PHOENIX β Embattled state Rep. David Stringer has picked up an ally in his defense of his comments about the effects of immigration β his Prescott Republican seat mate.
Rep. Noel Campbell, who was at the luncheon a week ago where Stringer first made his comments, said he doesnβt want to get into the merits of what his colleague said about immigration being an βexistential threatβ to the United States nor his remarks about the problems of assimilating so many new foreigners.
Campbell did acknowledge that Stringerβs comments were, at the very least, βinartful.β
But he said it would be wrong to paint Stringer as a racist. And he lashed out at others who he believes rushed to βvilifyβ him and seek his political scalp.
Of particular note was state GOP Chairman Jonathan Lines calling on Stringer to immediately resign. That, in turn, resulted in other Republicans like Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Chamber of Commerce President Glenn Hamer following suit and issuing similar statements.
Campbell called it βdeplorableβ to use the comments to effectively declare Stringer a racist.
βI heard the entirety of Davidβs remarks,β he said, as did those at the forum. βHis concerns about the negative impacts of legal and illegal immigration due to the inability to assimilate into our American culture were applauded by those present and not perceived as racist.β
That mirrors Stringerβs explanation last week to Capitol Media Services about the message he was trying to get across. He said his remarks were meant to be a warning of sorts to his audience which was largely, if not exclusively Anglo, that the country they know is changing.
βIβm telling them, βYou need to be prepared for this,ββ he said.
But for those not present at last weekβs event, Campbell said, the reaction has been different.
βThis is a firestorm up here,β he told Capitol Media Services.
Stringerβs recorded comments were not limited to the threat of immigration to the national identity. He also said that integration of schools could prove impossible given that a majority of children in public schools are minorities, meaning there βarenβt enough white kids to go around.β
But the reaction to Stringer was not based entirely on the comments made at the Prescott luncheon.
In a separate exclusive interview with Capitol Media Services, Stringer said while America has a history of being βa melting pot,β that has worked βfor people of European descentβ who βdonβt have any accentsβ and are βindistinguishable,β something not true of Hispanics β or for that matter, Asians or African Americans.
And he said migrants from south of the border in particular donβt fully assimilate into the U.S. because βtheir connections with their country are strongerβ than those who came here from another continent.
