MONEY TALKS, AS USUAL

The state senate voted down 5 proposed anti-immigration bills, a move that frankly surprised me because of all the wingnuts in the senate.

Arizona Senate rejects 5 migrant bills
Birthright citizenship splits Senate GOP
by Alia Beard Rau - Mar. 18, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Arizona won't be leading a national push for the U.S. Supreme Court to strip citizenship status from children of illegal immigrants - at least not this year.

The state Senate voted down a package of birthright-citizenship bills, with Republicans split over the measures and Democrats opposed.

Four other significant Senate immigration measures also failed. Those bills would have banned illegal immigrants from state universities, made it a crime for illegal immigrants to drive a vehicle in Arizona, required school districts to check the legal status of students, and required hospitals to check the legal status of patients.

The main characters behind these bills were two Bagger wackos:

Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who authored last year's SB 1070 and has been working on the issue of birthright citizenship for years, said he was disappointed.

He said he believes polls indicating that Americans support strengthening immigration enforcement, "yet apparently we are not going to give them the chance to do that."

He and the bill's sponsor, Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, questioned how Republican lawmakers who voted no will be able to face voters.

What seems to have changed some GOP senators minds was a letter from major Arizona CEOs:

Sen. John McComish, R-Phoenix, cited a letter that 60 Arizona chief executives sent to lawmakers this week asking them to stop the measures because they would hurt business.

McComish said that Republicans' plan for the session focused on the economy, and he argued that they should stay the course.

"These immigration bills are a distraction," he said. "They could be a detriment to the growth of our economy, and they are something people don't want us to be focused on. It's time for us to take a timeout on immigration."

Here's the entire letter:

Dear President Pearce,

Thank you for your willingness to serve Arizona as a Member of the Arizona State Senate. We, like you, are concerned about the challenges facing our State, particularly the need to address our structural deficit and insure an economic environment that attracts and retains high quality jobs.

While we recognize the desire for states like Arizona to fill the leadership vacuum left by federal inaction on immigration, we strongly believe it is unwise for the Legislature to pass any additional immigration legislation, including any measures leaving the determination of citizenship to the state.

We agree with you that our borders must be protected first, and now. We also believe that market-driven immigration policies can and should be developed by the federal government that will sustain America's status as a magnet for the world's most talented and hard-working people and preserve our ability to compete in the global economy.

If the Legislature believes it is worthwhile to debate the question of citizenship, we believe that debate is best held in the U.S. Congress. Already, Senators David Vitter of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky have introduced legislation aimed at amending the 14th Amendment to deny "birthright citizenship" to those born to individuals living in the U.S. illegally. Iowa Rep. Steve King has introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House.

Arizona's lawmakers and citizens are right to be concerned about illegal immigration. But we must acknowledge that when Arizona goes it alone on this issue, unintended consequences inevitably occur. Last year, boycotts were called against our state's business community, adversely impacting our already-struggling economy and costing us jobs. Arizona-based businesses saw contracts cancelled or were turned away from bidding. Sales outside of the state declined. Even a business which merely had "Arizona" in its name felt the effects of the boycotts, compelling them to launch an educational campaign about their company's roots in Brooklyn. It is an undeniable fact that each of our companies and our employees were impacted by the boycotts and the coincident negative image.

Tourism, one of our state's largest industries and employment centers, also suffered from negative perceptions after the passage of SB 1070. The fact Governor Brewer directed $250,000 to repairing Arizona's reputation strongly suggests these efforts – whether fair or unfair - are harmful to our image.

Let us be clear: our dissension with legislative action on the state level does not translate to our being "pro-illegal immigration." To the contrary, we believe Congress must address border security, identity theft, sound and implementable employment verification systems and policies and the creation of a meaningful guest worker program. Therefore, we urge the Legislature to redirect its energy by joining us in pressing the federal government for meaningful immigration reform. Together, we can get results.

Respectfully,

* Drew Brown, Managing Director, DMB Associates, Inc.
* Philip Francis, Executive Chairman, PetSmart; Chairman, GPL
* Ronald Butler, Arizona Managing Partner, Ernst & Young
* W. Douglas Parker, Chairman, President/CEO, U.S. Airways Group
* Ronald Brown, President, Atrium Holding Company
* Richard Dozer, Chairman, GenSpring Family Offices
* Stephen Rizley, Sr. Vice President/General Mgr., Cox Communications, Inc.
* Daniel Connor, President/CEO, Blood Systems
* John Graham, President, Sunbelt Holdings
* Peter Fine, President/CEO, Banner Health
* Craig Phelps, Provost, A.T. Still University
* Jeff Whiteman, President/CEO, Empire Southwest LLC
* Thomas Sadvary, President/CEO, Scottsdale Healthcare
* William Coats, Chief Executive Officer, The Leona Group
* Herman Chanen, Chairman/CEO, The Chanen Corporation
* Lee Hanley, Chairman/CEO, Vestar Development Company
* William Schubert, Chairman, Kitchell Corporation
* Jon Pettibone, Managing Partner, Quarles & Brady LLP
* Paul Dykstra, Chairman, President/CEO, Viad Corporation
* David Bruno, Vice Chairman, Managing Director, DHR International, Inc.
* Marty Laurel, Vice President, Blue Cross Blue Shield of AZ
* James Gentile, President/CEO, Research Corp for Science Adv.
* Roger Vogel, Chairman, President/CEO, Vante Medical Technologies
* Michael Duran, Vice President, Chief Dev. Off., TMC Healthcare/TMC Found.
* F. Michael Geddes, Chairman, President, Geddes and Company
* Bruce Beach, CEO, BeachFleischman PC, Chairman, SALC
* J. Doug Pruitt, Chairman/CEO, Sundt Construction, Inc.
* Brian Johnson, Managing Director, Loews Ventana Canyon
* Peter Likins, President Emeritus, University of Arizona
* Robert Delgado, President/CEO, Hensley Beverage Company
* Michael Kennedy, President, Gallagher & Kennedy P.A.
* Bruce Dusenberry, President, Horizon Moving Systems, Inc.
* Robert Underwood, Chief Executive Officer, Underwood Brothers, Inc.
* Shelly Esque, Vice President, Legal/Corp Affairs, Intel Corporation
* Denise Resnik, President, Denise Resnik & Associates
* Vince Roig, Chairman/CEO, Helios Foundation
* Constance Perez, Chief Executive Officer, Adreima
* Susan Williams, President/Founder, HR Choice
* Kevin Sandler, President/CEO, ExhibitOne Corporation
* Debbie Johnson, President/CEO, Arizona Hotel & Lodging Assoc
* Jim Click, Jr., President, Jim Click Automotive
* David Cohen, Executive Vice President, Team BeachFleishman PC
* Donald Pitt, President, Campus Research Corporation
* Alan Klein, Board Chair, So. Arizona Lodging & Resort Ass.
* Michael Kasser, President, Holualoa Companies
* Linda Hunt, Area President, CHW Arizona, President/CEO, St. Joseph's Hosp
* John Zidich, CEO/Publisher, Arizona Republic
* Howard Fleischmann, Owner, Community Tire & Auto Repair
* Nancy Stone, President, ILX Resorts, Inc.
* Janice Cox, Retired CEO, Carondelet Foundation
* Don Budinger, Chairman/Founding Director, The Rodel Foundations
* David Anderson, President, Off Madison Avenue
* Steven Wheeler, Chairman, Greater Phoenix Chamber
* Bill Calloway, Plant Manager, Nestle-Purina, Flagstaff
* J.R. Murray, Chairman, Flagstaff Forty
* Kenneth Lamneck
* Frances Merryman
* The following inclusion of names is authorized, but signatures were not available at the time of printing.
* Reginald Ballantyne III, Senior Corporate Officer, Vanguard Health Systems, Inc.
* Gerrit van Huisstede, Regional President, Wells Fargo Bank
* Earl Petznick, Jr., President/CEO, Northside Hay Company