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Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) on Sunday warned that current U.S. foreign policy could have negative consequences for years because the Syrian people would "take revenge" if the United States decided not to take military action to oust President Bashar Hafez al-Assad.

During an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, McCain suggested that the U.S. should respond to reports that the Assad regime used chemical weapons by creating a "safe zone" with aerial attacks and arming rebel forces.

"Be prepared with an international force to secure these stocks of chemical and perhaps biological weapons," the Arizona Republican advised. "There are a number of caches of these chemical weapons, they cannot fall into the hands of the jihadists, otherwise we will end up seeing those weapons used in other places in the Middle East. It's a very dangerous situation."

McCain added that both he and the American people did not want to see "boots on the ground," but he did want to give the rebels the assistance needed to shift the balance of power.

"We have to as an international group, plan and be ready operationally -- not just plan, but be ready operationally -- to go in and secure those areas," he explained. "But the worst thing the United States could do right now is put boots on the ground in Syria because it would turn the people against us."

"And just let me say, the Syrian people are angry and bitter at the United States. I was in a refugee camp in Jordan, and there are thousands of people and kids. And this woman who's a school teacher said, 'Sen. McCain, you see these people here? They're going to take revenge on those people who refuse to help them.' They're angry and bitter. And that legacy could last for a long time too unless we assist them."

So Republicans, how's that minority outreach program of yours going? It seems xenophobes like Kris Kobach haven't learned anything from his buddy Mitt Romney's loss in the presidential election.

Big Surprise: Kris Kobach Still Believes in Self-Deportation:

Remember how the Mitt Romney-espoused "self-deportation" rhetoric was supposed to end up in the dustbin of history following President Obama's huge margins among Latino voters back in November? Apparently no one told Kris Kobach.

The Kansas secretary of state and intellectual author of harsh laws in states like Arizona and Alabama was back at it again earlier today, this time at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings on the Gang of Eight's immigration bill. In response to questions from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kobach said that "self-deportation is not some radical idea. It is simply the idea that people may comply with the law by their own choice."

GOP Immigration Guru Insists DREAMers Should Self-Deport:

Speaking at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing, Kobach insisted that DREAM eligible applicants, many of whom have lived in the United States for most of their lives, should not be rewarded for the “sins of their parents.” Instead, DREAMers should go back to their parents’ country of origin, Kobach said, and “get in line with the rest of their countrymen.” “That just defies basic compassion,” Durbin shot back, pointing to to Gabby Pacheco, an undocumented immigrant brought to America at the age of eight from Ecuador, who was testifying alongside Kobach. “She’s never known any other country,” Durbin explained, “this is her home.” [...]

Kobach responded by reviving self-deportation, arguing that “if you ratchet up the penalties for violating the law, people choose to leave.”

But Durbin predicted that the momentum has shifted from deportation to reform after the 2012 election. “Ultimately the voters have the last word. The voters had the last word on self-deportation on Nov. 6, so we’re beyond that now,” he said.

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Republican Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller this week criticized the Obama administration for failing to provide better border security, insisting that it was "not rocket scientry."

A bipartisan group of senators known as the "Gang of Eight" -- led by Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) -- announced Tuesday a comprehensive immigration reform bill that was expected to include a 13-year pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and $5.5 billion in increased spending on border security over 10 years.

Although the bill would reportedly require border security operations to be fully functional before any of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants could apply for permanent residency or citizenship, many conservative Republicans say the bill doesn't go far enough.

In a Tuesday segment on NPR's Morning Edition, several Republican lawmakers said that they flatly opposed comprehensive immigration reform at this time.

"My position would be if you're serious about securing the border, go secure it and then come back and talk to us," Rep. Steve King (R-IA) quipped.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said that some conservatives could be using concerns about the border as an excuse to perpetually oppose reform.

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Breitbart News editor-at-large Ben Shapiro on Wednesday dismissed the importance of ethnic studies by insisting that only purposes of the courses were "to meet girls" and "get an easy A."

Fox News host Megyn Kelly noted on Wednesday that a U.S. Circuit Court judge recently had upheld an Arizona law that banned ethnic studies in Tucson because Republican lawmakers said that the classes promoted racial resentment.

Shapiro argued that the judge had made the right decision because ethnic studies courses -- like the Mexican American Studies Program that was banned in Tucson -- had a "myopic focus on the idea that America is a racist place against certain ethnicities and minorities."

"The second point here is just the giant waste of taxpayer dollars that this constitutes," he added. "Look, I took Jewish studies courses when I was at UCLA. There are only two reason that you take a Jewish studies course. The first is to meet girls, and the second is to get an easy A."

"And that's why most students are taking ethnic studies courses, unless they're buying into this radical ideology that really is the basis of all ethic studies courses throughout America."

"That explains a lot about the make up of some of those classes back in my school," Kelly quipped.

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The Tennessee state Senate on Monday considered a bill that would allow counselors to discriminate against LGBT students, sexually-active students or anyone else based on religious objections.

Republican state Sen. Joey Hensley encouraged fellow senators to pass SB 514 to "prevent an institution of high education from discriminating against a student in the counseling, social worker, psychology programs because of their religious beliefs."

According the The Tennessean, the bill was inspired by Julea Ward, a Christian student who was expelled from Eastern Michigan after she refused to "engage in gay-affirming counseling" by helping an LGBT student who wanted to be treated for depression in 2009. Arizona has already passed a law based on the case. Similar bills have also been proposed by lawmakers in Michigan and Georgia.

Hensley's bill would protect any student who "refuses to counsel or serve a client as to goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with a sincerely held religious belief."

State Rep. John J. DeBerry Jr., who had been a defender of Tennessee's so-called "don't say gay" bill barring the discussion of homosexuality in schools, has introduced a version of Hensley's bill in the state House. Both bills were written with the help of the conservative Family Action Council of Tennessee.

Jake Morris, the head of the counseling program at the Nashville-based Christian Lipscomb University, told The Tennessean that he objected to the bills because student counselors needed to be available to treat all clients.

"I want my students to be able to help anyone who walks in their door," he explained. "For example, if a student thinks divorce is sinful, that student still needs to know how to treat clients who have gone through a divorce."

"We are health care professionals," Morris added. “We need to act like it.”

The New Civil Rights Movement's David Badash observed that the bill seemed to be using religion as a "door to hide and cower behind."

"The concept of so-called 'religious liberty' as it’s being (mis)used is faulty," Badash wrote on Tuesday. "If anti-gay people want a reason to not help gay people, they should have the personal courage to do so, and accept the consequences."

The Tennessee state Senate tabled discussion of SB 514 until next Thursday to give senators a chance to discuss amendments. A House subcommittee was expected to consider DeBerry's version of the bill on Tuesday.

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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was terribly upset with the news that this sequester battle is going to end up cutting into the profits of her buddies in the private prison industry: Jan Brewer: Freeing Immigrant Detainees Is ‘Height Of Absurdity’:

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) is not at all happy with immigration officials for releasing hundreds of detainees in anticipation of coming sequester cuts.

“I’m appalled to learn the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has begun to release hundreds of illegal aliens from custody, the first of potentially thousands to soon be freed under the guise of federal budget cuts,” Brewer told the Arizona Republic in a statement. “This is pure political posturing and the height of absurdity given that the releases are being granted before the federal sequestration cuts have even gone into effect.”

In an interview with FOX News' Neil Cavuto on Wednesday, Brewer also attacked the White House over their claim that they had no involvement with the decision, saying they were in "duck and cover mode."

Maggie's Farm at Kos has more on what really has Brewer upset: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer 'appalled' DHS is releasing immigrants. Blow to prison industry profits:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's quest to imprison as many aliens as possible was steered in part by the state's powerful private prison lobby, since the "papers please" law and other tough anti-immigrant policies bring more customers to their jails. Most stories about the Department of Homeland Security releasing inmates this week have overlooked the blow to the prison industry's bottom line. It costs, for instance, about $164 a day to incarcerate one immigrant. Multiply that by tens of thousands. Day after day. [...]

Jan Brewer's been an esteemed member of the Crazy Republican Governors Club—joining lugheads like Scott Walker, Sam Brownback and Rick Scott who've embraced the tea party's "cut the deficit" gibberish, seemingly unaware of the effects in their state. Now Brewer and her looney tunes ideologues are getting a taste of Norquist's bathtub politics. She's finding out what GOP obstructionism is going to cost Arizona, and it began this week with her state's former governor, Janet Napolitano, releasing immigrants.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she's appalled to hear that the Department of Homeland Security has begun releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants from custody. It's the first of potentially thousands of immigrants to soon be freed before mandatory federal budget cuts go into effect.

The reality chicken has come home to roost in the guise of nearly 31,000 immigrants held in jails nationwide. That's an expensive undertaking, and the sequester will wallop DHS upside the head, necessitating huge cuts. Rather than $164 a day to incarcerate one inmate, the "supervised release" planned for prisoners who pose no serious threat costs less than $14 per day—a blow to prison profits, even if only some inmates are held in private facilities.

Gillian Christensen, an [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] spokeswoman, said ICE has reviewed "several hundred cases" of immigrants being held in jails around the country and released them in the last week. They have been "placed on an appropriate, more cost-effective form of supervised release," she said.

Of course if you watch the clip above with Brewer on Cavuto's show, you'd get the impression the opposite was true and that it was more expensive to monitor the prisoners than jail them.

Here's your compassionate conservatism on full display, folks. I guess this shouldn't be surprising after the behavior we saw from the crowds at the Republican presidential primary debates. John McCain's recent string of town hall meetings just continues to show the very ugly side of today's Republican party.

Crowd Cheers After McCain Tells Aurora Victim’s Mother She Needs ‘Straight Talk’ (VIDEO):

Constituents at a town hall hosted by Sen. John McCain Wednesday in Phoenix cheered after the Arizona Republican told the mother of an Aurora, Colo. shooting victim that an assault weapons ban could not get through Congress.

Here's more from KTVK:

Border security was not the focus of the majority of questions asked by audience members at the standing-room-only event Wednesday. Instead, gun control became the primary issue.

At one point, the mother of Aurora movie shooting victim Alex Teves took the microphone.

“My 24-year-old son Alex was murdered in a movie theater in Colorado,” Caren Teves said. “These assault rifles allow the shooter to fire many rounds without having to re-load. These weapons do not belong on our streets.”

McCain responded by sympathizing with Teves, then addressing her call for a ban on assault rifles.

“I can tell you right now you need some straight talk. That assault weapons ban will not pass the Congress of the United States,” said Sen. McCain.

McCain said his plan to deal with mass shootings would protect Second Amendment rights.

“We are working together to try to come up with a package that would prevent guns from falling into the hands of criminals while at the same time preserving our Second Amendment rights,” he said.

Audience members also asked questions about impeaching President Obama, Benghazi, and immigration reform.

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Color me not shocked that the Republicans' xenophobia and constant demonizing of immigrants is coming back to bite John McCain in the rear end. McCain Jeered At Town Hall After Opposing Mass Deportation:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) got an earful from his constituents in his home state while defending his bipartisan immigration plan at a town hall.

According to the Associated Press, an "angry crowd" reacted negatively as McCain described his proposal to grant a path to citizenship for many of the country's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. From their writeup:

“There are 11 million people living here illegally,” he said. “We are not going to get enough buses to deport them.”

Some audience members shouted out their disapproval.

One man yelled that only guns would discourage illegal immigration. Another man complained that illegal immigrants should never be able to become citizens or vote. A third man said illegal immigrants were illiterate invaders who wanted free government benefits.

McCain urged compassion. “We are a Judeo-Christian nation,” he said. McCain’s other town hall meeting took place in Green Valley, south of Tucson.

TPM has more here as well with some of the tweets from the local reporters who were covering the event: John McCain Questioned About Immigration In Arizona Townhall.

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The police chief in Peoria, Arizona has launched an investigation into what activists are calling a "de facto immigration checkpoint" that nabbed young immigrants attending a speech President Barack Obama delivered on immigration reform last month.

"It was a de facto immigration checkpoint," Respeto executive director Lydia Guzman recently explained to KPNX.

According to police, the checkpoint began as an effort to inspect commercial vehicles, but Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers showed up voluntarily.

"We have an email list and that goes out to all the agencies -- law enforcement, different agencies," police spokesperson Amanda Jacinto said. "ICE happens to be one of the people on that list."

ICE, however, insisted that its agents attended the checkpoint at the request of the Arizona Department of Transportation, which had partnered with Peoria police.

Authorities said that 11 undocumented immigrants were detained during the three-day checkpoint operation. Ten of those detainees had been released by Tuesday.

Lino Garcia Paulino was detained as he was driving back from Phoenix with his pregnant wife. He spent a week in jail before a friend was able to pay the $3,000 for his bail. Paulino's wife was released after telling officers she was in the process of applying for citizenship.

Coincidentally, the checkpoint kicked off on Jan. 29, the same day that President Obama was speaking about immigration reform in nearby Las Vegas, and some of the young immigrants -- or DREAMers -- who attended his speech were also caught up in the operation.

"We thought the timing of this was very suspicious," Guzman observed. "We thought that maybe this was some sort of way to antagonize the activist groups that went out to the president's speech."

For its part, the Peoria Police Department almost immediately denied allegations of racial profiling, but hours later promised to review activists' complaints.

"It was in no way ever intended to be, set up to be or in any way was a immigration check point," Jacinto declared. "At no point were our officers involved in any sort of racial profiling."

Peoria Police Chief Roy Minter on Monday announced that the department would conduct an official inquiry to find out why officers decided to stop private motorists during a checkpoint that was set up to inspect commercial vehicles.

"That operations plan did not state anything about a vehicle registration compliance checkpoint," he noted.

Police said that the 17 vehicles impounded during the operation would be given back to the owners and all fees would be waived as a "gesture of good will."

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It looks like Arizona's wingnut, corrupt Sheriff Joe Arpio is ready to take his all-volunteer, armed posse from hunting down illegal immigrants to the schools in the wake of the Newtown shooting and the NRA head Wayne LaPierre's recommendation that we put armed volunteers into every school . What could possibly go wrong?

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Wants ‘Armed Posse’ to Protect Schools:

In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is getting ready to deploy an armed posse to protect children in Phoenix, Arizona area schools.

Eric Bolling asked Sheriff Arpaio on ‘Your World’ today how the armed posse would be implemented. Arpaio responded that it would work the same way it’s been working for 20 years and that he’s used the posse to go after illegal immigrants and prostitutes. “I think it’s a good program and we’re going to do it. I don’t just talk about it like politicians after this massacre. We’re going to do it within a week,” he said.

Arpaio further described the initiative saying the posse would patrol the perimeter of the schools and take any action necessary in case there is suspicious activity. “I want everybody to know that we are out there,” he said.

And, as they noted over at Jesus' General, it seems some of these guys aren't exactly spring chickens: Sheriff Joe to Arm Great Grandpa Elmer to Protect Schools .