Arizona law "interfere(s) with what clearly is Washington's blatant refusal to enforce federal immigration laws"

This is a political lawsuit, driven by Obama's drop in the polls among Hispanics and Democrats' hope of bringing out Latinos this fall by hanging an anti-immigrant millstone around the GOP's neck.

The Arizona statute, on the other hand, is chiefly about the rule of law.

That Obama and Holder, along with Arizona's other critics, choose not to understand this speaks volumes.

The lawsuit does not accuse Gov. Jan Brewer and Arizona of violating the Constitution's "equal protection" clause -- curious, given the loud charges that the law will lead to massive racial profiling.

Instead, it accuses Phoenix of "crossing a constitutional line" by interfering with federal authority over immigration.

Actually, Holder -- who publicly trashed the law before he'd read it -- has a point: The law does interfere with what clearly is Washington's blatant refusal to enforce federal immigration laws.

The GOP base is hot on immigration issue: biggest gainers are McCain, Brewer and other RINOs who usually bob and weave

The immigration issue, which immigration enthusiasts have fought desperately to keep bipartisan (and thus out of the reach of American voters), is finally precipitating out on party lines.

It’s not that Republican elected officials want to take a strong stand on illegal immigration, legal immigration or anything else for that matter. McConnell and Boehner, quoted above, are the single most important reason not one congressional Republican can be found to introduce a “Time Out” or moratorium bill in the teeth of record unemployment—even though they have no other ideas to reduce unemployment, and even though Senator Harry Reid (of all people) introduced one during the much less serious recession of the early 1990s.

Indeed, Senator John McCain’s response to the Obama attack on Arizona goes some way to answering the interesting question of where he will stand on immigration if he succeeds in convincing Arizonans that he really is a born-again border enforcer and staving off J.D. Hayworth’s primary challenge.

McCain (and the hapless junior GOP Senator, John Kyl) said in a statement: “It is far too premature for the Obama Administration to challenge the legality of this new law since it has not yet been enforced.” [Republicans Slam Obama for Suing Arizona, by Connie Hair, Human Events, 07/06/2010]

This, of course, implies that there will be a time when a challenge is not premature—like, for example, after John McCain’s re-election.

There is only one reason Republicans are now making these brave statements: they are being forced to do so by their base. This is the only reason Arizona’s RINO governor Jan Brewer signed SB1070 in the first place—and she has been rewarded by soaring polls and probably re-election in a race that had looked very difficult indeed.

Spirited Arizona governor spurts to big lead in primary election

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, following her signing and passionate defense of the state’s new immigration law, now claims 45% of the vote in the state’s Republican Primary field. That’s a 19-point gain from a month ago and puts her well ahead of all her challengers.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary Voters in Arizona shows State Treasurer Dean Martin and businessman Buz Mills each attracting 18% support. Former state Republican Party Chairman John Munger trails with three percent (3%). Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and 13% are undecided.

Just last month, Brewer held a modest lead with 26% of the primary vote, followed by Mills at 18%, Munger at 14% and Martin with 12%. Twenty-four percent (24%) were undecided.

In March, Brewer, Martin and Mills were in a three-way tie, each attracting about 20% of GOP voters.

Arizona Republicans will pick their gubernatorial nominee in an August 24 primary.