Today I have an op/ed running in Investors Business Daily, arguing that the GOP needs to make it clear that Tom Tancredo's talk about trying to impeach the President -- and charging him with being more dangerous than Al Qaeda -- is over the line.

Not only does it allow Democrats to divert attention from their record of failure, arrogance and incompetence, it also misleads Tancredo's supporters, who might think -- contrary to fact -- that impeachment is either legally possible or politically tenable.

Worst of all, Tancredo's rhetoric is ill-suited to reassuring Americans who -- having been ignored and disdained by Democrats -- want their representatives to focus on jobs, a growing economy, and strength  abroad.  His intemperate words raise concerns that, if given power, the GOP would simply use it to pursue partisan power games, rather than work on behalf of the American people.  What he's doing is silly, irresponsible and counterproductive; it ought to stop.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has released a statement on her website regarding Judge Susan Bolton's ruling to place an injunction on essential parts of SB 1070, suffocating the bill. The governor seems confident in moving forward with the judicial process and plans to file an appeal. 

“This fight is far from over. In fact, it is just the beginning, and at the end of what is certain to be a long legal struggle, Arizona will prevail in its right to protect our citizens. I am deeply grateful for the overwhelmingly support we have received from across our nation in our efforts to defend against the failures of the federal government.

“I have consulted with my legal counsel about our next steps. We will take a close look at every single element Judge Bolton removed from the law, and we will soon file an expedited appeal at the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

“For anyone willing to see it -- the crisis is as clear as is the federal government’s failure to address it.

“The judge herself noted that the stash houses where smugglers hide immigrants from Mexico before bringing them into the country's interior have become a fixture on the news in Arizona and that, ‘You can barely go a day without a location being found in Phoenix where there are numerous people being harbored.’”

“When I signed the bill on April 23rd, I said, SB 1070 – represents another tool for our state to use as we work to address a crisis we did not create and the federal government has actively refused to fix. The law protects all of us, every Arizona citizen and everyone here in our state lawfully. And, it does so while ensuring that the constitutional rights of ALL in Arizona are undiminished – holding fast to the diversity that has made Arizona so great.

“I will battle all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary, for the right to protect the citizens of Arizona. Meanwhile, I also know we still have work to do in confronting the fear-mongers, those dealing in hate and lies and economic boycotts that seek to do Arizona harm.

“We have already made some progress in waking up Washington. But the question still remains: will Washington do its job, and put an end to the daily operations of smugglers in our nation, or will the delays and sidesteps continue? I believe that the defenders of the rule of law will ultimately succeed with us in our demand for action.”

Just a "bump in the road," says Jan Brewer.  The Arizona governor promises to appeal today's decision which negated certain important sections of the state's tough immigration law:

On January 1, 2011, Democrats will knowingly institute a $3.8 trillion tax increase on American taxpayers and small businesses. In this economy, tax increases like this will only serve to stifle the creation of American jobs because of its punitive effect on small businesses.

Here it is by the numbers: 

Until the Democrats' planned tax increase

Arizona Federal Judge Susan Bolton has given her ruling on the DOJ's claim SB 1070 preempts federal law. She has granted a partial injunction to the Federal Government by blocking the most controversial and essential parts of the bill. 

Measures blocked include allowing police officers to determine immigration status after lawful contact, making it illegal to block traffic to pick up day laborers, being in the country illegally a state crime and requiring immigrants to carry legal documentation on their person at all times. Townhall Editor Kevin Glass has found some of the relevant provisions of Arizona Law SB1070 that have had an injunction placed on them: 

Portion of Section 2 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 11-1051(B): requiring that an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present in the United States, and requiring verification of the immigration status of any person arrested prior to releasing that person

Section 3 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 13-1509: creating a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers

Portion of Section 5 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 13-2928(C): creating a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work

Section 6 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 13-3883(A)(5): authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States

Arizona will have the opportunity to appeal the decision to block portions of the bill to the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco. San Francisco is a sanctuary city. The parts of the law not blocked by Bolton will go into effect on schedule tomorrow.

Arizona is the loser in this case for now. Bolton threw out the portion of the bill that would have allowed police officers to inquire about immigration status after a crime was committed, essentially the entire purpose of SB 1070, rendering the law nearly useless.

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said to Fox News' Shannon Bream that he is "disappointed," and that "there are dangerous people coming across our border." He went on to explain how dangerous the border really is with home invasions, drug smuggling, human smuggling and people like long time rancher Robert Krentz being killed on their land.

In regards to the racial profiling lawsuit Eric Holder is expected to file once approved parts of SB 1070 go into effect tomorrow, Dever said it is a slap in the face to those in the field to accuse them of racism for simply doing their job and keeping people safe.

Governor Jan Brewer is expected to release a statement regarding the ruling this afternoon. Governor Brewer has the option to call the State Legislature back into session to re-write SB 1070 or a new law altogether.

Congratulations to the open border groups who said they wouldn't comply with the new law regardless of the decision. Bolton has left the issue of securing the border to a failed federal government, and therefore it will never be fixed. 

Here are some of the relevant provisions of Arizona Law SB1070 that have had an injunction placed on them: 

Portion of Section 2 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 11-1051(B): requiring that an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present in the United States, and requiring verification of the immigration status of any person arrested prior to releasing that person

Section 3 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 13-1509: creating a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers

Portion of Section 5 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 13-2928(C): creating a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work

Section 6 of S.B. 1070
A.R.S. ? 13-3883(A)(5): authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States

Here's some shocking news--Eric Holder's Department of Justice is failing to do their job.  The latest dereliction of duty? Protecting soldiers' voting rights:

The Department of Justice is ignoring a new law aimed at protecting the right of American soldiers to vote, according to two former DOJ attorneys who say states are being encouraged to use waivers to bypass the new federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act.

The MOVE Act, enacted last October, ensures that servicemen and women serving overseas have ample time to get in their absentee ballots. The result of the DOJ's alleged inaction in enforcing the act, say Eric Eversole and J. Christian Adams — both former litigation attorneys for the DOJ’s Voting Section — could be that thousands of soldiers' ballots will arrive too late to be counted.

"It is an absolute shame that the section appears to be spending more time finding ways to avoid the MOVE Act, rather than finding ways to ensure that military voters will have their votes counted," said Eversole, director of the Military Voter Protection Project, a new organization devoted to ensuring military voting rights. "The Voting Section seems to have forgotten that it has an obligation to enforce federal law, not to find and raise arguments for states to avoid these laws."

Full story from Fox News

To my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ: the persecution is only going to get worse.

Guests include Alliance Defense Fund's, David French, who will represent Augusta State University student and Christian, Jennifer Keeton; Erin Martz, manager of Ethics and Professional Standards for the American Counseling Association and assistant professor at Northern Virginia Community College; lastly, Gregory Nevins, former Deputy City Attorney, San Francisco, and currently the Supervising Senior Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal.

BTW: Nice balanced panel there CNN.



Part 2: