Thread: GA - Border war: Arpaio says ‘yes’ to Barr; King says ‘no’

by Joe Kirby, Otis A. Brumby III and Lee B. Garrett, - Around Town Columnists
January 28, 2014 12:19 AM

IS REPUBLICAN 11th District congressional hopeful Bob Barr of Smyrna rock-solid on enforcing and strengthening our immigration laws? Or is he a “weathervane”? It depends on who you talk to these days.

Barr has a major, $100-a-couple campaign fundraiser set for Feb. 6 at Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna. The star attraction will be Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., the self-styled “America’s Toughest Sheriff.”

He got that nickname by doing such things as using chain gangs as a source of free labor for local communities in his county and for making inmates in his jail wear pink underwear and pink handcuffs. Arpaio also was a strong supporter of Arizona’s controversial immigration law and is currently being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged racial-profiling.

Barr features an endorsement from Arpaio on his website: “Bob stood strong for our Second Amendment rights, for tax reform, for individual liberty, for a balanced budget and, perhaps most important, against Bill Clinton. We need that toughness in Washington now more than ever. I know Bob personally and have worked with him. He will deliver; he has before and he will again.”

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BARR thus would seem to have his immigration bona fides in order.

Yet there’s more — or less, depending on how you look at it — to his stance on immigration than meets the eye, according to well-known Cobb immigration reformer D.A. King.

King’s group, The Dustin Inman Society, announced Monday that it has tagged Barr — who it refers to on its website as “Weathervane Bob Barr” — as its “least favorite” of the four candidates seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) as 11th District Congressman.

King told Around Town that its non-endorsement of Barr was based on the inconsistency of his positions on possible legalization of illegal aliens and workplace verification, especially when compared with the pro-enforcement positions taken by Gingrey through the years.

“After voting to establish what is now called E-Verify while in Congress as a Republican in 1996, Barr is now opposed to the no-cost use of that job protection tool” said King of Barr, who left the Republican Party and ran as the Libertarian nominee for president in 2008 prior to circling back to the GOP fold in recent years. “This, in addition to his ongoing position that immigration be (prohibited) only for terrorists, criminals and the seriously ill doesn’t assure those of us who are paying attention on the causes and remedies surrounding our immigration and employment nightmare.”

“With apologies to Forrest Gump, maybe life is like a box of chocolates. But this is not something most of us value in a potential member of Congress,” added King, who writes occasional immigration-themed columns for the MDJ.

Other major candidates for the 11th District seat are Tricia Pridemore of Marietta, House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey of Buckhead and state Sen. Barry Loudermilk (R-Bartow).

http://www.mdjonline.com/pages/full_...20&id=24461597

Posted: 12:21 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014
By Jeremy Redmon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Republican congressional hopeful Bob Barr picked up the endorsement of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Thursday and criticized a key part of the House GOP blueprint for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws.

“Nicknamed “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Arpaio is a polarizing figure because of his aggressive efforts to crack down on illegal immigration in Arizona’s Maricopa County. Arpaio stood by Barr’s side at a news conference in Marietta Thursday, just hours before the sheriff was to speak at a campaign fundraiser for the former congressman and former federal prosecutor.

“He was a great U.S. attorney, a great congressman,” Arpaio said. “That is why I am here to help him.”

A former Libertarian presidential candidate, Barr is competing in a crowded Republican primary to replace U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey in Georgia’s 11th congressional district. Barr called Arpaio an “international spokesman for good, solid, tough law enforcement.”

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-r...-immigr/ndFsH/