Barry Wong Is Very Wrong

Barry Wong is running for a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission; the ARIZONA Corporation Commission, remember. So, how does he plan to get elected?

Well, Barry Wong says he he wants to save utility customers from future rate hikes, and the only way to do so is to shut off the power, and other utilities, to illegal immigrants in the state.

It's the Jan Brewer Fascist Plan For Election.

Wong says, “We shoulder and we all share the costs. Granted they pay for it, but as we use more electricity overall then utilities will have to eventually build more power plants.”

Hmmm, they pay for it, and they use it, and that would require the building of more power plants, which would create more jobs and help the economy of states like, oh, I don't know, Arizona, and then maybe they could enact some sort of amnesty program and these illegals could become employed, taxpaying citizens, something that would also help the state of Arizona.

But, nope. Let's cut off their utilities.

If illegal immigrants have their utilities turned off, Wong, whose own grandparents immigrated to the United State from China, predicts it would keep costs down for everyone else. His plan would start off by having utility companies verify the immigration status of new customers, and then he would focus on finding existing customers in the country illegally.

Then cut off their power and their water.

Welcome to America, legally or otherwise.

Glenn Hamer, President and CEO of Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, blasted Wong in a written letter: "Today is the third day in a row when Phoenix-area temperatures will reach 110 degrees or higher. Since you're a native Phoenician, I don't need to remind you of the peril our state's most vulnerable residents face in our summer heat. To deny someone access to electricity based on his or her immigration status is not only a wrongheaded policy proposal, it's just cruel. Your claim that your proposal is somehow consumer-friendly is absurd. The costs of implementing your plan would be borne by ratepayers, never mind the hit taxpayers would take as police and fire departments would increasingly be responding to heat-related emergencies.”

And, of course, since it is Arizona, critics contend that Wong is using the immigration issue just to win an election, something, naturally, Wong denies: “I don't need this issue. I'm doing fine. I've been campaigning almost a year and, frankly, I don't need to grandstand with this issue.”

Well, Barry, ya asshat, if you don't need it, and your campaign is doing fine, then why bring it up?

Asshat. Jan Brewer would be so proud.