Republican governor Jan Brewer of Arizona has been touted as a new conservative hero, since signing Arizona's immigration law SB 1070. GOP party members, so desperate for someone to take action since the feds allowed unfettered illegal immigration for years, have welcomed Brewer with a glee and giddiness unseen since the arrival of Sarah Palin. Some have even suggested she run for president in 2012. Conservatives who actually paid attention to Brewer prior to SB 1070, such as Red State blogger and CNN political analyst Erick Erickson, noted that Brewer "personally lobbied members of the state legislature to kill the bill (SB 1070) and then kept it on her desk, refusing to sign it until she realized she could use it to help her".
As usual, a closer examination is in order before lauding praise upon the latest political hack. Shortly before signing SB 1070 into law, Brewer accomplished her dream of billions of dollars in increased sales taxes. In a particularly creepy video posted on youtube, a shrill and insistent Brewer barks that people will die, children will be abused, and 'education' (meaning government school) would allegedly suffer if her tax increase is not passed. Anyone who loved Arizona, she insisted, would do 'the hard thing' and pass billions in new taxes. Taxes are the answer to all the problems, she claimed, and catastrophe will strike the state if people didn't jump on board and sign on. Brewer even invoked the name of God innapropriately twice during her angry 4 minute tirade. (Watch the video below).
In her speech, recorded at a Yavapai GOP meeting on April 10, 2010 just weeks before she signed SB 1070 into law, Brewer stated, in part, "It's easy to stand up here and say 'oh we can cut this and we can cut that'... I'm a problem solver and a truth teller. And when we talk about proposition 100, it is absolutely, absolutely necessary. If you want 60 or 70 people in your kids classroom, then don't vote for prop 100. You don't want businesses to come to Arizona? then dont vote for prop 100. Doing the right thing always always means doing the hard thing. Stand up, Arizona, get the facts. Get the information. And do what you believe is right. You want felons on the street? Don't vote for prop 100. There but for the grace of God go I? I don't want sexually and physically abused children not being protected." Referencing the sick and elderly, Brewer predicted what would happen without a tax increase, claiming that it's the American way to want to raise taxes: "...So we take away their home health care.. we take away their life saving equipment..close the door. What do we do, go back and bury them in ten days? My God people, it's American it is Arizona, we're strong willed person. We're strong willed people, we have got to do what's right; we need a temporary revenue . for three years, to get us through. And if we don't get it, this state will not recover. Probabaly for seven, eight years. And that's the truth."
The video, entitled 'Jan Brewer - People will DIE without a tax increase, YES on Prop 100', was posted by youtube user MsCameraTruth on April 20th, and includes a comical subtitle analysis of Brewers' typical left-wing, paranoid and absurd comments.
As all free market advocates and libertarians realize, higher taxes not only cause consumers to restict spending, but they harm the economy and discourage business.
The New York Times, in their article 'In Arizona’s Latest Twist, Voters Follow G.O.P. Governor and Approve Tax Increase'. reported "the sales tax increase, a temporary rise to 6.6 cents per dollar for the next three years, is expected to raise nearly $1 billion in the first year, two-thirds of which will go to education. It won approval by 64 percent of voters, though only a third of eligible voters turned out.'"They go on to note Brewer's "coalition of politically odd bedfellows", including teachers unions and members of both parties, and that the Republican base was 'angry,' prompting Brewer to sign SB 1070. Brewer said the tax increase “is the beginning of Arizona’s comeback.”
Former Arizona state Senator Thomas Patterson of the Goldwater Institute had urged voters to reject the tax increase and stick to principle: "Right out of the box, she (Brewer) opined that she might possibly consider a tax increase to balance the budget if all other options had been exhausted. When politicians talk like that, it usually means hold on to your wallet, and this time was no exception..... Soon after, she included a non-specified $1 billion tax hike in her budget reform proposal. "Maturing" rapidly, in the eyes of the mainstream local press, she then threatened a veto for any budget that didn't include new taxes. ....The only solution to a spending problem is to spend less. That's not pleasant, but the alternative is worse. Principled, responsible leadership is more than kicking the can down the road. Just ask California."
Barbara Hollingsworth of the Washington Examiner noted "the controversy (over SB 1070) saved Brewer from a nasty primary challenge over her voter-approved $3 billion sales tax increase; her poll numbers went up 43 points two months after she signed the law. A Rasmussen poll put the virtually unknown governor just five points behind President Obama in a 2012 match-up, even though 54 percent of voters concede they know almost nothing else about her."
Hollingsworth also cited other conservatives who don't fall for the Brewer hype: "...Red State blogger and CNN political analyst Erick Erickson, who points to Brewer's "terrible" tax and spending record, doesn't think much of her prospects for national office. "I am a bit appalled by conservatives building her up because of the immigration fight after she personally lobbied members of the state legislature to kill the bill and then kept it on her desk, refusing to sign it until she realized she could use it to help her. One issue and one fight does not make a conservative hero." Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist is likewise not impressed with the self-described "pragmatic conservative..."
Surprisingly, voters approved Brewer's tax increase, similar to the way California voters supported governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's bond measures a few years ago as a supposed 'quick fix', much to the shagrin of fiscal conservatives. The Arizona Capitol Times reported on the outcome of Prop. 100: "A year ago, Jan Brewer’s proposed sales tax hike seemed like a goner and her political career didn’t seem far behind, but after voters cast their ballots for Proposition 100, the landslide victory may be enough to carry her to a full term as governor. Voters approved Prop. 100 by a 64-36 margin, handing Brewer what many observers view as a knockout punch against her challengers in the Republican primary and the general election."
Brewer recently said that most illigal immigrants coming across the border are 'drug mules', smuggling dope. But T.J. Bonner of the National Border Patrol Council told CNN that Brewer's comments, don't "comport with reality -- that's the nicest way to put it."
The primary to select the 2010 Republican nominee for governor of Arizona will be held on August 24, 2010. The Arizona gubernatorial election of 2010 will be held on November 2, 2010.
Former State Senator Karen Johnson, a strict constitutionalist and conservative who opposed Brewer's sales tax increase, has announced that she will run for governor against Brewer in the Republican primary. Johnson has gone on record saying she opposes any attempt by the federal government to declare martial law, and gave a landmark speech to the State Senate in 2008 urging a new investigation into the 9/11 attacks, suggesting that it appears the buildings were brought down by a controlled demolition.
You can view the full archive of Martin Hill's Examiner articles here.
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Did you know that the Arizona state Medicaid program is going stop paying for organ transplants, dental care for adults, prosthetic limbs and items like wheelchairs?
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