Pearce goes ballistic when he's confronted by some of those he's victimized
Check out this priceless video, a link to which was sent to me by Carmen Cornejo, executive director of CADENA, an Arizona group of professors and professionals who lobby for the DREAM Act. That's the proposed legislation that would give children of undocumented parents, brought here when they were little, a path to legalization, if they serve in the military or go to college.
In the video, state Senator Russell Pearce, recently elected Senate President, is confronted on election night in the lobby of the Hyatt by two DREAM Activists, Erika Andiola and another young woman named Daniela. (The full confrontation begins about 1:07 in.)
Andiola, dressed in a graduation gown, asks Pearce about his sponsorship of Prop 300, which cut off in-state college tuition to the undocumented after it was approved by the voters in 2006.
Pearce responds by telling her you can't use taxpayer dollars on those who are in the country illegally. Andiola tries to make the point that she does pay taxes -- sales taxes, even though she is undocumented, but Pearce keeps interrupting her, belligerently, with his stock phrases, such as "Rule of law," and, "Illegal is illegal, it's not a race, it's a crime."
Daniela gently asks this bigoted beast if DREAM Act students such her, brought here when they were young, should be punished for the sins of their fathers.
"Blame your father," he tells her. "I agree with you. Shame on him."
She then deftly asks if that means he agrees that people such as her should not be punished.
"That's not the issue," Pearce replies. "I don't make the law, I enforce the law."
Of course, Pearce does make laws. He's a legislator, and now Sith Lord of Arizona by way of his state Senate presidency. Also, he's been churning out hateful legislation aimed at Hispanics since he first set foot in the legislature.
Someone in the background shouts out that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the law, meaning the guarantee of birthright citizenship therein.
"It is not the law," Pearce prevaricates. "Now you can pervert the Constitution all you want, but it doesn't work well, okay? I'm not going to listen to this garbage."
On the contrary, it's Pearce who is perverting the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship, and the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld this guarantee. Why doesn't Mr. Rule of Law respect the highest law in the land?
I'll tell you why, because Pearce is a traitor to American values. He represents a throwback to the Confederacy -- enemies of the Union, and those who've championed "states rights" at the expense of human rights and civil liberties.
Kudos to the DREAM Act students for waylaying Pearce like this. I encourage them -- and all like-minded people -- to do more of it. Nothing stops a bigot in his tracks quicker than a little taste of the truth.