Immigration

Arizona GOP all-in on ‘states’ rights’ voter suppression

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

AZConfederacyWell isn't this special. Governor Jan Brewer, who supported the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, nevertheless is still smarting from that same court striking down Arizona's Prop. 200 proof of citizenship requirement to register to vote in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona.

While it is a certainty that Governor Brewer does not support amendments to the Voting Rights Act which would reinvigorate its preclearance provisions, she does support an amendment to federal law to require proof of citizenship to register to vote for all Americans, not just Arizonans. Arizona's GOP voter suppression knows no limits. Brewer
backs Salmon’s voter-ID bill:

Gov. Jan Brewer wants Congress to allow states to require citizenship
documents from all prospective voters before they can cast a ballot.

Brewer sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz.,
expressing support for a bill the Mesa congressman introduced in
response to a recent Supreme Court decision on the issue. The court
ruled Arizona could demand proof of citizenship from would-be voters
only when they register using state registration forms, not federal
ones.

“The responsibility of state and local governments to protect the
integrity of the voting process is essential to maintaining the
democratic process and protecting the freedom and power of every
citizens’ vote,” Brewer wrote. “I commend your efforts to improve federal law so that only United States citizens are voting. … As a
Governor, I particularly appreciate the respect for states’ rights
inherent in this legislation.”

Jorge Ramos: ‘Immigration reform is in the hands of John Boehner’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

RamosJorge Ramos, the widely influential anchor for Univision who has been described as the “Walter Cronkite of Hispanic media,” told Greg Sargent in an interview that “Like it or not, the Hispanic media perceives that approving or
rejecting immigration reform is in the hands of John Boehner. When you
listen to local radio stations and even national media, most of us are
concentrated on John Boehner. We don’t even have a problem pronouncing
his name.” For the Hispanic media, it's all about John Boehner:

Ramos left little doubt that Boehner and fellow House Republicans
will get absolutely crucified by the Hispanic media if Republicans fail
to support comprehensive reform.

The views of Ramos and others in the Hispanic media are mostly overlooked inside the Beltway.

* * *

[R]ight now, Ramos says, the bulk of the coverage in Hispanic media
strongly suggests it will be hard for Republicans to avoid most or all
the blame if it fails.

“In the end, you just have to follow Hispanic media,” Ramos says.
“The question is, who is responsible for failure? So far, the answer is
Republicans.”

President Obama Spanish-language television interviews: ‘En Vivo desde la Casa Blanca’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

For the first time ever, the White House invited four local
Spanish-language television anchors to participate in the “Live from the
White House” series, or in this case “En Vivo desde la Casa Blanca.” President Obama sat down for interviews with the four Spanish-language television stations on Tuesday. From the White House blog, Local Spanish Language Television Reporters Attend "Live from the White House" Series:

During this full day of behind-the-scenes and special
access, each reporter had the opportunity to interview President Barack
Obama. “Live from the White House” is an initiative which provides
reporters outside of the Beltway a unique opportunity to cover the
President and the Administration.

Spanish language television anchors from Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles
and New Jersey/New York City were given the opportunity to broadcast
Tuesday from a special location on the South Lawn and attended briefings
with some of the President’s top advisers on issues that are important
to their Latino audiences like healthcare and immigration reform.