Thread: When Heroes Go Down (Thoughts On Russell Pearce's Recall)

http://american-rattlesnake.org/2011/11 ... s-go-down/

[quote]I’ll discuss this at length in the days ahead, but I’d be remiss in not reporting the news that Senator Pearce seems to have been recalled by voters in Arizona’s Legislative District 18. The people who want to turn Arizona into a haven for illegal aliens would appear to have achieved a significant political victory, although it should be noted that they needed to resort to gross deception in order to win. Even so, it can’t be denied that this is a huge feather in the cap of a well-funded, media-supported open borders political machine and that the strategy used to unseat Majority Leader Pearce will be replicated throughout the country whenever a public official has the temerity to stand up for the civil rights of his constituents.

I’m loathe to make a snap analysis of tonight’s results, and will temper my remarks by reminding everyone that this fight will be a long, protracted struggle, but the fact that Lewis won by such a large margin will undoubtedly buttress the heretofore weak argument cautioning politicians against taking a tough stand on immigration issues, lest you be punished by “moderateâ€

Arizona immigration crackdown leader trails in recall

David Schwartz Reuters

3:00 a.m. EST, November 9, 2011

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A powerful Republican state Senate leader who championed Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants appeared headed for early removal from office on Tuesday in a historic recall election, returns showed.

With all precincts reporting, state Senate President Russell Pearce was trailing his chief challenger, Republican newcomer and charter school administrator Jerry Lewis, by 7 percentage points, 45.4 percent to 52.4 percent.

Election officials said the final outcome remained uncertain due to an unknown number of early votes and provisional ballots that remained to be tabulated.

Still, Pearce all but conceded his ouster in remarks to supporters late on Tuesday, saying, "It doesn't look like the numbers are going my direction in this, and I'm OK with that."

"I intend to spend a little time with my God, my wife and my family and reassess where we need to go," he added.

Lewis declared victory in what he called a "historic upset" over a prominent incumbent with long list of influential backers and a 3-to-1 fund-raising advantage.

The race in the conservative Phoenix suburb of Mesa is believed to be the first recall election ever mounted against a state legislator in Arizona.

The recall movement was galvanized mainly by Pearce's role as chief architect of a state law that required police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain and suspect is in the country illegally.

Enactment of the measure, signed by Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010, ignited a furor among Latino and civil rights activists, including calls for an economic boycott of Arizona, and sparked a court challenge by the Obama administration.

A federal judge has thrown out key provisions of the law, including the mandate for police checks of immigration status, and the case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pearce waged an all-out battle to retain his seat in a heavily Republican district of about 70,000 registered voters.

The 64-year-old politician, first elected to the state legislature in 2000, vehemently defended his get-tough stance on illegal immigrants flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border, a phenomenon he called "a national crisis."

Pearce also broadened his platform to include his efforts in other areas such as balancing the state budget.

He branded his political opponents as "far left liberals" and labor union activists, and chastised the recall election coming when he has just one year left in his current term.

Lewis, 55, has maintained that residents could not afford to wait until the next election to replace a man who he said has tarnished Arizona's image.

The stage for the recall race was set in July when Brewer, a strong supporter of Pearce, approved the mid-term election challenge after a citizen's group turned in enough signatures to put it on the ballot.

Lewis said the Southwestern state badly needs someone who can tackle immigration and other issues with an approach free of "fear-mongering and political rhetoric," and said Arizona should work with the federal government on a comprehensive immigration solution, not battle the government in court.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Cynthia Johnston)



http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation ... 2307.story

Arizona state senator loses recall election


Posted by
CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) - The state senator who wrote Arizona's controversial immigration law lost to a charter school superintendent on Tuesday night in a recall election widely seen as a referendum on tough measures against illegal immigrants.

"I want to thank those people who have stood by me," said Russell Pearce, who represented a suburban Phoenix district. "It doesn't look like the numbers are going my direction ... and I'm OK with that."

The recall petition pitted Pearce against fellow Republican Jerry Lewis. Lewis led with 53.4% of the vote with all precincts reporting while Pearce got 45.3%.


http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/20 ... +Ticker%29

Arizona Topples Senate President Russell Pearce, SB 1070 Immigration Law Architect, in Historic Recall Vote

MESA, AZ -- In a stunning blow to the Tea Party movement, a huge turnout in Mesa's conservative LD 18 overwhelmingly voted out Arizona's hardline State Senate President Russell Pearce in a historic recall election today.

As the self-proclaimed "Tea Party President," Pearce's national role as the figurehead for punitive immigration measures also turned the recall election into a referendum on the state's notorious SB 1070 "papers, please" immigration law, which Pearce had made the hallmark of his legislative career.

According to the Maricopa County Recorder Elections Department, Republican moderate and SB 1070 opponent Jerry Lewis overcame the Pearce campaign's series of dirty tricks and election war chest to win 53.4% to 45.3%. in a contest that divided the city's influential Mormon Church.

"This is a huge shift," said Randy Parraz, co-founder of the Citizens for a Better Arizona, which organized the recall drive in one of the most conservative districts in the state. "Russell Pearce is not only too extreme, but had remained untouched. This election shows that such extremist behavior will not be rewarded, and will be held accountable."

Considered the de facto governor of Arizona, the seemingly invincible and right-wing extremist Pearce became the first state Senate president in American history to be thrown out of office in a recall election. Led by an inspiring citizens movement, Pearce's downfall marks an extraordinary sea change in Arizona politics, especially in the areas of the changing electoral demographics and immigration reform policies. According to Parraz, the Citizens group registered more than 1,150 new voters in the district.

"Immigration issues are not Republican or Democratic," said Parraz, noting that the recall effort was successful largely because of its bipartisan support that also focused on education, health care and jobs. "To have effective and sustainable change, we have to work together."



Defying all expectations, the unprecedented bipartisan organizing effort led by the Citizens for a Better Arizona galvanized the recall movement into a statewide effort to cast out Arizona's increasingly volatile and embarrassing extremist political leader. Only a year ago, Pearce's ascendancy to the Senate president post was hailed by many as a watershed moment for the Tea Party movement. Within days of his reign, Pearce and his Tea Party legislators introduced a flurry of radical bills, including an effort to "nullify" federal laws.

"This election sends a message to other Democratic efforts," said Dan O'Neal, with the Arizona chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America, "to not be afraid to take on issues and races in red states."

Considered the architect of the SB 1070 immigration law, Pearce had worked with the American Legislative Exchange Council lobby front to shape the latest version of the bill, which had spawned similar laws in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and other states.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-bigg ... 83202.html

Author of Arizona Immigration Law Loses Recall Election


PHOENIX – Senate President Russell Pearce conceded defeat Tuesday in an unprecedented recall election, a stunning turnabout for the author of Arizona's tough immigration law and one of the most powerful politicians in the state.

With thousands of ballots counted and results in from all 16 precincts, charter school executive Jerry Lewis led with 53 percent of the vote, compared with about 45 percent for Pearce, a margin of about 1,800 votes. An unknown number of early ballots turned in Tuesday remained to be counted, but Pearce was resigned to defeat.

"It doesn't look like the numbers are going in my direction with this, and I'm OK with this," Pearce said Tuesday night, surrounded by Republican legislative allies, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other supporters.

Pearce voiced determination, but no regrets. "I'm grateful for the battles that we've won," he said, adding later, "If being recalled is being the price for keeping these promises, then so be it."

Pearce didn't explicitly say that he was conceding, but campaign spokesman Ed Phillips later said that was the lawmaker's intent. "It was a concession," Phillips said.

Pearce was the author of the 2010 immigration law that put Arizona in the national spotlight and was replicated by several states around the country. The recall vote was seen by some as a referendum on the Legislature's hardline immigration laws that Pearce has championed over the years.

But Pearce also accumulated a large amount of power as he rose through the ranks of the legislature to become leader of the Senate. Republicans hold more than a two-thirds advantage in the body, giving the party enough votes to easily advance its conservative agenda in GOP-dominated Arizona.

As a result, Pearce and his colleagues have taken a forceful role on conservative causes including business tax cuts, school private school vouchers, abortion limits, gun rights, union restrictions and immigration.

Republicans have said that a Pearce defeat would send a message to GOP lawmakers that they need to take a more moderate approach to avoid suffering a similar fate. Political analyst Chris Herstam, a Republican lobbyist and former legislator, said Pearce was repudiated by voters who believe the economy, jobs and education should be the first priority -- not immigration.

"The Legislature remains extremely conservative but with regards to making illegal immigration their top priority, this should be a warning shot across the bow," Herstam said.

A Pearce loss means that Lewis replaces him in the district's Senate seat and that majority Republicans would have to pick a new president to lead the legislative chamber.

The recall election, forced by a petition drive, was the first for an Arizona legislator.

Recall supporters and Lewis' campaign did not emphasize the immigration issue, but it was one of the factors in the race.

"Certainly the immigration issue is important to many people including myself," Lewis said. "We need to bring a civil tone to that discussion, a professional approach to solving it, an approach that is reasonable and won't be ... in the courts for years to come."

Pearce had support from Brewer and dozens of other elected Republican officeholders, but he was dogged by disclosures that he accepted numerous free trips from the Fiesta Bowl to out-of-state college football trips. He said he took the trips at the bowl's request to help support its economic role in the state.

Key provisions of the immigration law were put on hold by a federal judge before they could be implemented, but Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let it take effect.

The law's enactment gave Pearce national notice as a leading proponent of Arizona's efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. He previously won enactment of a 2007 state law requiring employers to use a federal database to check new employees' work eligibility.

However, the 2010 law led to protests and boycotts of the state, and business groups urged legislators to take a timeout on the issue and to instead push for federal action.

That opposition led the Arizona Senate last spring to dramatically reject a handful of new Pearce-backed bills on the subject.

While Lewis' campaign drew support and contributions from hundreds of Mesa residents, Pearce outspent his 54-year-old challenger by more than a 3-1 ratio and painted the recall advocates as liberal outsiders who were targeting him because of immigration.

A third name also was on the recall ballots, but Olivia Cortes withdrew from the race, so ballots cast for her were tabulated but won't count. She had faced a legal challenge to her candidacy that produced court testimony indicating tea party activists orchestrated her candidacy to dilute the anti-Pearce vote.

Cortes was getting a little more than 1 percent of the vote.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11 ... z1dDJKRIeB

Thoughts on Russell Pearce, got news for you folks the re-friedconquistadors are up to they're same ol, same ol that they pulled in Nevada, If our votes as Americans means nothing then what the hell is the point, that's all we had and now they've taken that from us!

It is so beyond reprehensible seeing those with no legal right to be in this country illegally voting and carrying signs most are unable to read anyway demanding jobs, taxpayer benefits and recall of our politicians aided and abetted by Bacerra, Gutierrez, Salazar and many other Reconquista treasonous open borders and illegal immigration proponents in the DC Cartel...This is a very sad chapter in the history of this once great but now third world nation....

Illegals voting themselves into the public trough.

Originally Posted by Newmexican

Illegals voting themselves into the public trough.

With the connivance of our elected officials.

I can't help nut notice that the signs they are carrying are in the colors of the Mexican flag. If they love the damn Mexican flag so much than why do they want to be here so badly?