The Folks In Arizona Pay A Hefty Price For Being Dicks

Good thing this didn't happen during tough economic times:

Several days before Gov. Jan Brewer signed Arizona's controversial immigration bill, Congressman Raul Grijalva called on the rest of the nation to boycott his home state if the new proposal became law. National organizations, Grijalva said, should cancel upcoming conventions slated to be held there.

"If the state follows through with this, the cost will be high," Grijalva warned.

Turns out, he was right: so far, the state has lost between $6 million and $10 million in projected business revenue, with 23 group hotel bookings--from small meetings to large conventions--having been canceled in protest since the stroke of Brewer's pen, according to the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association.

Hotels don't want to disclose which clients have canceled, for fear of alienating businesses. So far, the most widely publicized cancelation has come from the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

"It's clear that the bill has had an economic impact on the state. It's impossible to say that it hasn't," says Glenn Hamer, CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. * * *

By the way: Good one, Arnold.