Another Sunday and another chance for Bill Kristol to prove he's wrong about everything. Apparently Bloody Bill thinks using the Justice Department and our court system for the Obama administration to sue the state of Arizona over their immigration law somehow shows a "disrespect for democracy". I guess Bill doesn't have much use for that third branch of our government if he thinks using the courts isn't democratic.
I'm also getting sick to death of hearing about how the law polls. If we used polls to decide what was right in this country we'd still have Jim Crow laws on the books, which would probably be fine with a lot of Republicans unfortunately.
WALLACE: Bill?
KRISTOL: Yeah, and some -- and the great thing about the federal system is there are 50 states and Republicans in different states can say - - honestly take different positions. I'm not sure I would vote for this law in Virginia. We have very different circumstances than they do in Arizona.
But what strikes me about it -- I looked at the polls on this last night -- this law was always popular by about 3-2 when it was polled in May, when it first burst into the news. It's now -- its popularity has increased. That is, the popularity of the Arizona law has increased. The unpopularity of the Obama's administration's position...
WALLACE: Let me just -- let me just quickly...
KRISTOL: ... has increased.
WALLACE: ... put up on the screen -- this is a Fox News poll out this week, and what it shows is that overall -- overall, Americans approve of the Arizona law by a margin of 52 percent to 27, so basically two to one.
I will add, though, Hispanics, Bill, oppose the law overall around the country by a margin of about four to one.
KRISTOL: Right. But that 52-27 percent is interesting. It was 50 to 32 about two or three weeks before. So in other words, the number is increasing.
WALLACE: Right.
KRISTOL: And this reminds me of health care. We're having a big national debate. Voters are learning more about it. And more voters are more pro-Arizona as it goes on. That is bad for the Obama administration.
I mean, people in Washington tend to assume, "If only we could just educate them a little more and, you know -- and give some more speeches around the country, we'll their mind," and that's been very much the Obama administration's view on stimulus, on health care, and now on Arizona, on immigration. And I think it's not going to work.
And I think this is foolish of the Obama administration. I think it's bad law. And it, above all, shows a -- I think when in doubt...
WALLACE: Bad law meaning that the...
KRISTOL: Bad law -- I mean, I think it's -- I'm sorry, the bad lawsuit. Also, it just -- it shows a disrespect for democracy. When in doubt, let the voters and let the state legislatures have their way. If there's a clear abrogation of someone's individual right, of course, then the federal government can step in.
This is, at best -- at best -- a very murky case. And instead of waiting for the law to go into effect, instead of taking the attitude of let's see what happens with the private lawsuits that have been -- that have been filed, the Obama administration is stepping in and trying to override the democratically legislated laws of Arizona.