It never fails to amaze me how three of four days can get by without me posting. It seems like I post every day, but then I look back and say wow.
Politics is in the air in Arizona. But then, those of you elsewhere already know that. SB1070 is gaining support, or at least the reporters tell me so. I’ve been against it from the beginning. As with many laws, the unintended consequences are my major beef with it.
Reasonable suspicion is not defined. Terms under which the law can be put into play are vague and subject to interpretation, and there is a sense of guilt until proven innocent.
Maybe I’m just a little more sensitive to this sort of thing than most in Arizona by virtue of a multi-cultural marriage. Parts of the law have a lot of merit, but the devil, as they say, is in the details.
What concerns me more is the political fallout. With this victory behind him, State Senator Russell Pierce is now trying to enact a law to refuse birth certificates to certain persons born in United States territory. Russell Pierce knows more than the rest of us. He knows that the founding fathers would be appalled by Mexicans becoming citizens by virtue of being born here. I know because Russell Pierce told us so.
While there is a lot of truth to the argument that anchor babies fundamental to the immigration issues of the day, the solution is not to try to override the U.S. Constitution with a state law. Of all the various Caucasian people in the United States, one would think a Mormon like Pierce would understand the meaning of persecution and have some sympathy for these kids. But then, Brigham Young has been dead for quite a while now. Perhaps the memories of the Mormons fleeing to Utah and setting up residence in a God-forsaken land nobody else could want have been forgotten.
Russell Pierce is one example of a political landscape that has become so polarized that moderates not only have no voice, they also have no choice. One of the reasons I left California was the left wing extremism in Sacramento and from the elected officials in Washington. I arrived in Arizona refreshed to be around other fiscal conservatives. But, the longer I am here, the more I learn that I’m not of like mind with these politicians either. I’ve gone from one extreme to the other, and I think there is no place left that is truly moderate. The meat of the bell curve has been silenced, and I think that is largely due to closed primaries.
I once vehemently supported closed primaries back in the day when I voted for it in a California election. In retrospect, what happens is that moderates and independents are shut out of the real selection process. When we’re allowed to vote, it comes down to a choice between extreme liberal and extreme conservative, which is no choice at all. No wonder congress ineptly can’t get anything done, and no wonder voter apathy has never been higher. Most of us don’t have any real choice.
The race for Arizona governor is a prime example. I can’t stand Jan Brewer. Buz Mills is a developer who wants to treat the state like a business, leaving those most impacted by his intended budget cuts (like school children) to die under his Caterpillar tracks. We’ve all seen what the rampant development has done to Arizona–rape the desert to build houses that won’t be occupied for decades. But Buz lined his pockets and that’s all that matters. Dean Martin (no, not the drunk one) is currently the state treasurer and probably the most reliable of the Republican bunch. Still, I can’t tell if his support for SB1070 comes from the heart or is merely playing the cards to win. the other Republicans, I have no real knowledge about.
On the Democratic side there is only Terry Goddard, the current state attorney general. I’m not aware of any shenanegans on Goddard’s part. At this point, I’m actually considering voting for a Democrat for governor for the second consecutive election, though Martin could still win me over. Not that I actually trust any of these leeches.
