SB1070 Update: AZ clergy goes to D.C. to talk to McCain, others. The Star is silent.

by David Safier

Why should I have to go to the LA Times to read about this?

Arizona religious leaders seek delay of immigration law, bring appeal to Washington

Framing the Arizona immigration situation as a "moral crisis," a group of seven Arizona religious leaders, including Catholic and Methodist bishops, descended Thursday on Capitol Hill in an "emergency" visit to lobby for comprehensive immigration reform.

Among the religious leaders who went were Bishop Gerald Frederick Kicanas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson and Tucson's Rabbi John Linder of Temple Solel. That definitely makes it local news. Yet, so far as I can tell, not a peep from the Star about it, in the paper or on the website.

Do you think maybe the Star got some kind of press release or advance notice? I would guess so. That would mean ignoring the story was an intentional choice.

Here's my suspicion. The story violated the Star's Speak-no-evil-about-McCain oath. In most of the stories, McCain doesn't come out looking very good. After all, he's at odds with all these voices from all these faiths, a place no politician wants to be.

Here's how it played on Politico:

Arizona’s religious leaders came to Washington on Thursday to remind John McCain that he used to be on their side in liberalizing immigration laws.

They didn’t get very far.

“They want comprehensive immigration reform, and I explained to them that we have to secure the borders first,” McCain told POLITICO on Thursday afternoon. “I explained to them and showed them — told them about 2008 when I ran for president that my position was we had to secure the borders first.”

McCain, who continues to tack rightward on issues where he was once considered a maverick, remains unmoved by pushback on Arizona’s immigration laws. Like other Republican incumbents nationwide, he’s facing a stiff primary challenge from the right, and the last thing he wants to do is look like he’s working with Democrats on immigration reform. 

Ouch! That was the nastiest version, but most of the stories have the clergy pleading with McCain on the immigration issue and him turning a deaf ear.

Most of the stories, did I say? Yes, there were a lot of them along with the ones in LA TImes and Politico.

• Arizona Republic: Arizona religious leaders call for immigration reform
• KTAR TV (from ABC News): Clergy members push for immigration reform
• Time: Religious Leaders Press McCain on Immigration
• Fort Worth Star Telegram: Arizona religious leaders call immigration a 'moral crisis'
• Washington Post: Arizona religious leaders to lobby McCain on immigration reform (This was the day before the meetings)
• Religious Action Center of Reform Judiasm: Reform Rabbi Joins Interfaith Delegation in DC to Protest Anti-Immigrant Law
• The Catholic Spirit: Arizona leaders push Congress, Justice, White House on immigration

And our own Star, home to at least two of the religious leaders? The silence is deafening. As a result, Tucson has no idea the meetings ever happened.