According to Gallup, Republicans support the Arizona law by a margin of 75-17. In other words, they don't mind the idea of law enforcement stopping U.S. citizens and asking for verification of their citizenship -- or else. I thought the far-right (and the tea party) was against big government overreach, but okay.
Of course, the Arizona law would only profile people who look brown-ish. U.S. citizens, illegal immigrants, anyone brown-ish. So that's okay for the Republicans, who are mostly white.
I wonder how they would feel, however, if a similar law aimed at weeding out right-wing extremists called for law enforcement to stop and search people at, say, gun clubs and tea party lawn parties based solely upon how they look. The whiter and angrier the guiltier, right? A sign with a gun on it? Boom! Show me your papers. One of those camouflage trucker caps? Show me your papers. This guy? Maybe hauled downtown for questioning.
Can you imagine the mayhem?
(For the record, 36 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of independents -- I assume some of those independents are libertarians who have cult-like disdain for government intrusion -- also endorse the Arizona law. Sometimes I just wanna get out of the car and run.)