Saturday, August 31, 2013

AZ Illustrated Politics: Grijalva Calls RNC's Opposition to Path to Citizenship "Politically Naive and Stupid"

Posted By on Sat, Aug 31, 2013 at 1:28 PM

Congressman Raul Grijalva did not hold back in assessing the Republican National Committee's recent vote to oppose a path to citizenship as part of comprehensive immigration reform, calling the proposal "politically naive and stupid when—and I hate to admit that—the Republican Party does have some ability to inroad to the Latino community. But when you do this mean-spirited and marginalize that community, you effectively close the door on the ability to communicate."

Grijalva also talked about why he believes the security component of the Gang of Eight's Senate bill was overkill, explained his opposition to the Rosemont Mine, called for congressional approval of any military action against Syria, criticized the NSA's surveillance programs and condemned the recent anti-gay fliers targeting Sunnyside School Board member Daniel Hernandez.

During the AZ Illustrated Politics panel discussion, Republican strategist Jonathan Paton, Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers and Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Lea Marquez-Peterson continued the conversation of immigration reform, unpacking this week's town hall with Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake; examined the recent attack ads targeting Flake's refusal to support shutting down the government over the defunding of the Affordable Care Act; wondered whether the referendum effort to block the Arizona Legislature's overhaul of election laws would make the ballot; and previewed this year's City Council elections.