Funny I should mention the Republican Party in the same breath with racial-political considerations.
No sooner had I hit my mailbox than up popped an e-mail from a Republican sharing some e-mail flying around Republican circles on account of activities of Karen Ray, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas.
The GOP has been making a stir at the Capitol with anti-immigration hearings spearheaded by Reps. Jon Woods and Rick Green and Sen. Ruth Whitaker. (I expect a report soon on today’s hearing from John Williams, but it’s going to include some softening of the State Police on enforcing immigration laws.) The hearings are causing no shortage of heartburn in a business community that relies heavily on immigrant workers. And it turns out Arkansas Republicans are as split on this issue as national Republicans.
Ray has been quoted as saying she’ll be working with the Farm Bureau on immigration legislation. That is, the legislation will protect farmers’ dependency on immigrant labor, to the extent possible. Sort of like the Farm Bureau’s animal cruelty legislation, which protected animal torturers in the name of preventing cruelty.
My source provides a variety of snippets from e-mail on the subject. It’s on the jump, but worth your time. The party director’s lecture of a legislator is getting a lot of attention among politicos, I can tell you.