Nazis, Fascists, Apartheid: A Short History Of AZ Immigration Law Rhetoric

The new Arizona Immigration Law has managed to supplant both the Tea Partiers, the Birthers, and maybe even the ‘shitty deal-ers‘ as the cable news story of the week. Following its passage last Friday the rhetoric people have opted for in an attempt to describe a (possibly unconstitutional) law that allows Arizona police to check people’s papers if they are “suspicious” that they might be illegal has been reminiscent of the rhetoric some elements of the Tea Party employed to describe the Obama administration and the health care bill (strangely the Tea Partiers have been relatively quiet on the AZ front).

Descriptions thus far have basically fallen into three categories: Nazis, Fascists, and the Apartheid. With that in mind, here is a short history of Arizona Immigration Law rhetoric.

Arizona’s new immigration law is like Nazi Germany:

Google search results for “arizona immigration nazis”: 1,330,000

Money quote: “It is absolutely reminiscent of second class status of Jews in Germany prior to World War II when they had to have their papers with them at all times and were subject to routine inspections at the suspicion of being Jewish.” [Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo)]

Video highlights: Joy Behar says the new law makes the U.S. comparable to WWII Germany.





Glenn Beck rages against anyone who dares compare anything the AZ law to Nazi Germany.

NEXT >>> Arizona’s new immigration law is like South Africa during the Apartheid.