State Senate president elect Russell Pearce, author of Arizona's unconstitutional anti-immigration bill, announced after his selection as senate president that Arizona will have a tea party senate for the next session.
The Tea Party Senate
Is this an opportunity for America to see the realities of the Tea Party Republicans at work?
Arizona is in a predicament that only a few other states can claim. Hopelessly in the red from revenue losses, a 10% nominal unemployment rate, and we just packed our state legislature with Republicans. Not even enough Democrats to field a baseball team. We also elected Jan "Gimme a Minute" Brewer to a full term as governor. Not that governorship matters, Pearce is coming in with a veto proof majority so they will run roughshod over any gubernatorial exercise of restraint. Our budget deficit for the current year is already near $1 Billion dollars. The current year, half over. Next year its projected to be about $1.4 Billion. Somehow you can fail miserably at balancing the state budget and still get elected back into power, simply because you hated on immigrants and Obama enough. Now the lege is seriously considering abandoning our entire Medicaid program, foregoing $7 Billion in federal aid so they dont have to meet the maintenance of effort. They will also be slashing primary, secondary and post secondary education funding in direct contravention of the Arizona constitution. Funny how constitutions only matter when its the parts you like. But..tax cuts for campaign donors..still in the budget. Unfunded mandates to lock up all undocumented citizens...still in the budget. Lets also be sure to look at how the "keep the government out of my healthcare" crowd leaps at the opportunity to have the government step into the health decisions of pregnant women considering abortion. Remember this legislature is not at all averse to enacting patently, facially, unconstitutional laws.
So yesterday I hear that Pearce announced to the world that Arizona will be the Tea Party writ large. All that wacky shit we read and heard about during the elections, it will actually become policy in Arizona.
I daresay I am quite ready to abandon Arizona, along with many other sane people. Regardless of my future I think we need to be sure to keep Arizona on the radar and in the national headlines as we enact our tea party solutions. I will pity the ghost town that Arizona will become. Its a beautiful state and deserves better than Pearce. Maybe after 2 years of being punished for their decisions, Arizona will be ready to elect some slightly more humanitarian leaders. Maybe we can be lesson to the rest of the country.