One of Arizona’s most famous son’s is Barry Goldwater, a five term Senator known as “Mr. Conservative”.

Republican Senator Goldwater launched a bid for President of the United States against Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and Goldwater was portrayed as reactionary, too right-wing and bat-shit crazy for his fights against the New Deal, unions and liberalism.

He lost the election to Johnson by one of the largest landslides in history, taking down several Republicans with him.

Goldwater was known as a ‘libertarian’ way back when, and in the 80’s when he saw the religious right’s influence with Reagan, Goldwater predicted that there would come a day when he would be labeled a “LIBERAL.”

Then there was Republican Evan Mecham, who owned a car dealership, and he won the election for governor of Arizona in 1986 and is famous for his recollections of folks calling African American children ‘pickaninny’ meant in an affectionate way.

Governor Mecham is also known for overturning the Martin Luther King Holiday and blaming working women for high divorce rates.

Governor Mecham was impeached by the voters of Arizona in April of 1988 for obstruction of justice and misuse of government funds, which he was later acquitted.

Then there was Republican Jane Hull, who bankrupted the state of Arizona with the alt-fuel fiasco, and perhaps lesser known, was that Governor Hull launched the bid of Texas Governor George Bush Jr. for President.

Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano was elected after Hull’s reign of errors, and in her first term as governor of Arizona, Governor Napolitano balanced the budget and got the state out of debt and into the black.

Governor Napolitano even managed to setup a “rainy day” fund, which has since been raided and decimated.

To be fair, midway though Governor Napolitano’s 2nd term, she did play with the numbers and credit and did leave her successor with massive debt, since no one in power saw the collapse of the housing market, which was Arizona’s main economic source.

Arizona’s State Legislature has always been Republican majority and Governor Napolitano did work with them and they would vociferously complain about her vetoes, yet she managed to get the job done.

President Obama scooped Governor Napolitano from Arizona by offering her the job as head of Homeland Security, and there were Republicans rejoicing that Janet was gone, and others saddened that she left, and others angered because she left Arizona in such dire straits.

Jan Brewer slipped into the position of Governor, as Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor, and Jan Brewer is a Republican that held the position of Secretary of State.

Governor Brewer is the fourth woman, the third consecutive woman to hold the title of governor in Arizona.

Governor Brewer, an unelected governor, has not been able to work with the Republican majority in the state’s legislature.

Following former President GW Bush’s example, the Republicans shut out the Democrats from all legislative meetings, Governor Brewer only calling on the Democrats to sign her bills when the Republican majority refused.

The Arizona Democrats refused to support the legislation, since they had no voice in forming the bills, and Governor Brewer led the Republican charge that the reason the state could not balance the budget was due to the Democrats and obstruction.

The Arizona Legislature under Governor Brewer have managed to pass some of the most liberal gun laws in the country, and once again to be fair, Vermont has similar laws.

Governor Brewer was very unpopular for being unable to work within her own Republican Party, but all that changed once Governor Brewer signed the anti-immigration SB1070 into law.

I do not need to share last night’s debate between the unelected Governor Brewer and the Democratic candidate Terry Goddard as it has gone viral on the Internet.

Due to Arizona’s ‘Clean Election Law’ voted in by voters in 1996, Governor Brewer was forced to do one debate and of course, the Republican legislature has been working hard on overturning the ‘Clean Election Law’.

Last night, the local CBS station did a story on Governor Brewer’s ties to private prisons in the state, and the money they are giving to her campaign for governor.

Governor Brewer was silent when 3 dangerous criminals escaped from a private prison in Kingman and when a woman tossed wire cutters over the fence, and then two of the escapees killed a couple from Oklahoma while they were camping New Mexico.

Governor Brewer is not happy with that expose and has pulled all her ads for governor from the local CBS channel 5 in Phoenix.

On another update of Arizona news is that the Department of Justice has issued fines against Sheriff Joe due to his non-compliance with 2 subpoenas for his records regarding a DOJ investigation into abuse of power and civil rights abuse in his jails.

I’ve researched subpoenas and what it means when a person refuses to comply and it is normal for 2 warnings to be given.

This is rare, as a sheriff’s office has never refused to cooperate with a DOJ and Grand Jury investigation since Mississippi in the 1960’s.

Isn’t it amazing that Sheriff Joe is refusing to “show his papers”?

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javaz
I am a retired aerospace engineer, happily married for over twenty-four years. My hobbies include blogging on PPOV, reading mystery/romance novels, playing guitar, learning the piano and writing. My husband and I love to travel in our camper/trailer, and have visited 45 states, besides having lived in France for 2 years and seeing most of Europe. "Today is the first day of the rest of your life? Well, that's true of every day but one - the day you die." American Beauty "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure." Mark Twain "A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar." Mark Twain

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bito
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Have you caught the latest from your Sheriff in Pinal, j’avaz?

McCain’s ‘Danged Fence’ Sheriff Claims Mexican Drug Cartels Control U.S. Territory

First, right-wingers reported Mexican drug cartels had invaded Laredo, Texas — nevermind that law enforcement says it never happened. Now, Arizona Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu is lending the stamp of authority to the idea that the cartels are conquering parts of the red, white and blue — nevermind that other law enforcement says that’s not true.

“Mexican drug cartels literally do control parts of Arizona,” Babeu told the Times. “They literally have scouts on the high points in the mountains and in the hills and they literally control movement. They have radios, they have optics, they have night-vision goggles as good as anything law enforcement has.”

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/mccains_danged_fence_sheriff_claims_drug_cartels_control_us_ter.php

On your morning walks, j’avaz/dr’graz, please be careful. They might mistake you for a “good guy” and pick you off!

“This is going on here in Arizona,” he added. “This is 70 to 80 miles from the border – 30 miles from the fifth-largest city in the United States.”

Goodness, if this is going on north of Tucson, I’m going to have to be careful going to the store. Given that Tucson is surrounded by three mountain ranges, does this mean we are surrounded? 😉

Pepe Lepew
Member

I remember Evan “Pickaninny” Meachem. Gary Trudeau had a field day with him.

Remember how outrageous that was when it happened? He’d fit right into the Tea Party today.

kesmarn
Admin

j’avaz, a fine article and great summary of what you and yours have had to deal with.

If anyone hasn’t seen this little one minute snippet of the debate that Brewer attempted, it’s worth a look. Did this woman actually have a mini-stroke on camera? Sure looks that way:

bito
Member

TIA? I am familiar with them. Very good call Nurse k’es!! Maybe more than a baby aspirin called for this time?

kesmarn
Admin

Perhaps a little Sheriff Joe taser therapy, b’ito?
Maybe 15 minutes or so, setting on “stun”?

“This won’t hurt a bit, Jan…”

dead dove
Member
dead dove

To be fair, midway though Governor Napolitano

bito
Member

Welcome to the Planet dead dove-(dd) Hope you find the Planet to your liking and respect your new home.

Regarding Janet, her budget and her departure. I think of her every time I read about our legislature and hear “headless body” Brewer speak.
If I remember correctly before Janet left, she presented a budget which was scoffed at by the legislature and thrown inthe trash. I read a few reviews of it and it seemed to them to be a good budget, or not a bad budget. We will never know.

Again Welcome, dove

AlphaBitch
Member
AlphaBitch

Thanks for explaiing and detailing the wacka-doodle from your state, Javaz! Brewer shows me how “appealing” Ms. Palin will be in another 40 years. When you lose your looks, you’re just plain old stupid.

As my dear departed daddy used to say: Stupid is not something to be proud of, son. (This was said to some of my boyfriends – and with cause, I now admit!)

AdLib
Admin

Reminds me of one of my favorite WC Fields lines:

Man: “You’re drunk!”

Fields: “Yeah,and you’re crazy. And I’ll be sober tomorrow and you’ll be crazy for the rest of your life.”

AlphaBitch
Member
AlphaBitch

Was once at a dancehall in Texas with a friend who was a “starter” (meaning good at starting trouble). Some dancehall queen slammed into her chair (which WAS pushed out from the table a bit), looked down and sneered at my friend “I’m SORRY!”

Annie looked back at her and replied “You’re sorry? No you’re not – YOU’RE ugly and I’M sorry I have to look at you, bitch!”

Needless to say, it did not end well. But I remember it from 30 years earlier……..

Khirad
Member

As I pointed out in my last article, it is no accident that the Arizona Territory chose to be entered into the Union fifty years to the day that it entered the Confederacy.

Knowing this, nothing else needs to be said about Arizona. So, when cracks are made about Arizona being the new Mississippi, that’s because it shares some of the very same roots.

Although, given the housing market nixing Climate, we might be wise to stress cotton again. Or any of the four other C‘s.

choicelady
Member

Khirad – you are a fount of information. I never knew AZ had confederate ties. Explains quite a lot, doesn’t it? Thanks for reminding us of this!

bito
Member

Jan is hogging up the AZ time on the networks, but we will always have Joe. j’avaz, check out the line “could cost the county millions….” Can we say “raise taxes or anything left to cut?”

The suit comes after the DOJ gave Arpaio

bito
Member

I haven’t read your post yet, j’avaz, but I have been hoping and waiting for one from you on this subject. It is a circus and the “Big Top” is getting crowded.