Brand new day, same old Jack

Yeah, I wasn't going to post, but while I was in the middle of setting up and formatting the new CD5-only blog, I had the TV on and tuned to Arizona Capitol Television. And before you ask, yes, I know I need help. :)

Jack Harper was in 'classic Jack' form today. :))

The channel was airing today's meeting of the Joint Committee to Investigate Operations and Conditions at the AZ Veterans Home, featuring the testimony for the former director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services, Patrick Chorpenning.

Just a couple of observations -

The Governor's office is *definitely* not on Mr. Chorpenning's Christmas card list. He believes he was unfairly made a scapegoat for the conditions at the Veterans Home (the phrase was "thrown under the bus").

However, and this adds to his credibility, when Sen. Jack Harper teed up an opportunity for Mr. Chorpenning to take a shot at Harry Mitchell, he strongly backed up the Congressman.

Harper started off by reminding everyone of Mitchell's visit to the Carl Hayden VA Medical Center and how the Congressman and his staff had met up with Chorpenning in front of the state Veterans Home (the facilities are across a parking lot from each other). Harper then tried to lead Chorpenning into saying that Mitchell was aware of the conditions at the state veterans home and said nothing about them.

Chorpenning would have none of that; he stated that the Congressman and his staffers were somewhat unfamiliar with the layout of the whole complex and it was easier to just meet in front of the state home and walk over to the VA facility together.

Chorpenning is certainly angry, but it's not a blind anger. He's not out to pass the blame to anyone he doesn't believe has earned it.

Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) is a very different story.

I've noticed this tendency in Harper before; at the last meeting of this committee that I was able to watch, he spent most of his time trying to trick a lawyer into saying something that would incriminate her firm or the Governor's office; in short, then, as now, as always, he was more interested in scoring partisan political points than in addressing the needs of Arizona's elderly veterans.

Also, this wasn't the first time Harper has tried to use the Arizona State Veterans Home situation to throw mud on U.S. Representative Harry Mitchell; Tedski at R-Cubed covered an earlier attempt in March. The Harper press release that he talks about is here.

The Republicans are going to have enough trouble keeping control of the lege next year without Harper running amok; with him off the leash, they may lose both chambers.

By the way, I have one piece of advice for the good Senator; well, actually, two pieces of advice -

1. Keep up the obnoxiousness, the louder the better; the phrase "Speaker Phil Lopes" has a nice ring to it.

2. Don't try to verbally fence with a lawyer; you'll lose every time. Words are their stock-in-trade. 'Nuff said.

:)

Notes -

The attorney was Karen Owens of Coppersmith Gordon Schermer Owens & Nelson, the firm that is representing the state veterans home as it deals with the administrative sanctions relating to inpsections earlier this year.

That meeting (the one with Ms. Owens) took place on April 24th; the video archive is available here. Her testimony begins somewhere around the 1:06 mark; her exchange with Harper begins near the 1:28 mark.

The video of today's meeting isn't on the website yet.

AZ Rep coverage of the first part of the meeting is here.

Later!