Changing the Faces of Hatred

After getting thrown out of office in a recall election, you would think some politicians finally would realize that scapegoating and bashing illegal immigrants is not really a good idea, right?

Nah! Not if you are the face of hatred, the poster boy of xenophobes — not if you are Russell Pearce. You have an image to maintain.

Even after voters sent the Republican Arizona Senate president packing in a Nov. 8 recall election; even after that election clearly served as a referendum to reject his draconian behavior; even after voters replaced him with another Republican who vowed to stay away from "hateful rhetoric;" the architect of Arizona's infamous, anti-immigrant Senate Bill 1070 legislation was as arrogant as ever.

"I have not decided whether or not I will run again for the State Senate — or another office," Pearce wrote in a defiant article for Politico. "I promise you though, that I will not retreat from this fight."

Of course, "this fight" is a reference to his obsession with persecuting immigrants. In his outrageous article titled, "It Took a Recall to Defeat Me," Pearce inexplicably still takes credit for conduct the voters rejected!

Voters in Arizona's District 18 recalled Pearce and elected political newcomer Jerry Lewis by a 53.4-to 45.3-percent margin. Lewis won by arguing that our immigration laws need to be reformed "in a way that bespeaks our humanity." He spoke of the need for federal reforms "to be considerate of the families, and provide a means for those already here to square themselves with the law."

Instead of alienating Latinos, who represent more 30 percent of his district, Lewis went knocking on their doors. And he proved that a compassionate Republican can be elected with resounding Latino support, even in Arizona!

But Pearce simply refuses to hear the will of the people. "This issue has now become bigger than me — and bigger than Arizona," Pearce wrote, as if the opinion of his own constituents didn't matter. "We have inspired other states to take action. More than 34 states are now proposing legislation modeled on SB 1070. Alabama, South Carolina, Utah and Georgia have already passed bills."

Actually, he inspired other right-wing extremists and political opportunists who thought they could score cheap political points by wearing the face of hatred and scapegoating immigrants.

Now that Pearce has been recalled, you would think that other politicians would stop trying to emulate his angry act, right? Unfortunately, that's not what history tells us. These ideologues don't learn, not even from their own repeated mistakes.

They don't see the inevitable political backlash from Latinos and other Americans who are disgusted by their inhumane treatment of immigrants. And so they keep bashing immigrants until the voters boot them out of office.

Somehow, quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Hasta la vista, baby" seems appropriate here.

I can think of at least three other xenophobic poster boys who didn't learn from the public's rejection of their mean-spirited politics: former California Gov. Pete Wilson, former California Rep. Bob Dornan and former Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo. These men thought they could actually ride the Republican, anti-immigrant bandwagon all the way to the presidency, but they would only be soundly rejected by voters and see their measures mostly rejected by the courts

But they never learn! Even after his constituents voted Pearce out of office and elected another Republican with a much more moderate position on immigration, Pearce listed all the draconian measures he has promoted in Arizona since 2006 and bragged about having pressured other Republican politicians into becoming hawks on immigration.

"Before I introduced SB 1070, Arizona political luminaries like Sen. John McCain and Rep. Jeff Flake were leading sponsors of amnesty for illegal immigrants," Pearce wrote. "But since we passed it, most of our GOP (members of Congress) and senators at least give lip service to supporting patriotic immigration enforcement."

Of course, there is nothing "patriotic" about the anti-immigrant climate Pearce has created in Arizona and other states that have emulated his racial profiling measures. It's an atmosphere that has allowed the current GOP presidential candidates to talk about wacky ideas such as denying U.S. citizenship to "anchor babies" and electrifying border fences. It's what makes them unapologetic for their insensitivity toward all Latinos.

After we've seen so many immigration hawks suffer embarrassing defeats, you would think that Republican strategists would advise them against the foolishness of using immigration as a wedge issue to divide the American people. You would think Republicans would learn to stop demonizing our "tired ... poor ... huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."

But under the climate of fear and hatred created by Russell Pearce — a legacy he seems to be proud of — this is going to be difficult. Fear-mongering zealots are very well organized. Pearce's partner in promoting anti-immigrant measures, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, still wears the face of hatred.

Nevertheless, some immigrant rights activists are already dreaming of other elections to rid themselves of Brewer and other immigration hardliners. They see Pearce's defeat as a turning-point victory against those who promote intolerance. They think they found a way to change the faces of hatred, and we want to believe they are right.

It might only be wishful thinking, but we can dream, can't we?

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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