Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Victory for ‘No Nonsense’ in Arizona… for Now.



I have always said that I’ll support Conservatives when they act like Conservatives (as long as it’s not in contradiction of my core philosophical beliefs.) Even as a pro-union, pretty-far-Left Liberal, who tends to vote for Democratic candidates fairly consistently, I still see a dire need in this country for Constitution-minded, small government, pro-small business, pro-individual politicians interested in making the Republic work for the people by enabling competition on the fairest, most level field achievable under law. Someone has to promote those perspectives with muscular clarity, because the Liberals and Progressives will forever be focused elsewhere necessarily, so that the poor aren’t legislated into slavery at the very least.

Teddy Roosevelt has been dead a long, long time.

Voting for Democratic candidates shouldn’t be a no-brainer for me, or for anyone. We’re Americans. We should have to make a well thought out choice between at least two distinct visions for policy and legislation. Sadly, the Republican Party, which has been the self-identified center of Conservative policy in America for several decades, only seems to stand against bureaucracy, subsidies, and expansion of government powers when its candidates and its tiny minority of super wealthy constituents can’t benefit from said bureaucracy, subsidies, and expansion of government powers. The same relativity is consistently applied to Conservative support for deregulation.
That leaves me with no choice at all as a citizen. Democrats should have to work hard for my votes and not rest assured simply because New York State always goes blue come election time. Hopefully, someday people like Lincoln Chaffee won’t get run out of the Grand Old Party simply for standing on principle. …Which brings me to Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona.
Yesterday Governor Brewer vetoed two bills that seemed all-but-law-before-the-fact as they sailed toward her desk from the Conservatives in the Arizona state legislature. The "birther bill," which theatrically and ceremoniously mandated various proofs of U.S. citizenship for candidates running for President, had never been anything but a sad embarrassing ploy to keep the very idea of Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship a live subject for discussion among people looking to neutralize him politically. The bill insists upon, among other things, that long-form birth certificates, baptismal certificates, proofs of circumcision, all be put on the state ballot. The birther bill was a puerile attempt by Arizona legislators to put an asterisk on the Obama Presidency: -this from politicians who claim to oppose unnecessary bureaucracy at every turn?.. -except apparently when it enables harassment of their political opposition.
In what I considered to be one of the most surprising recent moves by any Governor, Brewer, (who made national headlines last year for signing a draconian state law cracking down on illegal immigrants,) vetoed the birther bill. The governor’s reasoning? "(it) could lead to arbitrary or politically motivated decisions." -Applause please.
The other bill before Governor Brewer had nothing to do with ongoing partisan silliness and the predictably racist nativism that had accompanied the historic election of an African-American President in 2008. This bill was a proposed gun law that would have allowed firearms on college campuses. This was such a staggeringly idiotic policy move on the part of the Arizona legislature that it almost merits no comment at all, and yet it would have flown in Arizona. Governor Brewer, in a moment of admirable sobriety and decency, vetoed that bill also.

The second veto was more surprising than the first, because surely by saying “no” once, Brewer understood she had bought herself some political capital to say “yes” to any remaining proposal in a form of disingenuous compromise between two controversial bills: a type of compromise that is often little more than a calculated “Coke or Pepsi” ruse when it comes to lawmaking in America.

I thank you Governor Jan Brewer, as a citizen of your country. I thank you because although I don’t live in Arizona, I may have to visit it again one day. I’d like to think that there is no place in the United States whereupon the laws are so alien, so opposed to what we all know are our common notions of decency that there may as well be walled borders to separate the irrational from the sane along the interstate.

Now about all that anti-immigration legislation Madame Governor...

-SJ
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Should be a no-brainer.... ! You're so right. Yet, it's a crazy world, Sandy. I agree, it's a breath of fresh air comparatively to the deliberate hacking away at our rights and standards of government that the Republicans are having at in MI, FL, IN, NJ, Ohio, WI.... I'm sure you see where I'm going....
good post SJ!

SJ said...

Many thanks Gwen.
I felt the need to recognize Brewer's acting on principle, and following the dictates of sanity -for the moment.
It may cost her, but unless more of her fellow party members start doing the same, (and several on the Democratic side) they'll soon be suffering in the same unfair mismanaged society they are bringing about by their direct actions, or disingenuousness or outright negligence.
-SJ