Paul Krugman Thinks AZ Immigration Law Proves Tea Partiers Are Hypocrites

video

by Glynnis MacNicol | 2:46 pm, April 25th, 2010

» 54 comments

Arizona’s new immigration law allowing police to pull over and require proof of immigration status from anyone they “reasonably suspect” of being illegally in the county, has, among other things, pretty much guaranteed that immigration will be the hot button election topic between now and November. And may force the federal government to finally pass some sort of sweeping immigration reform before the rest of the nation’s border states decide to follow Arizona’s lead and construct their own.

Today’s This Week roundtable discussion on the decision provided a fairly solid microcosm of the spectrum of the reactions nationwide. Let’s being with George Will, who more or less thinks this is a reasonable response to an overwhelming problem that the Feds should, but aren’t dealing with:

Before Washington lectures Arizonans on irresponsibility, perhaps Washington ought to attend to the central attribute of national sovereignty which is to control the borders. We are the only developed nation in the world with a 2,000 mile border with an undeveloped country and we have a magnet of a welfare state to the north. So this is not Arizona’s fault. Beyond that, this should be said however. Reasonable suspicion is going to put upon the police of Arizona a terribly difficult job.

I imagine this is going to be the line Obama comes up against from now until November from everyone defending and/or supporting this bill. And here’s the line everyone supporting and/or defending this bill is going to come up against from both Dems and civil liberty proponents courtesy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘s Cynthia Tucker:

Several law enforcement agencies have actually opposed the bill. Not only for that reason because they have no idea what it means to say reasonable suspicion. A California Republican has said you can tell an illegal immigrant by the shoes they wear. Of course this is an invitation to racial profiling. Everyone with a Spanish surname, everyone with a certain look, you may or may not be Latino. There are people in my family who look as if they could be Latino. It harkens back to apartheid where all black people in South Africa were required to carry documents in order to move from one part of town to another.

Paul Krugman followed up on this line and, moreover, basically called the Tea Partiers a bunch of hypocrites:

We have these massive protests in this country about alleged authoritarian tendencies that we are going to have some kind of — inside the Obama/Hitler stuff — the idea that the government is encroaching too much in our lives.

And now all of the sudden, we have by pretty much the same people, demanding that we set up a system that will turn us into one of those apocryphal foreign authoritarian regimes where the police are saying hand over your papers, right? A world where you constantly have to prove who you are. And yes, it will be racial profiling but who knows what else?

Krugman is also upset because he is convinced that the timing of this law will push immigration to the forefront, thereby insuring that the government never gets around to dealing with Climate Change reform, something he feels is equally if not more important. At which point George Will’s head exploded. Entire exchange below. There’s also some interesting comments from Alexis Glick about why big business would push back on immigration reform that made it harder for the Chinese and Indians to come here, but likely won’t lift a finger when it comes to Latinos. Like I said, this is just the opening round of what is going to be a long summer of immigration.

Alexis Glick, Arizona immigration law, Cynthia Tucker, George Will, Immigration Reform, Jake Tapper, Paul Krugman, This Week

marymoffet

Give me a break!
Obama’s President, and now all of a sudden, we have an “immigration” problem?
ROFLMAO!!
WTF was B^sh doing for EIGHT years when illegals were flooding our borders?
N-O-T-H-I-N-G-!!
Remember, “mi casa, su casa .. “?
America wanted cheap labor.
You’ve got it!
And you’ll never get rid of it!
BowenIsland

Let the hysterical shrieks of ” The Repubilcans are Nazi ‘s ” begin .
( Bill Adkins & shootfromthehip this time you don’t even have to hijack a thread about an SNL skit )
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-Adkins/1585417987 Bill Adkins

And wasn’t it you, Bowen, who brought up a whole other skit in that thread other than the one about Stefan/Hader giiggling?
Munch

“In approaching immigration reform, I believe that we must enact tough, practical reforms. . . . We need
stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace. . . .
The time to fix our broken immigration system is now. It is critical that as we embark on this
enormous venture to update our immigration system, it is fully reflective of the powerful tradition of
immigration in this country and fully reflective of our values and ideals.”

[Obama Statement in U.S. Senate, 5/23/07]
SteveMG

I think this new Arizona law simply goes to far and allows law enforcement too much discretion. It’s a bad and dangerous law. But to analogize this legislation to the evils of apartheid is the type of rhetoric that a Beck or Limbaugh would use. One can make a point without having to use such an extreme example.

It’s just amazing that people who condemn inflammatory rhetoric or odious analogies from one side then turn around and do the same or similar things.

And I’m being non-partisan here: both sides do it.
Moderate

70 percent of likely voters in Arizona back the bill.

Apparently the people of Arizona are fed up with all the illegals flooding through their state. The Liberals just see them as more underprivileged voters. If they can get the non taxpaying voters above 50%, their social programs will be a guaranteed vote getter.
BowenIsland

@ Bill Adkins ………….? Did you mean the the “short bus ” comment ? If so that , that analogy ( not very pc I know) is generally used to point out or to poke fun at a persons mental sharpness , specifically the lack of , and has been used for decades. Thanks for the confirmation . Now seriously , back on the short bus !
Moderate

This sums up the attitude of the American people.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/01/025329.php
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

Tucker has always been a race baiter and poverty pimp. Nothing she says has anything to do with the real world. Krugman is one of the dumbest liberals I have ever seen and he has the nerve to claim that Sarah Palin is dumb, LOL.
Immigration is easy to solve.
1. Really close the border, build a fence.
2. Really clamp down on business’ that hire illegals.
3. Deport illegals.
4. Change the law. Being born to an illegal in the U.S, does not make you a citizen.
Jamestaylor

At least she didn’t cry “racism.” Oh, wait.
shootfromthehip

“Krugman is one of the dumbest liberals I have ever seen and he has the nerve to claim that Sarah Palin is dumb, LOL.”

You know what I’d like to see? Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman, a former Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics vs. former community college student and quitter Sarah Palin on Jeopardy!

Now that would make great TV.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5095495.ece
Sunnyr

CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL THE BORDER – CONTROL -THE -BORDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are sick and tired of out-of-control ILLEGAL immigration. We are sick and tired of our hospitals going bankrupt and the cost of illegal’s care being passed on to the hardworking taxpaying citizens! We are sick and tired of reading daily of crime, death and perversion being perpetrated on citizens by CRIMINALS who come across the border to prey on innocent victims. We are sick and tired of our School’s going from first place in testing down to rock bottom. Call me a racist, I don’t give a big rat’s ass. We are a country of LAWS and we are demanding that our laws be enforced. Obama wants the Mexican vote, and is doing NOTHING to stop the flood of illegal immigration or to protect the citizens of this country from blood-thirsty Mexican Drug Cartels. He should be IMPEACHED for dereliction of duty!! Build the frickin’ fence and build it RIGHT. Make all people come here legally or stay the hell OUT!!
Toshiba2

Should we also charge the last President for not building a fence?
shootfromthehip

“We are sick and tired of reading daily of crime, death and perversion being perpetrated on citizens by CRIMINALS who come across the border to prey on innocent victims.”

There is no evidence to indicate that undocumented immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than American citizens; indeed, the evidence strongly suggests that immigrants in general are less likely to commit crimes. For instance, a 2005 study conducted by researchers from Harvard University and the University of Michigan revealed both that immigrants committed fewer crimes than native-born citizens, and that a greater proportion of immigrants in a neighborhood was associated with lower rates of crime. Another study, analyzing census data found that among men aged 18-39 (who make up the bulk of those committing crimes), the incarceration rate was five times higher for the native-born than for the foreign-born. This held true within ethnic and national-origin groups, meaning, for instance, that native-born Latinos were more likely to be incarcerated than foreign-born Latinos. A recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California found that in that state, which contains more immigrants than any other, the foreign-born are incarcerated at a rate half as high as their presence in the population, and only one-tenth as high among men age 18-40, who make up the bulk of prisoners. Robert J. Sampson, chairman of the sociology department at Harvard University, said that data show that undocumented immigrants are in fact “disproportionately less likely to be involved in many acts of deviance, crime, drunk driving, any number of things that sort of imperil our well-being.
Olby Sucks

“There is no evidence to indicate that undocumented immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than American citizens”

LOL! Sure, that must be why the prisons are loaded with illegals.

On another note, is it safe to say that pelosi is saying ‘screw the environment, we want mexicans.’
The Real Royal King

Jeff, you are usually wrong about everything you say. I’m sure I don’t need to repeat the long, LONG, L O N G list of Hillary! being he slam dunk Democratic nominee, the Super Delegates giving the nomination to Hillary!, Palin energizing the Republicans and insuring them victory, Palin winning over disaffected Democratic women, McCain carrying Michigan and Pennsylvania as well as all the Bush II, election II states and coasting to victory, the Electoral College refusing to certify Obama, no Supreme Court nominee swearing in Obama, Don O. Fritos and Orly Taitz, Dentist, Extension School Attorney, Real Estate Agent and Wig Model removing President Obama from office. Dr. Wiener winning the lawsuit he filed against CAIR, massive tax increases, the Stock Market tanking, HCR not passing, and I could go on forever. With your record, why is it we shoudl believe anything you say? We need proof of you statement.

Yes, I do understand that the Republicans have probably lost the Hispanic vote for a generation with the Arizona law, but such moaning and bleating is unattractive.

Have a nice evening, Jeff.
timzank

shootfromthehip…you may be surprised if Krugman & Palin competed on Jeopardy…Who you would consider to be intellectuals don’t do so well on that show. People with the ability to memorize do well. Lil’ Kruggy would be -$10,000 down and crying like a baby..
Olby Sucks

Can you prove anything you just posted? Thought not, robert.
shootfromthehip

“LOL! Sure, that must be why the prisons are loaded with illegals. ”

Got stats for that, Olby?

Didn’t think so.

Here are the facts, according to the Department of Justice:

In 2000, 27 percent of the inmates in federal prisons were noncitizens. Some of these noncitizens were illegal immigrants, and some were in this country legally. In 2001, this percentage dropped to 24 percent, and it continued dropping over the next four years, falling to 20 percent in 2005. Bottom line? illegal immigrants make up significantly less than a third of the federal prison population, and the share has been falling in recent years.

The share of state prison inmates who are noncitizens is much lower. (This is largely because immigration violations themselves are federal crimes.) In 2000, 4.6 percent of inmates in state prisons were noncitizens. This number remained quite steady over the next five years, right around 4.6 percent.

Source – New York Times/Bureau of Justice Statistics

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/
shootfromthehip

Tim, you may be right about Jeopardy. The main qualification, it seems, on that show, is the ability to click at the right time on the buzzer.

However, you DO have to know the answer to a variety of questions once you click.

We can safely count Sarah out on any geography or history related question.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/jan/11/sarah-palin
Olby Sucks

Compare the population of “whites” in the US to the population of “whites” in prison. Next, compare the number of illegals in the US to the number of illegals in prison. You’ll see who’s “more likely” to commit crime.
Big_F-ing_Deal

WTF? Why aren’t minorities included with Whites in your little equation?
You do realize they are US citizens, right?
Olby Sucks

I don’t see people as “minorites.”
Olby Sucks

minorities
Olby Sucks

As Investors Business Daily reported in March 2005:

“The U.S. Justice Department estimated that 270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time nationally in 2003. Of those, 108,000 were in California. Some estimates show illegals now make up half of California’s prison population, creating a massive criminal subculture that strains state budgets and creates a nightmare for local police forces.”
Olby Sucks

Citing an Urban Institute study, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies Steven Camorata noted in 2004: “Roughly 17 percent of the prison population at the federal level are illegal aliens. That’s a huge number since illegal aliens only account for about 3 percent of the total population.”

Thanks for playing. ;)
Big_F-ing_Deal

“I don’t see people as “minorities.”

So why did you separate them out when you were having a discussion of illegal immigrant convicts vs US citizen convicts.
What the f*uck does race have to do with that?
timzank

Big_F-ing_Deal …uhhh…kinda thought the whole brou ha ha was about “race” and “racial profiling”.

Where YOU been?
Olby Sucks

Bfdummie, I didn’t “separate them out.”
Big_F-ing_Deal

“kinda thought the whole brou ha ha was about “race” and “racial profiling”.

Stop being an ass. The Arizona law is has racial profiling concerns but Olby was talking comparing illegal immigrant incarcerations to citizen incarcerations, a completely different topic than the Arizona law. Cant you idiots stay on a single topic for more than a minute?
Big_F-ing_Deal

Bfdummie, I didn’t “separate them out.”

Why didn’t you include ALL citizens against those of illegals?

You really aren’t ever going to answer my question, are you?
..

Not only are Tea partiers hypocrites but they are racist to the core.
The Real Royal King

We can all conclusively say Jeff was wrong again.
felixw

Krugman is also the genius who thinks you become wealthy by spending money you don’t have. Unfortunately the Democrats seem to have taken this advice to heart.
derekmann233

The tough anti-immigration bill will help–or at least be a good start! Many illegal immigrants do SOME of the following: get food stamps and other “welfare” benefits (incl. Medicaid/Medi-Cal)–while talking on cell phones and driving new cars; work “under the table” (and not reporting their income); use fradulent green cards, birth certificates, ID/ driver’s licenses; even committing violent crimes (& burden our courts and jails).
Also, grocery & retail chains and small shops–even “skilled labor”– knowingly hire illegals and pay them “off the books”–to pay lower wages and not report–just to increase their profits; this eliminates jobs for U.S. citizens. Many have large families, leading to more benefits. Increased medical care, ER visits, pregnancies, etc. drive up costs for U.S. citizens and force hospitals to close. Poverty, increased crime rates due to gangs, sanitation issues (many people cramped into tight household) are other issues. Illegal immigration is–ILLEGAL! No other country would allow this, and the U.S. shouldn’t either.
Jamestaylor

says:
April 25, 2010 at 7:15 pm

Not only are Tea partiers hypocrites but they are racist to the core.”

LOL

Bring it on lib!
.

We are well beyond needing to bring on anything. It it time to start dealing with the teabagging racists in terms they understand.
Munch

. says: Dawg, yo say da white man out for the brown man, dawg? damn, those old white men in their strollers, come for yo dawg! better run, dawg1 That white man mean!

hahahah
Munch

dawg- the white man want you now, dawg. better get on your bike and run, dawg. white man on rampage for black man, dawg!And the black man in WH won’t stop white man, dawg!
Olby Sucks

I love it when trolls say “you’re wrong” with not a shred of proof. ;)
http://www.sessionsgroup.com john hansen

Letrs be REAL. Perspective is critical here. We do not have months or years available to get to know every single person we come in contact with each day. Here’s an easy method for quickly evaluating a person, or even a company, or a product, http://bit.ly/4CmXLG
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Hilton/1334543387 Stephen Hilton

If there was not such a problem with being so PC and everyones feelings being hurt, they would not have had to pass this law, to enforce the law they already had on books… And now being twisted and used for another useless debate.. Wasting everyones time, and people calling each other names like racists and morons.. This is not a hard issue to fix..

Our country was founded on people from all over the world, building and making our country great… Telling someone they are racist for pointing out that illegals are not following our laws, is ignorant. It does not futher the conversation, it back peddles it.. We need these people to come in to our country legally, which means we need to open the flood gate a little more so more people can come here and be part of our great land, and to help make it better, but they need to respect our laws, learn our language, and show the american people they want to be one of us, not come in here in the cloak of darkness… When you do that, you are paid under the table, and do not have taxes taken out, that all the rest of us have taken out of our checks, they only pay taxes on items they buy, so there is problem number two.

And number three if you get caught, or shoot out an american, break our laws, ect, you deserve to go to jail, then get sent back to wherever you came from, be it china, mexico, or wherever. Oh, and get rid of the anchor baby clause, and make it alot more difficult for people to come here th digging under a fence.

Lastly the American people will respect you much more if you do not hide behind people who call you racist because they point out you break our laws. It does not matter if the law you broke is considerable to getting a speeding ticket, you are breaking our laws, costing our tax payer money to baby sit and find people who break our laws, when the money can go towards better more useful things like feeding our poor, and helping people here in the USA..
Puter Boi

OK…just curious….how many different headlines has this piece had today? I remember the first included Cynthia Tucker’s take on the discussion….I think there were a couple more….just wondering.
Olby Sucks

The far fringe lefties think enforcing an existing law makes you a racist. There is plenty of proof of that on this thread.
timzank

Puter Boi …I didn’t count today but it does happen all the time. My guess is, they gauge the conversation as it develops and change the headline accordingly to increase posts/clicks to show advertisers..

A lefty blog with a capitalist streak.
Olby Sucks

Does anybody ever click on ads here? I don’t.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Van-Veen/617590041 Chris Van Veen

An upset and enraged Paul Krugman is a wonderful thing to see. Remember, ‘elite’ Paul was no doubt swigging champagne upon Obama’s coronation. Now, just seething rage from leftist media hacks. This tells you all you need to know about how Libs feel in the midst of their ‘government from heaven.’
The Real Royal King

Olby Sucks says:
April 25, 2010 at 11:41 pm

Does anybody ever click on ads here? I don’t.

—

Well, we’re dealing with some fairly sophisticated, cerebral ads here, Jeff, but if you go to the second post on the Velshi thread, there are some wonderful deals on accessories which will keep you shopping all morning, I am guessing.
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RazorsEdge

Shootfromthehip:

I feel your stats are misleading. It’s AZ immigration bill governing AZ. Results released this month by CBS news indicated that in AZ:

Maricopa county has 19% of all inmates are illegal immigrants
Pinal County 30% are illegal
Pima county 10%

We’re talking costs that are for just illegals. There are more AZ LEGAL citizens than illegal so I hope there would be higher percentage of Legal inmates. But 19% and 30% (a third) in those counties are illegal. That’s not a blimp on the radar screen, that’s a huge number, large annual cost, and very high number of victims that could be prevented with some actions or solutions.

Let’s not get lost in the politics of this and stay with the practical. Costs, lives, budgets, and even jobs. AZ has cut 100′s of teacher jobs, state parks, 1000′s of state employees because of budget deficits. Look at the paragraph above for hints how to recapture a large bulk of annual revenue. Not nickel and dime stuff. Large chunk of annual revenue in there.

AS for AZ Medicaid (AHCCCS) has realeased that 25% of the annual $1 billion cost for AZ medicaid is attributed towards illegal immigrants. $250 million dollars and rising per year just in AZ. All of you pay for some of that per the Federal matching medicaid funding.
Olby Sucks

California would be in the black, financially, if they enforced immigration laws. It’s a no-brainer.
writer

Per FBI and DOJ crime stats, blacks actually commit the most crimes per capita. Way out of proportion to their numbers in the population. Not illegal immigrants. But the left has declared it’s politically incorrect to talk about that, too.
RichS

The always pompous, “The Real Royal King says:
April 25, 2010 at 7:24 pm
We can all conclusively say Jeff was wrong again.”

“We…”? Try speaking for yourself. Why are you so pompous, as far as I can see from reading your posts your intellect is, at best, approaching average.
http://none pyrope

It seems that Arizona passed its law in self-defense. Phoenix is the kidnapping capitol of the world and Arizona must bear the impact of 450K criminal aliens–all of whom are sucking up free healthcare, free education, welfare assistance, and NOT paying taxes. Could it be that had the Federal government controlled the borders as is its duty this bill would never have been written and passed?