Via the NYT (paid): The Border Dividing Arizona

Russell Pearce, a Republican state legislator from Mesa, Arizona, has tried to pass nine separate laws regarding illegal immigration and nine times his efforts have been vetoed by Janet Napolitano, the Democratic governor, on the basis that immigration is a federal issue.

As a lawmaker, Pearce hasn’t just embraced the issue of illegal immigration as a tactic; for him it’s a passion — his opponents say an obsession — “the root cause” of almost any other problem Arizona and the nation face. Talk about terrorists and high crime rates, he’ll say the border is undefended. Are schools failing? They’re being overwhelmed by “a population that don’t put a high value to education.” Are there a million people in Arizona without health care? “Yeah, they broke into the country illegally. They came into the country poor, they’re gonna stay poor. You’ve imported them!”

Pearce does not cotton to Arizona Senator John McCain's proposals for illegal immigrants at the national level. But Pearce goes over the top, calling McCain's actions "treasonous." Treason in the United States, if you recall your civics lesson, is a very serious allegation. In this case it is certainly hyperbole, but nevertheless it is a politically radioactive allegation that is particularly rare, especially when made by one party member against another. This dust up certainly serves the purpose of showing the deep divide within the Republican party on the issue.

The anathema he pronounced was intended not just for his governor but also for the Republican president and the Republican sponsor of the immigration-reform bill the president had backed; in Pearce’s terms, “the treacherous, treasonous bill” the Senate passed in March. It was known as the McCain-Kennedy bill, McCain being, of course, Arizona’s senior senator and, it is presumed, a leading contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. And it contained two provisions Russell Pearce could not abide: a path to citizenship for longtime residents who, after entering illegally, held steady employment, learned English and paid their taxes (plus fines to be levied for entering the country without a visa); and an opening for hundreds of thousands of temporary “guest workers” to come across legally for limited periods of work.

Was he saying that John McCain himself was “treacherous, treasonous?” I asked, interrupting Pearce’s discourse in mid flow.

“Yes, I am,” he replied, not pausing for breath as he raced on.

Don't look for Russell Pearce to be part of the "Elect McCain in 2008" bandwagon any time soon.