Association of Immigration and Nationality Lawyers was the first organization to cancel its convention in Arizona. San Francisco mayor has banned all travel to Arizona. No doubt more boycotts will follow.
What is surprising is that Rubio, the Tea Party senate candidate from Florida, one of the most extreme of Republicans around, has not come out in support of the bill, he does not like the bill. Some national Republican figures (Jeb Bush among them) have also come out against the bill.
This bill poses a difficult problem for Republicans. Their natural hatred, natural revulsion of brown skin makes them want to support the legislation. However, they are aware of the political realities. Hispanic is a large and growing minority and Republicans can ill afford to offend them. Looks like Arizona law may cause a serious rift in the Republican Party.
It will be interesting to see if Tea Party comes out in support of the legislation. Teabaggers are always yapping about too much government intrusion in peoples’ lives, getting government out of peoples’ business etc., in a mealy mouthed way. Well, this is the ultimate intrusion in the life of Hispanics. You may be sure that police are not going to pull over a blue eyed blonde and ask her for her papers. They will pull over only Hispanic looking, brown skinned people and harass them about papers.
So if teabaggers are true to their principles, they will come out strongly against the legislation. But then my theory is the Tea Party is simply the extreme right wing Republican base, so I assume they will be all for the legislation.
Anyway, it is amusing to see Republican party squirm over this one.