Last month I argued, with regard to political brinksmanship, that partisans ought to choose their fights carefully because even if they win the battle at hand, their weapons may be used against them. And here we are. The egg has fallen on Alabama's face. The state, which passed the nation's most draconian anti-immigration law this summer, made an arrest it probably regrets last week:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- A German manager with Mercedes-Benz is free after being arrested for not having a driver's license with him under Alabama's new law targeting illegal immigrants, authorities said Friday, in an otherwise routine case that drew the attention of Gov. Robert Bentley.

Let's put this in some context. In 1993, Mercedes decided to open a plant in Alabama. It was a huge deal for the state; to this day, nearly 20 years later, Alabama economic development officials talk about it all the time. The reason it was so important, they say, was because of what it signalled: the deal proved that Alabama could compete for highly-skilled manufacturing jobs, and having won that vote of confidence from Mercedes, subsequent deals have been easier to close.

Now, to be fair to Alabama, this arrest was legal under the new law. You're supposed to carry your driver's licence with you when driving, and if the manager in question was white then at least it's not racial profiling. However, it does seem like a bit of an overreaction, and surely this is not the image that Alabama is trying to telegraph to the world. It should be noted that Alabama's new law has consequences that are more serious, in objective terms, than the occasional inconvenience of a German businessman, such as parents pulling their children out of school. But if this is the case that catches the governor's attention—well, at least it's something.