When you get beyond the anger and the calls for boycotts and the real possibility of major civil rights violations, the new Arizona law on immigration really is a good thing.
It gives so many different people what they want. Republicans can use the law to appeal to their anti-immigrant base. Democrats can use the law to appeal to try to drum up Latino turnout at the polls.
And best of all, Californians can look to another state with a sense of superiority.
We don’t get enough chances to do that these days.
Feeling bad about the California budget? Arizona’s budget, in percentage terms is in much worse shape than ours.
Outraged at budget cuts to children’s programs? Arizona is the only state in the country that eliminated its health insurance program for children—got rid of it, entirely, outright. Compared to that, cuts in the safety net in California don’t seem so bad.
Embarrassed about anti-immigrant nativism in California? At least we’re not Arizona. Even our conservative politicians don’t think the Arizona legislation is a good idea.
I’m not sure a boycott of Arizona will force a change in the law, but I’m quite sure that a boycott of Arizona is good for California.
Good work by Darrell Steinberg, the top Democrat in the state Senate, for leading that charge. It’s always good to take advantage of a neighbor’s weakness to try to steal business and tourism dollars. And the more elected officials can stoke comparisons between California and Arizona, the better off we’ll be.