It doesn't happen often, so I might as well say WooHoo to myself a few times because the Obama administration did something I strongly agree with. They finally sued Arizona to block its unconstitutional, scapegoating, and racist immigration law. (This doesn't effect Arizona's racist law banning ethnic studies in the public schools, by the way.) On those rare occasions when President Obama acts like a Democrat, a glimmer of hope comes through that he will do it more often. So far, those hopes have been mercilessly squashed.

Anyway, an Arizona Democrat in Congress has shown that her state's Republicans don't have a monopoly on racism or blatant dishonesty. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-KKK) really went off the deep end in attacking the perfectly legitimate and reasonable lawsuit. (USA Today 7/6/10)

This lawsuit is a sideshow, distracting us from the real task at hand. A court battle between the federal government and Arizona will not move us closer to securing the border or fixing America's broken immigration system. The legal fights and boycotts are drawing focus and attention away from what has to be a policy-driven, substantive debate.

Washington failed us on this issue again today, and Arizonans have had enough. The White House and Congress need to start developing a better approach to border security and immigration reform, working with us instead of against us. Our law enforcement and communities are at risk right now -- this is a time for solutions, not new obstacles.

Let's unpack this filthy suitcase. As Dusty at It's My Right to Be Left of Center points out, crime in the Hate State is down 15% since 2006, violent crime by 22%. In May, a delegation of police chiefs said that the Arizona law would cause problems for law enforcement.

Also, it's Arizona's hateful and ridiculous law which is obstructing "a policy-driven, substantive debate" on immigration. The boycotts and lawsuits that this racist jackass is complaining about are bringing the issue back to what it is really about: racism and scapegoating.

Kirkpatrick also creates a sense of false urgency on the whole issue of immigration, which is one of the least important issues facing the country. Congress and the White House have much bigger issues to address than a minor problem which is being exaggerated wildly in order to scapegoat illegal aliens who can't vote instead of holding wealthy and corporate interests accountable for the enormous real pain they are causing middle class and poor Americans.

Of course, John "Keating Five" McCain and Jon Kyl were desperate to prove that Arizona Republicans could join in on this racist feeding frenzy too. This is exactly what you would expect. A kept man like John McCain whose multimillionaire wife has multiple houses would like nothing more to distract people from even thinking about reversing decades of tax cuts for his rich wife and the rest of her ilk.

A state where Democrats like Kirkpatrick are as over the top racist as the Republicans? Is that supposed to make me want to take a vacation or go to a conference there? Being surrounded by that kind of hatred and bigotry isn't even slightly inviting to me.

Photo: SanFranAnnie