By now, it is common knowledge that Republican Governor Jan Brewer recently signed a bill into law making illegal immigration, well, illegal in Arizona. Her goal was to enable local and state law enforcement agents to enforce statutes that the federal government is supposed to enforce but doesn’t.
In other words, Arizonans are doing the jobs federal officials won’t do.
Although national polls demonstrate an approximate 70% approval rating for the steps Arizona has taken to curtail illegal immigration, Al Sharpton sensed an opportunity for free television time and called for a boycott of Arizona. Since then, many others have lent their voices to the chorus of individuals and groups calling for Arizona to be punished.
And while Sharpton’s impact on Arizona’s economy will probably prove negligible at best, school districts and city councils within cities like Denver, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Boston are hoping their varied resolutions against Arizona will have some affect.
For example, Denver Public Schools “banned all district-sponsored work-related travel to Arizona [because of] the state’s new identity-document law.” Boston’s City Council “approved a resolution [urging] the city to curtail economic ties with Arizona by pulling investments, ending city contracts and halting purchasing agreements to protest” the bill Brewer signed. And the Los Angeles “City Council voted 13-1 to bar Los Angeles from conducting business with Arizona unless the law is repealed.”
While the Los Angeles boycott could be significant, as that city has some $58 million in investments in the state of Arizona, some of the other boycotts around the country may hurt the boycotters worse than they will hurt Arizona. (The Highland Park, Illinois, girls’ basketball team is a case in point here.)
Yet it’s the principle behind these boycotts that’s so troublesome.
Although they are all ostensibly aimed at preventing an increase in racial profiling in Arizona, the truth is that the only thing they will prevent, if successful, is Arizona’s ability to curtail the influx of illegal immigrants into the state. Thus it should be the job of every conservative in every corner of this nation to do his or her part to make sure the boycotts fail by buying products made in Arizona for the foreseeable future.
Do you need a gun? The legendary American firearm company Sturm, Ruger & Co., not only makes fine guns but also has offices in Prescott, Arizona.
Do you need a holster for your gun? Garrity’s Gunleather and Galco holsters are both located in Arizona.
When you need a hotel, choose Arizona-based Best Western hotels. When you need a website, choose Arizona’s GoDaddy.com. For ice cream there is Cold Stone Creamery and for fine food there is P.F. Chang’s. When inclined to broaden your guitar collection, be sure you’ve purchased a Fender.
And wherever you are in this great country, when the Arizona Diamondbacks come to play baseball in your city this season be sure to buy one of their shirts or hats and wear it to the game, even if you’re pulling for the other team.
By buying products from these and other Arizona-based companies, conservatives around the country (and the world) can help offset any economic impact the sporadic boycotts against Arizona might have.
In the process we can send a strong message to other states that want to pass legislation similar to Arizona’s but are currently waiting to ascertain the fallout. That message is that Sharpton can give up his boycott and go back to his day job of falsely accusing white police officers of atrocities against black citizens. The American people are outraged over illegal immigration and are subsequently thrilled that Gov. Brewer has the gall to do what needs to be done.
Sarah Palin said it this way: “We’re all Arizonans now.”
As such, we can do our part in the fight against illegal immigration by buying products and services from Arizona.
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