Tea Party activists are riding to Arizona’s rescue in the state’s time of need.
Conservative activists recently launched a “Buycott”, urging people to support and do business with several Arizona-based companies, including US Airways, Best Western, and U-Haul.* And others are planning a rally to “Stand With Arizona.”
The efforts come in response to calls from progressives to boycott the state as a result of the controversial immigration law it passed last month. As we reported yesterday, the mayor of Phoenix has said the city faces a “near economic crisis” as a result of lost revenue.
Gina Loudon, a St. Louis-based Tea Party leader, who helped get the Buycott off the ground and is tracking its impact, told TPMmuckraker that it likely has generated “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” in spending for the companies involved, but said she hadn’t yet had a chance to count the receipts she’s been sent. “The numbers are probably astounding, as soon as I have time to add them up,” she said.
Loudon recently helped organize similar Buycotts of Ford and Whole Foods, after both companies came under fire from progressive activists. “I can’t imagine right now in this American economy that anybody wants a boycott of anything,” she said. “I think it’s incredibly destructive.”
Separately, grassroots conservatives activists have organized a rally for May 29 in Tempe, where participants will show support for Arizona in the face of “left-wing bullies.”
A message on the website for the Stand With Arizona campaign declares:
Arizona is under heavy fire from the left-wing bullies for trying to protect its own citizens from the ravages of illegal immigration. The entire state is being attacked as ‘racist,’ ‘nazi’ and ‘extremist.’ (Sound familiar?) The left-wing bullies believe they can target, isolate and neutralize Arizona, and thereby pressure the people of Arizona to stop enforcing the law.
It continues: “If you support Arizona’s right to pass reasonable laws for the protection of its own citizens, you are hereby invited to JOIN US on May 29th.”
Both the Buycott and the rally were promoted in an email sent last night by the Tea Party Patriots, perhaps the largest organized Tea Party faction.
* An earlier version of this post said incorrectly said that Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) called for a boycott of Arizona businesses. In fact, he called for a more limited sanction against conventions and conferences in the state.
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