Comments about ‘Mormon ousts Mormon in Arizona recall race about immigration’

Wonder why it is so important to DN to identify the religious affiliation of these candidates when it publishes so MANY articles about how religion shouldn't matter! Talk about flip flopping!

"Anti-immigrant rhetoric aside,"

Doesn't the author mean anti-IllEGAL-immigrant rhetoric?

They are not the same thing; using the terms interchangably destroys credbility.

clarky,
they did it so you would have something to post about.

Wouldn't it be great if this could happen in Utah? Imagine a Mormon Democrat ousting a conservative Republican.

Quit complaining. The irony of the whole thing is neat.

Spy vs. Spy; my first thought reading the headline. Take that for whatever it's worth.

anti-immigrant rhetoric is correct because that how Pearse got painted and is the reason why the law was stricken by the courts. There is nothing wrong with being anti-illegal immigrant, but when one's opinions as expressed in laws and viewpoints are transformed into prejudicial anti-immigrant rhetoric then that is the tipping point that got him in trouble.

I have resided in Arizona for 18 years, and retired after 32 years in law enforcement as a command officer in California. California is a sanctuary state.

For those who read the AP and other slanted articles, we do have an illegal immigrant problem of monumental proportions! Wake up! So, what's the problem? Simple: they are here contrary to US law, they almost always use stolen or forged ID, they commit crimes far in excess of their proproton to the rest of us "legal" citizens, they fill our jails, and they illegally apply for welfare, and the list goes on.

Russel did what he thought was correct to try and overcome the almost total absence of US law enforcement (remember "catch and release), that the Border Patrol only catches about 20% of those who try to enter the US (that means up to 80% get through, so the the low "catch" rates now encountered in some areas are nothing to crow about).

As far as I care, the Arizona law didn't go far enough. We are (or were) a nation of laws.

Sad

Religion needs to stay out of this disagreement and change. My advise would be to make sure your own house is clean before you say someone else is living in filth!

Kinda stinks for Az. Lose a mormon but then again gain another one.

"but when one's opinions as expressed in laws and viewpoints are transformed into prejudicial anti-immigrant rhetoric then that is the tipping point"
That is fine; however it has been my experience that it is not the Anti-lLLEGAL immigrant crowd who is transforming the debate into anti-immigrant rhetoric.
It is a standard politically correct tactic to misrepresent the other sides opinion, and then label them intolerant, based upon the inaccurate representation
It doesnt seem to matter how many times someone says they are fine with legal immigration, but oppose illegal immigration: They still get painted as racist anti-immigration by the pro illegal fundamentalists.
That is why it is important to continuously confront the slander

Today is great day for the U.S.A. Mr. Russel Pearce was as "NO NOTHING' as they come. We need people that can look at the issues as they really are and not through the lense of hate.

Do any of you Utah Monday Morning quarterbacks know the story of Pearce? I suggest you find out what happened to his family that started his strong stance on ILLEGAL immigration issues.

Pearce is NOT anti-LEGAL immigration; to say otherwise is to show your own ignorance on the issue.

@Johnson72
"Kinda stinks for Az. Lose a mormon but then again gain another one."

Why does that stink? (except if you have a religous predjudice)

@FDRfan--this was not a case of a Mormon Democrat ousting a conservative Republican. Both candidates were Mormon, conservative, and Republican. The article goes on to say that Lewis's views are very similar to Pearce's. So yeah, that could probably happen in Utah, too.

@Clark -- Actually it was The Economist, Washington Post, and Christian Science Monitor that emphasized the Mormon angle of this story. This DN article is basically a Frankenstein version of those publications' original reporting.

The LDS people control politics in Mesa.

Pearce has been criticized for his association with white supremacist J.T. Ready, whom Pearce endorsed for Mesa City Council in 2006 and appeared with him at several rallies. In 2004 Pearce was photographed attending J.T Ready's baptism, and Church documents reveal that Pearce ordained J.T Ready into the LDS priesthood.

Pearce has since claimed he was unaware of Ready's neo-Nazi affiliations at the time he made the endorsement.

This raises a few important questions:

Can an LDS member be a Neo-Nazi? In Arizona, apparently so.

How well do LDS really know their fellow members and converts? Apparently, not very well.

Pearce's son, Justin, resigned from the Arizona Motor Vehicles Division in 1999, after he produced counterfeit driver's licenses for himself and four friends with false ages, in an effort to avoid alcohol prohibition laws.

Justin subsequently pled guilty to tampering with a public record and received a suspended sentence.

In February 2011 Mesa police arrested Pearce's other son, Joshua, on two outstanding warrants tied to a probation violation and failing to appear in court.

Mesa Mormons replaced an embarassing Mormon with a less embarassing one.

This is good news for the Church, for Arizona, and for the country.

@Johnson 72:
Actually, my friend, it's all a matter of perception. This recall election was a "district" election, a district in which the majority of the voters were 1) Republican, 2) conservative and 3) Mormon. For them it was "win,win". Your perception, it would appear, rests primarily on a bias that anything "Mormon" is bad. Are you as equally glib concerning the color of skin and/or of ethnicity when it comes to judging all matters politico?

@The Atheist

Can an LDS member be a Neo-Nazi?
If someone has had a bad past but repented of ones sins then yes they are allowed to join the church.

How well do LDS really know their fellow members and converts?
Repentance is a beautiful principle. It doesn't mater what your past is... as long as you've repented.