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9 July 2003

Ben Miranda Calls Randy Graf a "Racist or an Uneducated Fool"

Critics of the proposed Protect Arizona NOW are tagging proponents of this initiative as "racist". State representative, Ben Miranda (D), came right out and played the race card against Randy Graf (R).
"What drives them is race, there is no other explanation for what they are doing today," said Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix. "To call Randy Graf, and I wish he was here, a racist or an uneducated fool, is perfectly on the dot."

It's a preposterous charge. Many Arizonians are opposed to illegal immigration, yet are not racist by any means. I'm sure there's some marching against illegal immigration that are motivated by bigotry, but to affix a racist label to a substantive voting block is an outrage. I oppose illegal immigration because, um, it's illegal. Without even venturing into pro or con arguments on whether or not mass immigration is duly needed, it would be a sorry day (and some may suggest this is already the state of America) if everyone decided which laws should be obeyed and which should not, and then acted accordingly upon those whims.

But, let's examine the selling points of the proposed initiative and see if any tint of prejudice can be found:

The initiative will require proof of citizenship to register to vote AND require proof of citizenship to receive any non-federally mandated benefits/goods/services. In other words, everyone will be required to prove they are a citizen to register to vote, and the initiative will ban using taxpayer funds for programs or benefits for illegal aliens unless mandated by the federal goverment.

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