People that should be (at least) locked up for October: Russell Pearce (R-AZ)

So I decided to have a feature.  Because features make for good blogs, right?

Every month, I'm going to give a profile of someone who should be, at the very least, put in prison.  Think of it like Keith Olbermann's Worst Person in the World, except I'm not an pretentious ex-sports reporter.

So, for October, I present Senator Russell Pearce, a man whose continued existence is proof that God doesn't strike down evil.

Senator Pearce, 63, assumed office last year.  He served for some time as Chief Deputy Sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona.  He was appointed by Republican officials as Director of Highway Safety, but was later discharged after tampering with state driving records.  A real stand-up guy.

He became the Representative of District 18 in Arizona in 2001 and served there until his campaign for Senate in 2008.  But he was by no means idle! In April of 2006, he endorsed J.T. Ready in his campaign for city council in Mesa, AZ.  The same J.T. Ready seen here posing with his Neo-Nazi buddies.  Of course, then-Representative Pearce had absolutely no idea that the buddy he held hands with in his anti-immigration rally was a NEO-Nazi! Why would he associate with white supremacists?

Well, I mean, aside from the fact that he is one.  But he's sorry.  So it's okay.

Pearce has always stood by a hard position on immigration.  In that he don't like it much.  He recently cited a statistic that "Twenty percent [of immigrants] coming across the border already have a criminal history." (source).  He says that there's a lot of violence coming out of these illegals! His stance on violence, of course, being made perfectly clear by the repeated beatings he delivers to his wife.

No surprise that he had a pretty strong hand in the drafting of the Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, AKA, the legalization and institutionalization of racial profiling in Arizona.  But how strong a hand? Well, apparently not a very strong hand, it's mostly drafted by the prison industry.

That's right.  The prison industry.

I strongly recommend reading that article.  It will make you very, very upset.  And that's something you want to be, if you're reading this blog.

Senator Pearce presented before a hotel conference rooms of prison executives (yes, those exist) and legislators a plan to not only build a bunch of new prisons, but also churn out prisoners to fill them! What a concept.  Of course, there was little debate to be had, but a lot of profit.

And so, the bill was drafted there and transmitted, almost word-for-word, to the statehouse.  36 co-sponsors jumped up out of no where.  Well, not no where, they were in the hotel room with the prison execs.  The bill found its way to the desk of Governor Jan Brewer.  It was then signed into law.  30 of the 36 co-sponsors receive campaign contributions and everyone's happy.

Except, of course, the people of Arizona.  And anyone not as racially pure as Senator Pearce and his white supremacist ilk.

So there you have it.  Senator Pearce.  October's person who should be thrown in prison.  At least.