[freedomfiter2]

The move is a rare instance of the federal government forcefully intervening in a state’s affairs

What planet is this writer on? Apparently, rare means something different there.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

The problem (for USDOJ) is that AZ has police powers within its boundaries. The Federal Government does not posses police powers. The law appears to have been very well drafted to piggyback on the federal classification of illegal immigrant - so that they only are dealing with categories established by the federal government.

I've heard some say that AZ is encroaching on the federal responsibility for immigration policy. There is no doubt that the Federal Constitution leaves that in the hands of the Congress. But AZ is not seeking to define policy - they are just seeking to enforce the law within their boundaries.

The potential for this to be an exploding cigar in the face of the USDOJ is clear in the delay that lapsed from the implementation of this law. Holder and Obama have said that they were studying the law and formulating a strategy, as to whether or not to challenge it. That could have been done months ago. The significance of the delay is that I suspect Holder has figured out the critical path to a defeat or to procedural element s which would be embarrassing to the administration and waited until the point at which filing would not lead to an embarrassment before November 2nd. They want to be able to bang the drum for their base, they don't case about the law.

I think this can also lead to problems for Kagan’s confirmation process, and they may have delayed filing the suit to try and clear that.