The Republican Senate Debate

Earlier this evening, the three candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate appeared at a forum televised on Phoenix channel 3 (KTVK). (Video of tonight's forum, as well as last week's Democratic forum, can be found here)

I wasn't going to write about it as I figure the R bloggers in AZ will do that (figure Sonoran Alliance will annoint Hayworth the hands-down winner, Political Mafioso will do the same for McCain, and somebody will declare Deakin to be the "future of the Republican Party" or some such tripe), but I'm sitting through one of the ugliest innings that I have ever seen as the DBacks mail it in against the Padres,

As such, I have the time for a few comments.

First, the summary:

Candidate 1: You support amnesty/earmarks/big government!  I'm the *real* conservative! 

Candidate 2: I'm rubber and you're glue!  Everything you say bounces off me and sticks to you!

Candidate 3: At least you both agree with me on that.


Seriously, this was less a candidate forum and more a remake of an 80s slasher flick - they were cutting at each other from the word go.  Hayworth and McCain spent no time telling what they would do to serve Arizona and its residents.  Neither did Deakin, but he was almost an afterthought as McCain and Hayworth spent the hour launching haymakers at each other.

McCain and Hayworth made it obvious from the beginning that participating in the forum wasn't one of the ir priorities. 

Frequently, the answers they gave had very little or nothing to do with the questions asked and a lot to do with criticizing the other.

Hayworth dropped names, citing endorsements from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, and other nativist individuals and organizations.

McCain didn't mention people so much as run down the list of big corporations that he will aid if he is re-elected.  (trolling for campaign cash?)

Deakin tended vacillate between "stop Obama" and "restore constitutional government!"  He may have dropped some names, but by the time the third question was asked I was tuning out the responses.  I kept an eye on the screen waiting/hoping that one of the candidates would jump across the lectern trying to throttle one of the others.

It didn't happen, but I kept hoping for a popcorn moment. :))

Anyway, the big winner(s) of Friday's debate had to be the Democratic candidates. 

They were far from perfect during their debate, but they focused on the issues facing the state and the country while avoiding personal attacks.

Whichever one is the eventual nominee can point to their performance and compare it to the Republican nominee's. 

And no matter who the eventual nominees are, the D will come off as the candidate who is more professional, mature, and concerned for Arizona.

Arts Education forum for State Superintendent candidates

The Arizona Citizens for the Arts and the Arizona Alliance for Arts Education will be presenting a forum with/for all five candidates for State Superintendent of Public Education (Ds: Penny Kotterman and Jason Williams; Rs: Beth Price, Margaret Dugan, and John Huppenthal) .

From the announcement -

All Candidates for the post have been invited to the event where they will answer a series of questions related to the Arizona Arts Standards, development of arts education curriculum for students and their commitment to provide access to quality arts education in Arizona schools.

Date:  Thursday, July 29, 2010
Time: 5:30p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Place: Musical Instrument Museum
           4725 E. Mayo Blvd.

           Phoenix, AZ 85050
 
The forum is free and open to the public.  Register here.
 
According to this AZCentral.com piece, as of yesterday, all five candidates have pledged to be there, though that is subject to change without notice.

Meet and greet LD1 candidates to discuss education issues

Posting, with permission, an email from a regular reader in Sedona Karen McClelland, a Sedona Oak Creek School Board member -

ATTENTION ALL EDUCATION ADVOCATES

DISCUSS EDUCATION ISSUES WITH ALL THE STATE LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES

The budget news for Arizona for next year is still bleak. All of our local schools have reduced budgets for next year. Most laid off staff members and cut programs. We are hearing that we may face budgets cuts during the upcoming school year even before the budget for 2011-2012 is discussed.

It is more vital than ever that we let our state legislature know that we view Education as a TOP PRIORITY for the state. preserving and improving our public education system is vital for the future of Arizona's economy. We need to be sure sure that ALL our elected officials view education as an essential INVESTMENT in our future and NOT as an expense.

Please come and let all the candidates for State Legislature and State Senate in LD1 hear your concerns.

I am hosting informal houseparties for each candidate. These are not fundraising events and I hope that Republicans, Democrats, parents, community members, teacher and board members attend each meeting. The meetings will be at my home in the Village of Oak Creek, Sedona .

I do need RSVPs.

Please call me at 284-0001 or email me at klm@esedona.net and I will send you the directions.

The meeting dates are:

Monday, July 26 4 p.m. Lindsay Bell, Democratic Candidate for State Legislature

Wednesday, August 11 4 p.m. Noel Campbell. Republican Candidate for State Legislature

Wednesday, August 18 4 p.m. Karen Fann . Republican Candidate for State Legislature

Thursday, August 26 4p.m. Senator Steve Pierce, Republican Candidate for State Senate


Rep. Andy Tobin , Republican candidate for State Legislature will also be here in mid August and

Bob Donahue, Democratic Candidate for State Senate will be here the first week in September. We are still finalizing dates.

 Karen McClelland, Vice-President Sedona Oak Creek School Board
Yavapai County Director, Arizona School Board Association
**and Candidate for re-election to Sedona Oak Creek School Board for a third term!**

Later...

Republican mayor says U.S. in a civil war

...While the neo-Nazi Mexican hunting squads "patriotic citizen anti-immigrant patrols" may not have made it to the area around Yuma as yet, Yuma is a lot closer than Fort Sumter.  Maybe MCAS-Yuma should be on alert...

From the Yuma Sun -

Yuma mayor at immigration forum: SB 1070 has created a civil war

America is in a civil war, said Yuma Mayor Al Krieger ­— and it's over SB 1070.


At an immigration forum Tuesday evening, Krieger and other panelists discussed the controversial law that will go into effect July 29. The law would make it a state crime to be in the country illegally, enforced by local law enforcement, a job currently done by federal law enforcement.

{snip}

Krieger said the definition of a civil war is when the states and federal governments differ (in opinion). “So we basically have an undeclared civil war today.”

Krieger apparently has confused "civil actions" with "civil wars".


Civil actions - the lawyers get thousands of billable hours

Civil wars - the morgues get thousands of dead people


Guess which one is going on right now?


Of course, perhaps this all should be taken with a grain a salt.

This is the same Mayor Al Krieger who used a speech given on Memorial Day. a day to honor fallen members of America's military branches, to deride gay members of the military as "lacy-drawered" and "limp-wristed." 

It could be that Krieger is just a loud-mouthed bigot looking to get attention any way that he can, and has found that spouting incendiary statements brings that attention to him.

The Witch Hunt Begins...

...and apparently, Utah is trying to bump Arizona off the top of the list of "places most friendly to nativists" because the witch hunt is starting there...

From the story on  MSNBC.com -

Advocates of tougher immigration enforcement joined civil rights activists in condemning circulation this week of a list of alleged illegal immigrants to Utah state agencies and news organizations, saying it sent the wrong message to violate privacy laws in seeking to enforce immigration laws.

The 30-page document included addresses, phone numbers and birthdates for about 1,300 people it said were in the country illegally. Some of the names — almost all of which were of Latino origin — also were accompanied by Social Security numbers and medical information, such as “baby due 4/4/10.”


A cover letter demanded that the people on the list be “deported immediately” with a call to “DO YOUR JOB AND STOP MAKING EXCUSES! WE DEMAND ACTION.” It identified the senders as Concerned Citizens of the United States, a previously unknown group.

The news isn't all bad, not yet anyway.  So far, major news outlets have refused to publicize the list. (Note:  I frequently pick on the MSM for many things, but on this one, they have my respect)

However, the possibility that the list could be publicized has people of Hispanic descent in Utah, including those who are there legally (or are even citizens) absolutely terrorized.

Which was likely the idea behind the list's creation and release.


There's no doubt that crossing the border into the US without proper documentation is illegal, but this is evil.

And no matter what Russell Pearce, Jan Brewer, and their supporters say, "evil" is far worse than "illegal."

More signs of a state education system in freefall

Republican hearts all over the state were gladdened this week with the publishing of a couple of stories related to Arizona's underfunded public education system (49th or 50th in per pupil funding, 51st if the District of Columbia is included in the stats!).

From the Cronkite News Service, via Arizona Capitol Times -

Arizona school districts struggle to keep superintendents

By Melanie Kiser, Cronkite News Service

Published: July 12, 2010 at 11:48 am

When Elizabeth Celania-Fagen signed on as the superintendent of Arizona’s second-largest school district in 2008, she said she planned to raise her family in Tucson and serve at least five to 10 years.

{snip}

Ann-Eve Pedersen, a TUSD parent and president of the Arizona Education Network, a nonprofit group that advocates for public school students and educates the public about education issues, said the departure points to a much bigger problem.


“If we’re a state where funding is so low that we are driving out good superintendents and good principals and good teachers and we can’t attract those folks, then that is very bad news for the overall quality of education in our state,” she said.

Superintendents in Arizona have long earned less than counterparts across the country while confronting levels of spending per student that rank among the nation’s lowest, according to a number of state and national associations and government agencies.

Deep cuts to public education funding have spread resources even thinner in recent years.

A Cronkite News Service review of 94 superintendents’ contracts in districts with about 1,000 or more students found 40 in the first two years of their superintendency. At least nine districts will get new chiefs this summer.

“This is unusually high,” said Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, or AASA.

 That was followed today with this story from the Arizona Republic -

Arizona students still lag in science on AIMS exam

Many Arizona educators are about as enthused over the state's standardized science test as the 53,300 sophomores who took them last spring.

Three years of AIMS science scores indicate that just over a third of Arizona students are learning the science concepts the state says they should by 10th grade.

The latest AIMS figures, being released today, show that only 35 percent of 10th-graders passed the AIMS science exam in the spring. That's slightly better than the 33 percent last year and the 32 percent the year before.

The 2010 AIMS Results can be downloaded from the website of the Arizona Department of Education.  It's there as a spreadsheet, so I cannot link directly to the report.

The constant, crushing, pressure on public school funding and the academic viability from the Republicans is paying off - the system is failing to educate students, and the people who could best lead a turnaround are being forced from the state.

Welcome to Arizona in the 19th 20th 21st century. 

It doesn't have to be that way, though - contribute to or volunteer with the Arizona Democratic Party.

Help change the makeup of the Arizona Legislature, and help change Arizona's education system.

Buh bye, Buz

From the Arizona Capitol Times -

After spending $3.2 million of his own money on his campaign, Northern Arizona businessman Buz Mills bowed out of the governor’s race, leaving Jan Brewer virtually unopposed in the Republican primary.

{snip}

Mills said he dropped out due to the way S1070 shifted the public’s focus to illegal immigration and away from the economic and tax issues that formed the foundation of his campaign. The strict new illegal immigration law, which Brewer signed on April 23, gave Brewer a tremendous boost in the polls.

“SB 1070 has regrettably taken the focus off of job creation and fixing the state budget. So even though the chasm between Brewer’s policies and mine is dramatic, SB 1070 has politically mitigated those issues. I have therefore decided to suspend the campaign,” Mills said in a press statement.

No word yet if Jan Brewer has yet thanked Russell Pearce for his clearing the Republican field for her...

A list to make your eyes water

I wish I could take credit for this one, but the list is from an email from Chad Campbell, Democratic State Representative from LD14 and House Democratic Whip.

The list -

For the past 18 months, Arizona’s economy has languished. Jobs have been lost, schools have been starved of funding and the budget deficit has loomed. Have the Republicans who control the Arizona State Legislature worked to fix these problems? No. But they HAVE kept themselves busy!


Here are 15 of the most outrageous things the Republicans have been spending their time (and our resources) on:

1) Cut $1.2 billion out of Arizona’s already dismally funded public education system and forced schools to loan the state government another $1 billion to help balance the state budget.

2) Voted to give a $1 billion tax cut to special interests and the rich.

3) Tried to make milk the official state drink.

4) Eliminated the need for a person to get a permit and complete training to carry a concealed weapon.

5) Passed legislation banning human-animal hybrids in Arizona. We should all be thankful that imminent threat was taken care of…

6) Voted to deny over 47,000 children access to KidsCare.

7) Allowed guns in bars.

8) Increased property taxes and asked voters to tax themselves, but refused to close tax loopholes that allow country club memberships, spas and pet grooming to be exempt from the sales tax. Clothes and school supplies are subject to the tax.

9) Voted to override renewable energy requirements created by the Arizona Corporation Commission, jeopardizing solar industry jobs and economic investments statewide.

10) Made it a crime for teachers to talk to students of color about their own history and heritage.

11) Based environmental policies on the belief that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, as cited by a state senator.

12) Cut off services to 36,500 seriously mentally ill patients, creating a public safety threat as those individuals start to wander through Arizona’s communities homeless, untreated and unmedicated.

13) Jumped on the extreme band wagon of the so-called “birther” movement that questions President Obama’s citizenship, requiring US Presidential candidates to show proof of US citizenship to be on the Arizona ballot.

14) Eliminated funding for Science Foundation Arizona, a public private partnership created to stimulate both high tech economic development and science and math education efforts to ensure Arizona has a high-tech work force. The $25 million annual state funding would have leveraged $100 million in private funding for the project over four years.

15) Passed bills that make it harder for childless couples to take advantage of infertility research to have a family.

We’ve had over 40 years of a Republican controlled legislature that has refused to address the serious issues facing our state, so this shouldn’t be surprising. These examples come from the past couple of years alone!

I would love to hear if you have any examples of the outlandish actions we’ve seen from the Republican leadership in Arizona. Reply to this email to tell me your favorites!

And more importantly, please join our fight to get our state back on track by electing representatives who understand the importance of the challenges we face. To volunteer with the Democratic Party, please visit http://www.azdem.org/action/volunteer/ or contact me via my website at http://www.chadcampbell.org/.

Later...

Jon Kyl wants to drag the entire US into the same fiscal abyss that Arizona is in

Ummm...in case that anyone has forgotten (and apparently, Kyl has), blindly and irresponsibly cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy while not addressing the issue of reduced revenue (aka - "paying for the cuts") is what has led to the generational budget deficit that is destroying Arizona's future...and present.



ThinkProgress coverage here.

Ezra Klein coverage in the Washington Post here.

This week's upcoming events

Mostly Clean Elections debates, but there are a few others.

...On Tuesday, the CCEC will hold a debate for the Libertarian candidates for Governor.  It will be televised on KAET's Horizon.

Since only one (Alvin Yount) is running Clean, there's no assurance that any of the others will attend.

In legislative races/debates...

Monday

LD21
Republican Candidates House of Representatives

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Chandler City Council Chambers
Downtown Chandler Library, 2nd Floor
22 S Delaware St
Chandler, AZ

LD28
Democrat Candidates House of Representatives

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Pima Community College District Office
Community Board Room
4905 E Broadway
Tucson, AZ


Wednesday

LD3
Republican Candidates House of Representatives

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Bullhead Area Chamber of Commerce Conference Center
1251 Highway 95
Bullhead City, AZ 86429

LD10
Republican Candidates House of Representatives

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
ASU West Campus, La Sala Ballroom
4701 W Thunderbird Rd
Glendale, AZ 85306


Thursday

LD1
Republican Candidates House of Representatives

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Prescott City Council Chambers
201 S Cortez Street
Prescott, AZ 86303


As interesting as the debates are, the highlight of the week (for political geeks, anyway :) ) should be Tuesday's Meet the Candidates Reception sponsored by the Arizona Capitol Times.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM (Arizona Time)

Wyndham Phoenix Hotel
602-333-0000
50 East Adams Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
United States

Tickets required and available at the link above ($40?).

Later...

Candidate updates

Had a few minutes to spare while waiting for, then watching, the first Democratic U.S. Senate debate...

...Dean Martin is "suspending" his campaign for governor - he was the front-runner for a brief bit, but is now polling well behind unelected incumbent Jan Brewer.  The AZ Capitol Times also speculated (subscription required) that Buz Mills will also soon be exiting the race, though the Arizona Guardian says that Mills is in for the long haul (subscription required here, too).  If Mills also leaves the race, that would leave dark horse Matthew Jette as Brewer's only challenger.

...In CD8, Republican Andy Goss has withdrawn from the race to face off against incumbent Democrat Gabrielle Giffords.  He has thrown his support behind Jesse Kelly.

...In the race to serve out Andrew Thomas' unexpired term as Maricopa County Attorney, Republican Boyd Dunn, Mayor of Chandler, has withdrawn from the race.  He had a few signs up, but was already shaping up to run a distant third behind interim (and formerly elected) County Attorney Rick Romley (Arpaio adversary) and MCAO deputy (aka: prosecutor) Bill Montgomery (Arpaio bootlicker ally).  Greg Patterson of Espresso Pundit has a snit coverage here.


Speculations on the major races (no smack talk either :) ):

...Brewer has the SB1070/nativist momentum and will win the GOP nod for governor whether or not Mills remains in the race.

...In the Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State, Sam Wercinski seems to have a momentum and money advantage over Chris Deschene.  However, this race could be closer than expected because Wercinski has ties to the old Napolitano machine, and they aren't popular with grassroots Ds right now.

...Race for Attorney General:  No clue, for either side of the ballot.

...In the R primary for State Treasurer, Thayer Verschoor has more signs up than the other candidates (Barbara Leff, Doug Ducey).  Of course, my observations are mostly limited to the East Valley section of Maricopa County.  And Verschoor lives here in the East Valley section of Maricopa County.

...Race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction: No clue, for either side of the ballot.

...In the race for Arizona Corporation Commission, Rs Brenda Burns and Gary Pierce *seem* to be doing better than fellow R Barry Wong - hence Wong's call to cut off utilities to anyone who cannot prove legal residency in the U.S. 

No clue on the D side of the ballot.

...In the R primary for U.S. Senate, John McCain seems to have finally noticed the candidacy of JD Hayworth, and is methodically squashing it.  Caveat:  It's an R primary, and I have no clue as to the mindset of R primary voters.

...The D primary for U.S. Senate seems pretty wide open right now, though Rodney Glassman is the presumptive frontrunner, if only because he has been meeting, greeting, and talking to Ds all over the state for much longer than the other three candidates combined (John Dougherty, Cathy Eden, and Randy Parraz).

Later...

New Favorite Website: Crazy Jack Harper

Thanks go out to the Arizona Capitol Times' Yellow Sheet Report for the heads up on this one -

Harper believes reporter, Bundgaard tied to website


By Yellow Sheet Report
Published: July 8, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Harper is pointing at a member of the Capitol press corps and a one-time political ally as the provocateurs behind the Crazy Jack Harper website that has regularly taken potshots at the senator since May.

To read more on this item plus all the stories in the July 8 Yellow Sheet Report, go to www.yellowsheetreport.com (Yellow Sheet Subscription Required).

I don't know who is behind the site (Crazy Jack Harper) so I can't say with certainty that Harper's assertion that Scott Bundgaard is correct or incorrect.

However, since Bundgaard is running for the LD4 Senate seat that Harper is vacating, it seems unlikely that he would waste money on a website ridiculing Harper, who is running for the House.  If a Republican candidate is behind the website, I would think it more likely that it is one of other R House candidates in LD4.

I am pretty sure that the Democrats aren't behind it, though.

When trying to get under the skin of Republicans, we usually wield the needle far more deftly.  This site has its good points, but it's as subtle as a baseball bat.

Still, given that LD4 has elected and reelected Harper so often that he is termed-out from the Senate, maybe subtlety isn't called for here.

Just sayin'...

Mitchell donates books to help a homeless shelter in Mesa

There are days when Congressman Harry Mitchell drives me nuts with some of his votes (FISA renewal from 2007 and 2008 still steams me) and positions (the feds shouldn't sue AZ over SB1070) but then there are the days when I am reminded that he is inarguably the best human being to represent Tempe and Scottsdale in Congress in, like, ever.

From ABC15.com -

U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell donated 130 books he obtained from the Library of Congress to a homeless shelter in Mesa Wednesday.

A New Leaf's La Mesita Family Homeless Shelter, a non-profit organization, accepted the donation at the morning event.

"As a former teacher, I know how important it is to make sure our youth and families have the resources and supplies necessary for learning," said Mitchell. "A quality education is a priority in our local communities, and reading helps not only improve literacy, but also build fundamental skills for the future."

I'm sure that his would-be challengers in the Republican primary in CD5 will decry this as a sign that Mitchell is "too liberal."
 
I have to ask, however -
 
When did working to improve the lives of one's constituents become an ideological position, and when did being a decent human being become an unacceptable trait in elected officials?
 
Note: financial contributions to A New Leaf can be made here.
 

The Republican election checklist - LD8 version

Sat through the video archive of last week's Clean Elections debate for the Republican House candidates in LD8 (North Scottsdale).

Oh, the sacrifices I make so that others are spared the pain.

Either that, or I'm home sick today and have way too much time on my hands (daytime TV sucks - a few soaps, Springer-esque talk shows, and faux court shows mostly - ugh.)

Four of the six Republican candidates in LD8 were there.  Paula Pennypacker, Michelle Ugenti, and John Kavanagh are participating candidates (AKA - accepting funding from Clean Elections) and had to be there (participation is a condition of CE funding).  Michael Blaire is a traditionally-funded candidate and did not have to participate, but chose to do so.  Ray Mahoubi and Eric Ulis are also traditionally-funded, but chose not to participate.

Democrat John Kriekard is the only D on the ballot, so there won't be a primary debate for the Democrats.  He'll participate in the general election debate.

On to the debate.

OK, there wasn't much of one.  Their differences were more shades of gray than any real differences.

They were mostly following the Republican Election Checklist - 2010 Edition.

To whit -

Fiscal conservative - check, check, check, and check

The Feds are responsible for all that ails Arizona - check X 4

Support SB1070 - check X 4 (Kavanagh, a sponsor of the bill, was especially vociferous in his defense of the new law; Blaire urged people to vote out Congressman Raul Grijalva for calling for a boycott of AZ)

Health care reform: oppose "Obamacare" and favor the free market - check X 4

Education - Empower principals, hold school boards accountable for spending, and increase "school choice" - check X 4

Balancing public life with private life: Family/spouse supportive - check X 4


To be sure, there *were* some minor differences between the candidates -

When asked about the state budget, Pennypacker actually mentioned looking at revenue.  The rest were "cuts, cuts, and more cuts."  In fairness to Pennypacker, she wasn't exactly opposed to cuts, either.

In terms of their location on the political spectrum, again, there wasn't much difference - Kavanagh is a nativist in the Russell Pearce mode, Ugenti is a Tea Party type (she referred to herself as a "TeaPublican"), Blaire is a Chamber of Commerce winger with Tea Party ideations (when asked about the effects of devastating budget cuts, part of his response was "government isn't always the answer" and "people have to take personal responsibility") and Pennypacker, like Ugenti, is also a Tea Party type.  Perhaps a little less knee-jerk about her ideology, she is still an anti-government zealot campaigning for a government office.

I'm sure the four principals would argue that there are all sorts of nuanced differences between them, but they had one other major factor in common -

During the near hour and a half of the debate, not even one of them stated why he/she would be the best choice to represent LD8, or what they would do for the District.

Not one.

The bottom line is that none of the four present last week (and presumably the other two who weren't present) could be generic Republican candidates in any other district or any other state.  Other than the SB1070-specific comments, their positions could have been taken anywhere.

The entire archive of Clean Elections debates held thus far are here.

Breaking news: Federal Government Sues AZ Over SB1070

....OK, OK, that is hardly breaking news - everybody expected a lawsuit was coming as soon as Jan Brewer signed Russell Pearce's anti-immigrant measure into law in late April.

How about this for a title?

Breaking News - Republicans Freak Out Over Federal Lawsuit To Block SB1070

...OK, OK, that's hardly surprising either.  They freak out whenever somebody calls them out on their garbage.

Anyway, on to the main part of the post.

From the Arizona Republic -

The Obama administration filed suit today against Arizona's landmark immigration law, alleging it was unconstitutional and a U.S. District Court judge should keep it from going into effect July 29.

The suit, filed in Phoenix, claims Arizona's new law "will conflict and undermine the federal government's careful balance of immigration enforcement priorities and objectives," and divert resources from the "dangerous aliens who the federal government targets as its top enforcement priority."

{snip}


Gov. Jan Brewer, who is named as a defendant along with the state, called the lawsuit "a terribly bad decision.

"It is wrong that our own federal government is suing the people of Arizona for helping to enforce federal immigration law. As a direct result of failed and inconsistent federal enforcement, Arizona is under attack from violent Mexican drug and immigrant smuggling cartels," Brewer said in a written statement. "Now, Arizona is under attack in federal court from President Obama and his Department of Justice.

Other reactions:

Congressman Harry Mitchell, from a press release -

"I am extremely disappointed that the Obama Administration has decided to file a lawsuit against Arizona to try to overturn our state's new immigration enforcement law, SB 1070. This is the wrong direction to go. I urged President Obama and his administration against doing so because I strongly believe their time, efforts and resources should be focused on securing our border and fixing our broken immigration system. Arizona needs Washington to take action, but a lawsuit is definitely not the kind of action we need.

Attorney General Terry Goddard, from a campaign press release -

"What we need are solutions, not lawsuits. Until we get real solutions, more states will turn to band-aid remedies to address this very important issue," said Attorney General Terry Goddard. "It is disappointing to see the federal government choosing to intervene in a state statute instead of working with Arizona to create sustainable solutions to the illegal immigration issue that our state and country so desperately need."

State Senator Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) calls the lawsuit an "insult" to Arizonans.

U.S. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, from a McCain press release -

“The Obama Administration has not done everything it can do to protect the people of Arizona from the violence and crime illegal immigration brings to our state. Until it does, the federal government should not be suing Arizona on the grounds that immigration enforcement is solely a federal responsibility.”

My take:

The law is bad, the lawsuit is necessary, and any sort of immigration policy that doesn't address the underlying cause of immigration from Mexico to the U.S, the economics, whether it's Russell Pearce's version of "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" or some kind of "comprehensive reform" is doomed to fail.

And all of the blathering about "insults" and "attacks" and "secure the border first" won't change that.

BTW - The best quote about this wasn't actually said about this mess. 

In 2007, the late, great Molly Ivin wrote "Conservatives have been mad at the Supreme Court since it decided to desegregate the schools in 1954 and seen fit to blame the federal bench for everything that has happened since then that they don't like."

Look for Brewer, Pearce, and the other nativists suffer from fits of apoplexy if/when a federal judge blocks their police-state law.


The text of the legal filing can be found here, courtesy AZCentral.com