“Don’t Tread On Me. Tread On That Other Guy.”

Arizona’s new Immigration Law SB1070, requires local police to check the papers of anyone who is a part of a stop, detention or arrest when “reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States.”

Laws like these affect all of us. It means U.S. citizens will have to carry and present “proof” that we belong here. What criteria will police use to determine which of us to suspect? What does an American citizen look like?

Americans from all walks of life have come out against this travesty of our ideals — everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger and the NAACP, to Arizona’s own Police Chiefs and even the Phoenix Suns.

But where is the Tea Party?

The Other 98% hereby challenges the Tea Party and its leaders (that means you, Dick Armey, Sarah Palin, Erick Erickson and Rand Paul), to publicly call for repeal of Arizona Law SB1070.

If “Don’t Tread On Me” really means ”Tread on that Other Guy”, or worse, ”Tread on that (Brown) Guy”, then you are fighting not for the America of our Founders, but for the totalitarian nightmare you so declaim.

Which is it, Tea Party? Are you against tyranny or aren’t you? It’s time to speak up and defend the ideals you claim to stand for.

The land of the free should not turn into the land of “show me your papers.” Stand with us against this abominable law.

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Sign the open letter to the Tea Party from The Other 98%