I can't even begin to predict how Arizona will go. I can tell you a lot of local Republicans are totally livid over the border issue. A large number of them, all of whom busted their butts getting Bush elected, are no longer willing to hold their noses and vote for someone who constantly comes down on the wrong side of the one issue that affects them every day.
For us the border and illegal aliens are not a vicarious experience. It is not something we read about or see on TV. It is an ugly and dangerous reality that we -- our friends, our neighbors, our families -- are forced to live with on a daily and nightly basis.
I'm with you, man. In spades.
I got home at 10pm last night, was exhausted, and starving. I had been up for 24 hours straight, and didn't feel like cooking or go to the grocery store.
I tried to do something as incredibly simply as order a pizza to be delivered. You know, one of those great convieniences of living in a modern day superpower. One of those cool little quality-of-life benefits we get from handing over 55% of our income to various governments. I figured I would avail myself of the American quality of life last night.
I spent at least 5 minutes "talking" to the guest worker who answered the phone. The language barrier was so bad that, that I said "screw it", and just went to bed hungry. I tried my best to speak high-school Spanglish to make my order, because he couldn't understand a word I was speaking. Yes, I made the effort to speak the language of his country. But, apparently he wanted perfect Spanish and didn't appreciate my efforts.
I know a pizza seems incredibly meager, meaningless, petty, and unimportant ... but that's not really the point. Unfortunately these experiences are not even close to being unique to the food service arena. It's getting more and more difficult to do ANYTHING in English around here.
But, they say it doesn't affect the quality of life for Americans.
They tell me that the 25 cents a quart I save on strawberries is worth it.