When Bad Lies Become Worse Legislation

It's bad enough when the primary obstacle to good Democratic legislation is the non-stop onslaught of repeated, shameless lies from repugs - death panels, permanent bailouts, skyrocketing electric bills, etc.

The real horror is when blatant lies become the foundation for destructive laws.

Like Arizona's unconstitutional monstrosity. Steve Benen:

IMMIGRATION TALKING POINT FALLS APART.... For conservative proponents of the Arizona immigration measure, there's one argument that trumps them all: the law is necessary to address a public safety crisis. There's a drug war in Mexico, the argument goes, which in turn has led to deadly incidents in Arizona. Officials in Arizona, then, have no choice but to adopt extreme measures to protect the citizenry.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who frequently struggles with details and facts, insisted on the Senate floor last week that problems along the border have "led to violence -- the worst I have ever seen." Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said her new state law is in response to a "crisis" borne of "border-related violence."

The argument doesn't stand up well to scrutiny. (thanks to reader P.O.)

Assistant Police Chief Roy Bermudez shakes his head and smiles when he hears politicians and pundits declaring that Mexican cartel violence is overrunning his Arizona border town.

"We have not, thank God, witnessed any spillover violence from Mexico," Bermudez says emphatically. "You can look at the crime stats. I think Nogales, Arizona, is one of the safest places to live in all of America."

FBI Uniform Crime Reports and statistics provided by police agencies, in fact, show that the crime rates in Nogales, Douglas, Yuma and other Arizona border towns have remained essentially flat for the past decade, even as drug-related violence has spiraled out of control on the other side of the international line. Statewide, rates of violent crime also are down.

This is more than just another instance of conservatives fudging the facts. Public safety is at the core of the defense of the Arizona law. It's the driving force for the entire effort -- but it's wrong.

Read the whole thing.