Brewer jumps on the PR train...

...but her train ride is less "whistle stop tour of the state" and more "spin around the kiddie park."

From AZCentral.com -

Legislative leaders on Monday rejected a request from Gov. Jan Brewer to send her the budget bills they passed last week, saying they need more time to work out their differences. The governor then decided to conduct her own review of the $8.2 billion, convening a daylong hearing that begins at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at the state Capitol.

She's inviting people to testify about the effects of the GOP budget plan on such areas as education, health and human services, local governments, transportation and public safety.

The meeting will be held in the second floor conference room of the Executive Tower, 1700 W. Washington. It will run until 2:30 p.m.

She's taking a page from the Democrats in the legislature, except that it looks like one of her handlers shredded that page and gave the pieces to a drunk chimpanzee to put back together.

To whit:

...where Brewer's "hearing" will be held in the bowels of the State Capitol's Executive Tower in downtown Phoenix, a short elevator ride away from her plush offices, the Democrats travelled to the far reaches of the state.

...where Brewer's "hearing" is invitation-only, the Democrats' hearings were open to all interested people.

...where Brewer's "hearing" will be held in a small conference room, the Democrats' hearings were held in lecture halls, auditoriums, open parks, community centers, churches, and pretty much anywhere large groups of people could meet.

...where Brewer's "hearing" will be held during the middle of the business day, limiting the number of average folks who can stop by, the Democrats worked all day at the lege or their own jobs and then spent their evening hours listening to Arizonans who will be affected by the state's budget.

In short, Brewer's hearing is solely a PR move, meant to pressure her own caucus in the lege, not to listen to the folks who will be (and have already been) devastated by the state's budget debacle.

The sad part is that Brewer and her handlers could have planned this better - she's been to many parts of the state for various events. A little multi-tasking wouldn't have been difficult. This PR push should have started in February or March, not well into June.

Later...