Using Immigration as Pretext for Hate - Arizona Racism and Prop 200

Under the guise of addressing immigration issues, Proposition 200 fundamentally questions the legitimacy of Mexican-Americans, U.S. citizens who make up more than 25 percent of Arizona's population. To the haters - all Arizonans of Mexican descent are "foreigners." Obviously, the hatemongers don't know our state's history: Absent the immense contributions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans over many generations, Arizona would not be the great state it is. We take a back seat to no one in this regard. In fact, we have front-row V.I.P seats in the Arizona history arena. The sweat and blood of our people have irrigated this land and made it rich. We have tilled the soil. We have mined the ore. We have laid the railroad. We have died on the battlefield. We have harvested the crops. We have built the schools and universities. This deserves respect, not hate. Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are the current targets, but history teaches us that the hate agenda includes Jews, blacks, Native Americans, women, union members, poor children, gays and other "undesirables."
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Racist Republican Candidate for Congress Yelling his Support for Prop 200
Republican Joe Sweeney is running for Congress in the 7th District of Arizona. He is a self avowed racist and an ardent supporter of Prop 200. He has stated: "I hate Mexicans who come up here illegally," he says. "All this silly nonsensical crap about how they're entitled to come up here and get into our wage system and everything else. They haven't struggled for a damn thing in Mexico. They won't struggle, because they treat one another like a damn bunch of wild monkeys! I call it the vicious circle: the slave and the patron." [more ] Sweeney recently handed out flyers at a predominantly Hispanic gathering calling for an end to an economy built on "cheap 'wetback' labor" and the "arrest and removal" of all illegal immigrants in the United States. [more ].

• The 7th district stretches from Tucson to Yuma and includes all or part of six counties.  Sweeney won the Republican primary with 70 percent of the vote ( 11,500 votes)- one of the more decisive wins of any major party candidate who ran in a contested election. Sweeney will face Grijalva on the Nov. ballot.
  
• With a nod and a wink the Republican party is behind him if not exactly for him. A history of offensive comments directed at Hispanics and homosexuals prompted the Pima County Republican Party last week to consider what would have been an unprecedented move: disavowing Sweeney's candidacy. But after a 40-minute closed-door discussion, GOP leaders opted instead to do nothing. The party's central committee unanimously passed a resolution stating it would be "procedurally inappropriate" to take a position on Sweeney's candidacy considering his recent primary election victory.[more ] and [more ] and [more ]
• Listen. Joe Sweeney Sounds off on Spanish-speaking voters- calling on Republicans to monitor polling sites to protect against illegal immigrants voting. [listen ]
• More Haterade from Hicks in Arizona [here -scroll down ]  
• Hater Sweeney [more ]
• Racists Behind Anti - Immigration Initiative in Arizona: Abernathy Responds 2 [more]