Democrats across the country are running from their records and the positions of their party. David Redwine, a former Democratic state House member running for the N.C. Senate seat vacated by the retiring R.C. Soles, is sprinting faster than most.

The Brunswick County Democrat has produced a campaign mailer that reads like it might have been written by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (click on image to see a larger version).

The text of the mailer is as follows:

Book ’em.

David Redwine wants jail time for CEOs who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. When CEOs break the law and hire illegal immigrants, it’s a magnet for illegal immigration to Southeast North Carolina. David Redwine wants to put a stop to that with:

• Tough new fines for corporations caught knowingly hiring illegal immigants.
• Jail time for CEOs who are repeat offenders.
• Bringing Arizona immigration crack down to North Carolina.

The whole thing was paid for by the North Carolina Democratic Party, according to a disclaimer on the mailer, and authorized by Redwine.

Now, you can be forgiven for being confused, considering the national and state Democratic Party’s position on the Arizona law. The passage of SB 1070 in Arizona last spring, and the signing of the bill by Gov. Jan Brewer, brought on a barrage of heated rhetoric from Democrats, who claimed we were seeing the beginning of the Fourth Reich right here in the old U.S. It soon became clear that the public didn’t buy their overheated and irresponsible rhetoric, and the whole issue died down after it became evident it was a loser for Democrats.

State party officials gave a lame “we’re a big tent” type response when asked by The News & Observer about the mailer. But imagine what they’d have said if a Republican had produced such an item.

The biggest irony may be that Redwine, illegal immigration crusader, supported the 2001 bill (HB 1041) in the legislature that required ballots to be printed in Spanish as well as English. But that was then, this is now.

Here’s another irony. I tried to go the the Democratic Party’s spanish language page to see if they were also touting Redwine’s position, but the page doesn’t exist. See below:

Are the Democrats trying to tell illegal immigrants something?