Smartest Republican of the Day: Connie Mack

By Michael J.W. Stickings

We don't hand out an SRD all that often -- I mean, it's not like there are all that many candidates on any given day -- but let's give some credit today to Rep. Connie Mack of Florida:

Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) ripped into the new Arizona immigration law today, comparing it to Nazi Germany.

"This law of 'frontier justice' – where law enforcement officials are required to stop anyone based on 'reasonable suspicion' that they may be in the country illegally – is reminiscent of a time during World War II when the Gestapo in Germany stopped people on the street and asked for their papers without probable cause," Mack said in a statement.

"This is not the America I grew up in and believe in, and it’s not the America I want my children to grow up in," he added.

Very well put. And so un-Republican of him (which makes him our SRD).

Yes, other Republicans have spoken out, if far more mildly, against the Arizona law. As I blogged the other day, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Karl Rove, three fairly high-profile Republicans, all have problems with it. But the overwhelming reaction among Republicans and conservatives, including Bill Kristol and George Will, is full and enthusiastic support for it.

Suffice it to say that Mack's statement is a breath of fresh air, a defence of freedom against fascism, and just the sort of responsible, intelligent comment one finds so rarely these days in the GOP.

(Of course, Mack may have had an ulterior motive. He needs the Hispanic vote if he wants to win state-wide office in Florida, and this is a good way to appeal to Hispanics. But I suspect that he is nonetheless sincere in his criticism of the Arizona law, as it generally fits in with his opposition to Latin American dictators like Hugo Chavez. Freedom is freedom, after all, here or there.)