Video: McCain town hall on immigration in Arizona gets hot

I’m giving you the video, but honestly all you need to do is look at this photo. That’s the face of a man who once famously grumbled about having to build “the goddamned fence,” then magically metamorphosed into an immigration hawk in time for his 2010 Senate re-election bid, and now has magically metamorphosed back into Chuck Schumer’s dance partner on a path to citizenship — only to face questions at home about that “goddamned fence” again.

If you missed it last week, here’s what one Arizona cop told Katie Pavlich about the future of comprehensive reform:

During his State of the Union address last night, President Obama touted the lowest illegal border crossings in 40 years, but with amnesty looming and border enforcement most likely coming after citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, law enforcement officials in Arizona are seeing an uptick in activity.

“We are seeing an uptick in bodies as of the last couple of weeks. We are starting to see large groups again in our AOR [Area of Responsibility]. The groups are up into the 20 to 40 range,” Pinal County Sheriff Department Lieutenant and SWAT team member Matthew Thomas tells Townhall…

Thomas tells Townhall Pinal County deputies are bracing for a “mad dash” as hints of amnesty continue.

WaPo also reported last week on the “new urgency” among would-be illegals to make it into the U.S. in time to enjoy the instant legalization that’ll come if/when the McCain/Schumer/Rubio Senate bill is enacted. (“[I]f the Americans were finally going to change their laws and offer a chance to stay, no one wanted to be stuck on the wrong side of the border.”) Still, give Maverick credit for facing the music here. You won’t see many other Republicans in Congress follow his lead, not just because they lack the nerve but because having grassroots conservatives on camera shouting about troops on the border or whatever from the audience undermines the whole point of this effort from the GOP leadership’s perspective. McCain himself has been admirably blunt about their motives: “Elections. Elections.” This is a PR play to try to win back some Latino voters, and the last thing you want when you’re doing PR is someone on your side going wildly “off-message.” Don’t expect many more town halls unless the audience has been carefully screened in advance.

Here’s the local newscast about the event followed by a 2010 flashback to one of the most ludicrous campaign ads you’ll ever see.

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