Russell Pearce Bigot Bash at Central High School Library CANCELED!!! (w/Update)

Of course, the rednecks calling in are mostly doing so from Mesa, Cave Creek, etc., and would be petrified to be anywhere near downtown Phoenix after dark, so I don't think Oaxaca's too worried. In fact, as I was leaving, one couple offered that they had stopped by to eat there in order to support Oaxaca's decision.

Suck on that, haters. Bottom line: Your white-pride poster boy has been pantsed in front of the entire high school. By Napoleon Dynamite's pal Pedro, no less.

Indeed, consider the humiliation of of Pearce having been the most powerful man in the state, referred to as the "de facto governor," and now having his fundraiser canceled not by one, or two, but three venues, all on the same day. 

This is Russell Pearce's fate. It's also karma. Pearce scheduled his fundraiser for the same day as his Republican primary opponent Bob Worsley, in an attempt at intimidating Worsley and drawing lobbyists away from the businessman's event. 

Obviously the plan, as choreographed by uber-sleaze Constantin Querard, failed miserably. CQ kept the location a secret till the last minute, scheduling it at one of his favorite haunts -- Macayo's on Central. 

But the insult of using a Mexican restaurant to fete the biggest anti-Latino bigot in the nation reverberated throughout the Latino and activist communities. The beautiful thing about today is that the Pearce-Querard axis was shut down by a team effort, a team that operated intuitively, without overt coordination.

Spontaneously, DeeDee Blase's Tequila Party and Randy Parraz's Citizens for a Better Arizona each applied pressure. Individual activists jumped into the fray, making calls first to Macayo's, then Oaxaca's, then Central High School. Demonstrators prepared to assemble at a moment's notice each time the Pearce fundraiser was forced to move.

Behind the scenes, influential individuals intervened. For example, state Senator and Congressional Candidate David Schapira told me he put in a call to the superintendent of the Phoenix High School District, as Pearce's crowd was headed toward Central High. 

Ultimately, the plug was pulled on the final locale. But as with last year's recall, it was a cooperative effort, with Democrats, conservatives, Mormons, Latinos, Anglos, you name it, all focusing on a common goal, all joining ranks and putting aside differences to combat a shared enemy.

In other words, pat yourselves on the back, and get ready to fight the Battle of the Bulge one last time. And no, I ain't talkin' about Pearce's bloated waistline.

The failure of Querard and Pearce to successfully hold a pretty standard sort of fundraiser is indicative of how far they've fallen, and of how poor their judgment is. 

But they are desperate men, their backs to a wall, fighting for political survival and relevance.

The good news is, their army is small and growing smaller with every day that passes. They do not have the opposition's numbers, or diversity. Neither are they energized by a higher cause. They will blunder, as they did today, stumble, and fall, until they are crushed by our total victory over their mendacity, corruption and ideological extremism.

When Pearce falls in the August 28 Republican primary, his second defeat in less than a year, it will finally be over. V-E day redux. Opponents need only press on and maintain the same level of focus that was exhibited today. If so, first round's on me as soon as the polls close.

UPDATE 4:30 P.M.: Just received a call from Phoenix Union School District's community relations office. They tell me they've CANCELED Pearce's event, as they don't have the security to handle it.