Judge Sotomayor

It cracks me up that people like Limbaugh are questioning Sotomayor's qualifications and mentioning GW's record of choosing court nominees. I agree: she's no Harriet Miers.

Suggestion for Don Bivens: Choose Both

There are two finalists for the job of Arizona Democratic Party Executive Director and state chairman Don Bivens is deciding between the two sometime this week. His choice is between two well-known Democrats who both could do the job. But my question is this: why pick one when you can get both?

My main concern, having been an Executive Director myself, is that some people have this odd notion that the Executive Director should be a fund-raiser. That's a big mistake. The Executive Director needs to focus on strategy, candidate identification and training, providing assistance to county party organizations, and staff management. Fundraising takes up a tremendous amount of time and you really can't have one person in charge of that as well as everything else. It's an impossible task and I would strongly argue it's a recipe for failure. It's a truly bad idea.

That being said, were Bivens to chose one of the candidates, he'd get a twofer. He'd keep in the fold one of the state's best fundraisers ever doing what she clearly does best, which will be very useful in the coming election. He'd also get someone who has experience in working campaigns, developing strategy, the private sector, managing people, and someone who has the support of a broad range of state and county officials. It's a win-win.

So Don, if you're listening, chose both. The party will be better off for it.

What someone should have said...

There was another circus at the state capitol yesterday. There was nearly five hours of "testimony" (if you can call people giving opinions, but no proof "testimony') at a public hearing held in the Arizona State Senate by Sen. Russell Pearce about how the state and country is going to hell in a hand basket because of "illegal immigrants" and their drain on society. The fact that their claim isn't true is irrelevant. The immigration-mongers needed a forum and Pearce provided it.

What motivated me was the lack of any comment from those who oppose this type of public witch hunt. It was totally absent from yesterday's events and today's news coverage. In my view, this was an opportunity lost. Here's what they could have said..but didn't.

Today, May 21, 2009, Arizona’s citizens were subjected to yet another media circus by Republicans Russell Pearce, Joe Arpaio and Andy Thomas in an attempt to distract attention away from their inability to solve the state’s budget, ongoing investigations into their operations and other managerial problems by discussing an issue they think they know about: immigration.

Today we heard Pearce, Arpaio and Thomas, and a group of hand-chosen, ax-grinding “witnesses” and “experts” make the same old tired arguments that have been shown to be false by federal and state law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, by some of the world’s top research universities including Stanford, Harvard, ASU and U of A, and by well respected think tanks such as the Pew Center for Hispanic Studies. We heard a lot of false accusations, distorted statistics, half-truths and complaints, but nothing about solutions. We heard a lot about enforcement, but nary a word on how to improve the processes that makes our border more manageable and safe.

The fact is, finding a practical solution to solving the immigration problem was not discussed at all. What we heard was how all of the problems facing this state can be scapegoated on the backs of any Hispanic-looking person, whether they are undocumented or not. All of the problems of the world were placed today on the backs of any who sorta kinda, just maybe, possibly, could somehow, however remotely likely, is here without papers. What we heard today was another series of excuses for justifying unconstitutional treatment of citizens and immigrants, the trampling of civil rights and the abuse of power.

These types of hearings give credence to the types of hate that promotes racist, neo-Nazi attacks such the one earlier this month at the Chabad of the East Valley, a Jewish learning center in Chandler. In that attack, swastikas, anti-Jewish comments, and vulgar symbols were spray-painted throughout the building.

These types of hearings give rise to the explosive growth of hate groups in our community, which have grown over 54% since 2000. In fact, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Arizona is one of few states with the fastest growing numbers of hate groups in the nation.

These types of hearings give rise to the stunning increase of hate-ladened comments on newspaper blogs and at protests. At the recent march, YouTube video exists of Sheriff Arpaio’s neo-Nazi supporters giving the “Sieg Heil” salute and yelling “look at the Jew, look at the Jew. ” These are just a couple of disturbing examples of an escalating tide of hate in our community, and it can all be laid at the feet of Pearce, Arpaio and Thomas.

Sen. Pearce will say that he invited others to come and testify and they chose not to, and rightly so. Having a debate doesn’t mean you get asked leading questions that require complex answers or to play “gotcha.” Even the Arizona Republic in Wednesday's editorial said there would be “precious little fact-finding or honest debate” at this hearing, and they were right.

We’re interested in finding solutions to the problem that extend beyond the emotional rhetoric we heard today. Laying the blame for all of society’s ills on poor people who can’t defend or speak for themselves because of governmental policies is simply put, cowardly.

We call on the state’s more reasonable politicians to join us and let’s discuss solutions that solve the economic and border issues in a way that is fair and that increases opportunity for everyone. Let’s create public informational forums where the real facts can be presented and discussed. We will never solve the problem by pointing fingers and laying blame. We’ll solve it by thinking (with the big head) and working together to find something that works for everyone while honoring our nation’s commitment to justice and fairness.

Putting Pearce, et. al. on notice that they don't get to frame the debate alone is long overdue. It'd be nice if some political party or group of politicians would weigh in and hold these people and their facts up to the bright sunlight of the truth and stop the spread of misinformation. People who have a better and broader grasp of the data need to step up and make their information known. For without some public voice, Pearce, Arpaio and Thomas will continue to drive the immigration debate as they want it to be, not what it really is.