SCARBOROUGH TELLS IT LIKE IT IS…. Credit where credit is due: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough criticized Arizona’s new immigration law this morning, and did so in a compelling, persuasive way.
As the former Republican congressman put it, “…It does offend me when one out of every three citizens in the state of Arizona are Hispanics, and you have now put a target on the back of one out of three citizens, who, if they’re walking their dog around a neighborhood, if they’re walking their child to school, and they’re an American citizen, or a legal, legal immigrant — to now put a target on their back, and make them think that every time they walk out of their door they may have to prove something. I will tell you, that is un-American. It is unacceptable and it is un-American.”
I’m not sure if I’ve ever agreed so strongly with Joe Scarborough.
Atrios added, “I’m not usually one to highlight right wingers saying reasonable things, but I think on this issue it’s a positive sign that even Joe Scarborough isn’t on board with the Arizona horror show.”
Of course, Scarborough is no longer in Congress, and need not worry about offending the Republican Party’s far-right base or donors. What I’d really like to see is some current GOP officials speak out this forcefully on the issue. Thus far, according to research from ThinkProgress, only one sitting Republican member of Congress — Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American lawmaker in Miami — has been willing to speak out strongly against the Arizona measure.
Here’s hoping he’s not the only one.
