Cobb, Curtiss, Ferguson, Fincher, Fitzhugh, Fraley, Litz, McDonald, Shepard, Tidwell, West, Winningham, and Yokley all have decided that their need to stand up for glorious Arizona is more important than passing a budget."
Comments (28)
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Thank you, brave lawmakers of the Great State of Tennessee. I'll pass the word that Tennessee stands with Arizona.
From Flagstaff, Arizona.
ps: I will be visiting your wonderful state in October.
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Do the right thing. Support Arizona!!!!!
I've been to Tennessee many times.
I love it. Don't let the ILLEGALS ruin it.
Like here in California.
God bless the 67 votes of yes; the hell with all the rest. The times a comin & soon you'll stand up for America or you'll be run out.
"if ye love wealth better htan liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animation contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and my posterity forget that ye were our Countrymen"
Good for you, Tennessee! this law is just supporting the Federal Immigration law. good luck with your flood recovery. too bad we can't figure out a way to send some of your rain here to New Mexico
Thanks for standing with us!
It really is THAT dangerous here, it doesn't help hearing all the liberals crying foul when their lives and property aren't in constant peril.
Most people I know often carry a weapon (we do), why do you suppose that is?
BF in Chandler, AZ
At last! It is about time Americans stand up against the P.C. ovement in this country.
I'm sure nobody didn't already know the LOSERS, that most definitely fill every elected state representitive and senate seat in Tennessuck. Sucky music, sucky climate, and sucky racists being elected every election because they have family values and jerk off their Baptist ministers after sermon each Sunday. And I'm sorry Tennessee, and I know most of our political systems have become a Christian popularity contest where you throw around the word "liberal" like you don't know what it means, but these hacks represent your State(All liberal states can’t be counted here because they actually make judgments based on reason and factual observation most of the time)!
Racist losers haved now defined your state's image to the rest of us, and reaffirmed my observations of South's religious elitist's continued clandestine affirmation that "They are higher and mightier than people of color." Shame on you, and this is coming from a pale Caucasion male! I've had to shake your hands and smile at you before, when what you really needed was a big smeaming dump on your head.
I hope this bankrupts your sweaty little State, and if I'm really lucky, it will scare your even crappier music tradition all the way to Timbucktoo! Ok, I'll drop my belief that country music should go dry and dead, because I am speaking from a enlightened, reasonably tolerant viewpoint. And when you have well over 20 million illegals wandering around your country it's a little late for such a blatant, covertly racist law to be passed. Not to mention it's just plain cheap when considering what these poor hombres y madres have to take, once they arrive to the "Land of the Double Standard." We've got real problems like an intractable war, energy independence, the economy. Tell your elected ASSES to work on situations that bear real merit; they can go to their KKK rallies in woods on their own, private time. I say good DAY!~
Lol fitting a state known for the trogladytic music called 'country' would support that law. Small towns, small minds. Thanks for reminding us that the south is still backwards and incapable of matching anything the north has to offer.
Go Tennessee. We must take care of ourselves since the Obama government will not and will cave in to anything.
Point of fact AZ isn't hurting much from the so called boycott. The Gov. started a commission to find replacements for those bullied by these protests against AZ enforcing the law and guess what, replacements are being found Go for it Tennessee, I bet you wind up with even more business because you have the grit to take a stand representing the majority of this country. And if you haven't heard the history, Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower all did sweeps of the country for illegal aliens sending millions back to their countries. This isn't without president (except our current one of course who seems to listen less and less to the wants of the majority of voters)
Shit. Arizona has legalized medical marijuana. Lets mimic them some more m-----f-----s. Go for it.
Who says Volunteer State Rednecks don't understand how things are.
Tennessee just reinforced my opinion as a wonderful place to live and work. Thank you for standing up for real Americans and not bowing at the feet of the race baiters who are boycotting AZ. We (my family) are vacationing in AZ next time out to show our Texan support for AZ's bravery.
It is REAL nice to see other states standing up to be counted in support of Arizona. Good job Tennessee, good job.
Be careful what you wished for... I was working Israel in the early seventies when the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza was less than 10 years old. It was obvious to me then that the Palestinians were so pervasive in Israel physically that if they ever turn hostile in large number Israel would be at risk, and eventually doomed over time. The first Intifada broke out almost exactly 20 years later, then the second, and then...the dance of death and destruction goes on. This country has only one group that could seriously threaten us. And it is not Arabs. All that anti-Muslim post-9/11 is hysteria to manipulate gullible people who scare easily. There is not an Arab population base sufficient for causing wide spread grief. If there was, the easy access to fire arms in this country would have produced one disaster after another. But the Hispanics, like the Palestinians in their time, move like ghosts among us as we studiously try not to notice how we have handed over all the underclass employment to them that we willing accept while piously pretending otherwise. Want your lawn cut, your day labor, your cheap meat butchered, etc. The Hispanics are large enough, 1/3 of the population jointly, speak the language of the main populace who do not speak their language, and know the intimate details of work and life in this country. This is one group that you do not want to provoke. Or you will find all those terrorist fantasy that have advantage of being about as real as a Friday the 13th movie, will become real. Be smart and adjust to immigration reform, at least don't provoke them, or be ready for very unpleasant times created by those too stupid to consider the impact of their own actions. Karma really sucks for idiots.
I live in California and hope that more states especially those bordering Mexico will stand with Arizona. Anyone with half a brain can see that Arizona is only trying to protect their legal residents, which is what the federal government has failed to do. In my opinion, amnesty will only encourage more illegals to come here. It’s time to let other countries fend for themselves and get our noses out of their business unless they are a direct threat to our security. I’m so sick of liberals taking from the middle class and giving to those that ether won’t work or don’t pay taxes. I’m proud to be an American and if the government wants to give me an I.D. card to prove to the authorities that I’m legal, I will be proud to show it.
The word is precedent. Genius. And the problem with the law isn't what it does to Hispanics I frankly could care less about that, it's about expanding powers to idiots with Iqs of 80 and badges over ALL Americans like me, There doesn't need to be a crime committed just suspicion. That is why this law is AWFUL and so is the entire South for supporting it. Guess we should not come to expect more from a region where the only thing important about colleges are the football and basketball teams.
To pinhead or pinetree. One word sums up Arizona's right and duty to take the stated action we did: Illegal! This is also why NO BOYCOTT WILL WORK. The promoters of such will have to convince everyone that the advantage of no official or otherwise record that you are in this country does not give an advantage to criminals(THIS IS REAL -A REAL PROBLEM). Further, what other means besides "carding" folks that look like they may be from the area most trespasser are coming from, only after they have been observed by law enforcement in the commission of another crime, do we have? What is unfair about that. Nothing! THe game is obfuscation of the truth. They want to blur the line, effectively removing the distinction between legal immigration and illegal immigration.
I live in Arizona. The state legislature has been trying to pass a law like this for years to correct the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell immigration policy that has been the unspoken, but adhered to policy of the various law enforcement agencies in the state. SUch inaction has enboldened and even encouraged the Drug Cartels who are assassinating Government officials in Mexico, to expand their enterprise and violence into our state. WE LEAD THE NATION IN KIDNAPPINGS!!! This is a direct function of the human-trafficking business that flourished under such a riddicules non-enforcement era. Thank God that's over!!!
Interesting that 8 of the 19 comments here as of 11:32pm are from posters in Western states. Is this the constituency the General Assembly intends to serve?
What are you people thanking Tennessee for? Just another in a series of meaningless roll call votes meant to appeal to rednecks and Xenophobes, some of which are apparently commenting on this board. This is one reason that Tennessee (and I actually live here, unlike many of the commenters) has one of the most ridiculous legislatures in the country. They spend their time holding votes to "congratulate" another state. Yeah, great work (sarcasm intended)!
It is a pretty sad commentary that our legislators can support the oppression of the poor and transient, but won't lift a finger to censure or fine businesses that recruit and exploit the cheap labor of those poor and transient.
I think many people are forgetting that these laws and opinions are not geared toward the Hispanic population in general. The key words here are "illegal immigrants" aka citizens from another country who have not followed through with the proper channels to live in the United States legally. They have broken the law--they are not US citizens with US citizen rights. This issue is not an issue of race; it's an issue of law and maintaining the order that was established for all of our ancestors to follow when they made their trek to America. Everyone seems to lose sight of that fact.
I don't believe it's fair or right to call people ignorant and racist for standing up for something that has become a very horrific issue, especially for our border states who've been infiltrated with higher crime rates and job scarcity due to the amount of non-citizens entering their cities. I think it's fair point, and if everyone treated each other with a little respect-- attitudes from the level of a news forum like this all the way through to congress and the white house, maybe some positive steps could be made to correct the many large and complicated issues we're dealing with now as a country.
Obama to Send 1,200 Guard Troops to Mexico Border!
Gee I guess there must be a problem there. I wonder if the Liberals will complain about that?
I am attending a conference in AZ in September and can not wait to spend money there. No Boycott for me-i am on a Buy-Cott. Just plain old support for the constitution and sovereign law is all AZ is looking for support with.
I will also be traveling to TN for more business as soon as possible.
I wish some of these commentors would read the text of the law before they assume any racist dialogue from protesters and embarass themselves by trying to comment. SB 1070 has nothing to do with racism.
Thank you from a CA native. My once great state is going down, due to massive illegal immigration. Check the Census stats. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/img/usa-b…
Language other than English U.S. 17.9% -- AZ 25.9% -- CA 39.5% -- TN 4.8% -- TX 31.2%
National Clearinghouse English Language Learners
http://www.nn.k12.va.ud/esl/ncela_fast_faq…
...excerpt: In both elementary (Pre-K to Grade 5) and secondary (Grades 6-12) education, more ELLs in America are native born than are foreign born.
These stats represent not only education $$, but the future of your children, whose education is put at risk by the rising tide of illegal immigrants.
Tennessee needs to pass a budget for our own people before we pat the backs of other backward fat cat small state legislatures.
