PHOTO: Brewer, Obama Face To Face

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (Repub.) had a tense exchange with President Barack Obama this afternoon out at Gateway Airport in Mesa. Here is a link to the pool reporter's account after speaking with the Governor.

Looks like Scorpions For Breakfast may have given the President some indigestion.



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READ: Gov. Brewer Sends Out Strong Money Plea For Embattled Tea Party Senate President Russell Pearce*; Pearce Needed To "Help Save Our Country" From Obama

Last week, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer was compelled to officially call for a recall election for Russell Pearce's State Senate seat in LD18.  Today, she has penned a letter sent out by the group opposing Pearce's recall, professing her strong support and respect for her friend - and, asking for money.  (The full text of the Governor's e-mail is re-printed below the jump.)

Brewer notes that the Tea Party Senate President* needs to win because he "will help save our country from an Obama administration dedicated to undermining our nation's immigration laws."  She also plays up her efforts to fight the same bogeymen (bogeypersons?) as Pearce: Obama, Janet Napolitano, Nancy Pelosi, Al Sharpton, the media bias and "everyone else in Washington who think they know what is best for Arizona."

She rattles off several pieces of legislation - sponsored by Pearce and that she signed - which she helped provoke this recall by "those who boycott and hurt our state."  The list starts with the well-known SB1070 (still largely on hold pending Supreme Court appeal), and includes a bill that lengthened sentences and restricted early release "for these felony offenses".

The fund-raising appeal from the Governor is a strong signal that she will not stay on the sidelines during the recall campaign, as some may have assumed that she would.  We have asked the Governor's office how active she will be in the recall campaign, and will let you know once we have received a response.

Click below for the full text of Governor Brewer's letter:

NEW: Arizona Poll Numbers On Brewer, Arpaio, McCain, Kyl, State Gun, Planned Parenthood; Disapproval of McCain Crosses 50%

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) was easily re-elected last Fall; today, only two Senators have higher disapproval ratings than McCain.  Meanwhile, Governor Jan Brewer's approval ratings stayed nearly flat from January, even after vetoing a flurry of bills.  And, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues to have a more favorable than unfavorable rating.
Public Policy Polling ("PPP") - an organization hired mainly by Democrats but which has noted to be one of the most accurate and unbiased pollsters - released the numbers, a couple of days after releasing portions of the poll dealing with the 2012 Senate and Presidential races.

Only 7 substantive questions in this portion of the poll results, so we will simply print them in their entirety below the jump. 

But, we will first note that the two Senators with lower approval ratings than McCain are close McCain friend Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Ensign (R-NV, just resigned).  However, not all of the states are polled, nor at the same time.

The pollsters surveyed 623 Arizonans, had a 3.9% margin of error, and did not try to limit its automated poll to registered or likely voters.  Conventional wisdom is that such polls are more likely to lean towards Democratic candidates.  The poll was not paid for by any candidate or political organization.  (Note: I have asked PPP to confirm whether or not they try to reach registered voters and/or screen the respondents for the likelihood of voting.)

Gov. Brewer, President Obama Put Religion Front and Center This Week

Religion is front and center this week on political stages in Phoenix and Washington.  At this hour, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is hosting the "Arizona Prayer Breakfast", and earlier this week, President Obama held an Easter Prayer Breakfast.  Last week, the President hosted a Passover Seder.

The Arizona Prayer Breakfast is put together by Arizona's Legislative Chaplain, Donna Kafer.  The inter-denominational get-together is hosted by Gov. Brewer, is patterned after the National Prayer Breakfast (put together by a Christian organization known as "The Family"), and is "centered in Jesus Christ".  This year's featured speaker is the well-known Christian disabled ministry leader Joni Tada.  Tickets were $35 each.


(text of Obama's comments)


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WATCH: Gov. Brewer Offended By "Snub" On Immigration Meeting; President Wanted To Talk About Amnesty, DREAM Act

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer was back speaking with Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren yesterday, expressing her being "offended" with President Obama's failure to invite her to the White House as part of the meeting to discuss "the broken immigration system".

Van Susteren seemed stuck on the fact that not everyone was invited to the meeting - even though the White House news release makes it obvious that it was going to be a planning session among stakeholders who support a so-called comprehensive reform.  Brewer went along with that, though Van Susteren did say she would like to see a comprehensive solution.



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ANALYSIS: Why There's Nothing Wrong With A State Law Requiring Presidential Candidate To Prove Eligibility, And What's Wrong With Law On Brewer's Desk

Understandably, Arizona's so-called Birther Law is getting a lot of attention - positive and negative - from around the country.  It is a simple idea that is justified, but is hyper-charged with politics, conspiracy theories, with a possible jolt of racism thrown in.  Governor Brewer should not sign it.

During the 2008 campaign, when so-called Birthers started to file various and sundry lawsuits across the United States challenging Obama's eligibility to be President, I reviewed a number of those suits.  I noted - at a different website - that the suits were misguided, but our system of federal and state laws does not have any way of ensuring that the constitutional eligibility requirements are met.  I posited that such laws would have to be passed at the state level and pass U.S. Constitutional muster.

Arizona's new law - waiting for Governor Jan Brewer's decision on whether to sign it, veto it or to ignore it and let it go into law - is such an attempt and probably would pass constitutional muster.  However, there are political and legal issues with it that should convince the Governor to veto it.

Political:  Because President Obama is the only presidential nominee who has ever had his eligibility seriously questioned (I do not think McCain questions reached the level of lawsuits or widespread discussion), and he is running for re-election, this appears to be designed as a vendetta - a way of trying to keep him from being re-elected and to say that his first term was illegitimate.

This is not appropriate.

Legal:  The text of the new, proposed statute is pasted below the jump.  Sections A, B and C deal with the affidavit that would be required and the forms of proof that should be attached.  Fine.  It is the second half of the statute, dealing with enforcement and remedies where things get sketchy.

Section F allows anyone to file lawsuits to try to enforce this law.  I am not sure why it distinguishes between state(?) legislators OR any other citizen.  But, this is setting Arizona to be the center of attention for a raft of lawsuits.

Section D allows the Secretary of State to set up a committee "to assist in the determination or hold hearings and submit any documents for forensic examination."  A lot of leeway there, very broad indeed.

Then, in Section E, the Secretary of State of Arizona is permitted to make the determination to keep a national presidential candidate off of the November ballot, and he or she only needs to go by a "preponderance of the evidence" standard.  That is SCARY.  (Plus, we already know that the Secretary of State in 2012 will likely still be Ken Bennett - a staunch GOP partisan.)

In recent presidential elections, both parties have accused Secretaries of State from the other party of imperiling our democracy because of politically-motivated decisions.  No matter how many Secretaries of State or candidates for the position declare that they will enforce election laws impartially, noone believes that that is possible.  The Secretary of State is a political person by the very nature of our system, and is often a very partisan political person.

I think that this is a major flaw in the pending legislation.  IF the law had required a multi-partisan (no such thing as non-partisan for this) panel of judges, it would be different.  IF the law had stated that it would go into effect for the 2016 election, it would be different.  IF the law had not given the right to anyone to sue to try to enforce this action (what's up with specifying a state legislator or any other citizen, anyway?), it would be different.

However, it is what it is.  And, it should not be signed into law.

WATCH: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer On Fox News Last Night; "Keep Us Posted"

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer sat for a 5 minute interview with Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren last night, to discuss yesterday's Ninth Circuit appellate decision upholding a stay keeping most of anti-illegal immigration law SB 1070 from going into effect.

Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne are trying to decide whether to ask for the rest of the Ninth Circuit judges (not "justices", as mentioned in the interview) to review the decision, or go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Van Susteren - an attorney-turned-talk-show-host - occasionally tried to coach the governor as to what she thought the best arguments would be.  When Brewer used her tried-and-true line about SB 1070 mirroring federal law - "Are the feds going to change their laws?!?!" - Van Susteren quickly noted that the better argument is that the federal government is not fulfilling their responsibilities and that that is forcing Arizona's "constitutional gesture - an unconstitutional gesture - if the federal government did its job."

Governor Brewer also made another national television appeal for donations to the quasi-governmental legal defense fund that is presumably being used to pay private attorneys to represent the state.  The large and prestigious law firm of Snell & Wilmer (and top attorney John Bouma) represented the Governor in this appeal, and this does not fall under their pro bono policy.  According to the website, the fund has already raised more than $1.5 million.

At the end of the interview, Van Susteren thanked Governor Brewer and said she would follow the case closely.  To which the Governor replied, "Keep us posted."



(Previous reports:  Brewer/Horne news release: http://bit.ly/hdwsnx
Quickie Analysis of Ruling: http://bit.ly/edaWFC )

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WATCH TONIGHT: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Goes To Fox News To React To 9th Circuit Ruling

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will go back to one of her favorite shows to react to today's decision from the 9th Circuit.  At 7:00pm Arizona time, Brewer will be one of the guests on Greta Van Susteren's "On The Record" show, on Fox News Channel.

Brewer (and AG Tom Horne) have already released a joint statement expressing their disapproval of the appellate court's refusal to undo the injunction preventing most of the controversial anti-illegal immigration SB1070 law from going into effect.  The 2-1 decision was released earlier today.

Here is video from Brewer's last Fox News Channel appearance, in February.



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READ: Arizona Governor (Jan Brewer) and Attorney General (Tom Horne) Jointly Release Reaction On Anti-SB1070 Ruling

Arizona's Governor and Attorney General are on the same page when it comes to defending the anti-illegal immigration SB 1070 law; today, they issued a joint news release blasting the appellate decision upholding an injunction against the key provisions of that controversial law.

Jan Brewer states that today's ruling will harm Arizonans' safety, and Tom Horne believes that the 92-page opinion (summarized earlier) "relied heavily" on opposition from Mexico (on two of the four provisions).

For your reading pleasure, here is the news release.



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Synopsis of Some Reaction To Gov. Brewer's AHCCCS (Medicaid) Proposal For Encouraging Healthier Lifestyles

Arizona and Governor Jan Brewer continue to generate national interest in how our state is dealing with AHCCCS - its Medicaid program - in light of the budgetary crisis.  Thursday, Brewer's letter to the federal government responsible for Medicaid programs drew attention for proposing to incentivize enrollees to lose weight or stop smoking.

Here is a synopsis of some of the national reaction (with links), courtesy of longtime news aggregator (heck, they were aggregating before the internet) The Week: http://bit.ly/hlzqLh

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READ: Part Of Brewer's AHCCCS Plan Includes Fee For Obese, Diabetics, Smokers; This Could Get Interesting

The Wall Street Journal broke the story today that Governor Jan Brewer's new request for waivers from the federal government includes $50 levies on obese enrollees who do not follow a doctor's regimen, and similar fees for similarly-situated diabetics and smokers.

Here is the wording in the Arizona's request to be the first state Medicaid program using such a behavior-oriented penalty:

In addition to flexibilities to assess eligibility, the State is seeking to pilot penalty and

incentive strategies that would assist the State in partnering with the consumers to
take responsibility for their own health care. For instance, all smokers enrolled in the
childless adult population would be required to pay an annual fee of $50. In addition,
childless adults who are obese and/or suffer from a chronic disease, such as
diabetes, will need to work with their primary care physician to develop a care plan.
Individuals who do not adhere to the plan and meet specified goals will be required
to pay an annual fee of $50.

AHCCCS will combine these annual fees with incentive strategies, including those
grant opportunities outlined by the Affordable Care Act, to provide appropriate
incentives for healthy behaviors and disease management. AHCCCS has solicited
input from the public regarding these strategies and will work with stakeholders on an
initiative that best meets the agency’s goal of improving health outcomes and
lowering the cost of care. In addition, the Arizona Department of Health Services
has obtained a $400,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which will be aimed at
wellness initiatives for the Medicaid population. (State's letter to HHS Secy Sebelius, March 31, 2011)

This could get very interesting.


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FACT CHECK FOLLOW-UP: As U.S. Presents, Today, Gov. Brewer's Anti-UN/Anti-White House/Pro-SB1070 Rant Proved False

It was 6 1/2 months ago that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer teed off on the Obama Administration for mentioning Arizona and the anti-illegal immigration SB1070 in its review of human rights in Arizona.  She decried the innocuous mention as "internationalism run amok and unconstitutional", and promised that Arizona would fight the attempt "to make an international human rights case out of SB1070". 

Today, the United States presents its response to the recommendations made by other countries, and will tell them that it flat out rejects the idea - made by Ecuador and echoed by others - that the U.S. should "Repeal and do not enforce discriminatory and racial laws such as Law SB 1070 of the State of Arizona."  And, that will basically be the end of that.  The report and the response will be approved, there will be no vote on whether the U.S. should be forced to repeal Arizona's law or sanctioned if it does not.  That is it.  An anti-climactic, yet completely predictable, end to something that the governor pretended was going to be an historic capitulation of the United States to the world.

The State Department released its response to the 228 recommendations made by other nations last week to little fanfare.  For most, the Administration expressed support, or rejected the rhetoric while supporting the principle.  However, the Ecuadoran recommendation was one of the 57 that the U.S. is flatly rejecting.  The comment: "(T)he Federal Executive Branch lacks the authority to repeal or refuse to enforce laws enacted at the State level."

The U.S. did respond favorably to other, more general recommendations touching on issues raised in the wake of SB1070.  For example, Guatemala, Bolivia, Mexico, Uruguay urged the U.S. to attempt to restrain state initiatives which encourage racial profiling and/or criminalizing people who cross the border without permission.  The U.S. response expressed support for the principle expressed in those recommendations in a very interesting way:

We will continue to both conduct human rights training and awareness campaigns and, where appropriate, bring civil or criminal actions regarding racial profiling, police brutality, and excessive use of force, and other actionable civil rights violations against immigrants. While unlawful presence in the U.S. is not a crime, and the federal government does not support state initiatives that aim to criminalize mere status, we cannot support the parts related to the “criminalization” of migrants, as certain immigration offenses are subject to criminal sanction, e.g., illegal entry. (emphasis added)

In August, we fact checked Gov. Brewer's letter and concluded that it was "completely misleading".  And, unless something completely unexpected occurs, today's proceedings will support that conclusion and prove to be a predictable anti-climax to the Governor's UN-and-Obama-bashing rant.


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WATCH: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Interviewed On Fox News, Pleads For Funds To Pay The Attorneys

Before Egypt's President stepped down (or, stepped down again) this morning, and before one of the Fox News reporters referred to the past couple of weeks as being a "Mexican standoff", Fox News hosted Arizona Governor Jan Brewer for an interview.

The Governor ran down the basis for the counterclaim filed in the S.B. 1070 case yesterday, and then noted that Arizona taxpayers are not paying for the legal action because of the Border Security Fund that she (and the Legislature) set up last year to accept private (unlimited) donations.  She also noted that the fund has already spent $1.2 million dollars - presumably in legal fees.

This re-raises a question we mentioned yesterday during the news conference: now that the Arizona Attorney General and his office are actively involved in this case, will monies from the Governor's fund be used to reimburse the AG's office for their time spent.  Or, is the $1.5 million (according to the website) or $3.5 million (according to Brewer yesterday) raised at the KeepAZSafe site only going to be used to pay legal fees for the private, outside counsel?


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READ: Arizona's Counterclaim Against U.S. In S.B. 1070 Lawsuit

As announced earlier on Thursday by Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne, Arizona has (finally) filed an Answer to the legal action filed last year by the United States in the matter of Arizona's S.B. 1070 anti-illegal immigrant law.  Arizona also took the opportunity to file a counterclaim against the Obama Administration.

The Governor and AG first released a 6-page summary of the counterclaim, and later released the entire, filed Answer and Counterclaim.  The former presents (relatively) simple to understand synopses of the five counts in the Counterclaim.  Some are unsurprising, such as "Failure to Achieve and Maintain Operational Control of the... Border" (Count One), "Failure to Enforce/Follow Immigration Laws" (Count Three), and seeking reimbursement (Count Four). 

However, there are also a couple of eye-opening claims: failing to protect Arizona as required under the Constitution - requiring a redefinition of the constitutional term "invasion" (Count Two) and that the U.S. is violating the 10th Amendment by letting illegal immigrants in and then saying that Arizona cannot do anything about them once they are here (Count Five).

As is often the case in complex cases, both of the eye-openers require some creative legal gymnastics.  For example, the full counterclaim acknowledges that the court needs to redefine "Invasion" to include non-sovereign, non-military entrances by persons acting individually. (pp. 44-45)  The clause is found in Article IV, Section 4 of the United States Constitution. ("The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.")

The 10th Amendment claim requires the trier to acknowledge that the federal government does have the constitutional responsibility to control immigration - including detaining and deporting those who make it past the border.  But - the legal reasoning seems to state - once illegal immigrants are here, Arizona must be permitted to facilitate the detaining and deporting and it is then unconstitutional for the federal government to preempt Arizona's actions against illegal immigrants.  (pp. 51-54)

From a legal-wonky perspective, some of the affirmative defenses asserted by Arizona to the original complaint seem rather... unique.  The frequently-cited affirmative defense of "self defense" is usually thought of in the context of an individual taking otherwise-illegal action to protect him or herself;  yet, Arizona is claiming that S.B. 1070 is a self-defense right "under the Constitution".  An entire chapter could be written on that perspective.  (p. 14)

Another unique affirmative defense is that the original lawsuit should name executive branch departments (DOJ, DHS, State) as the real parties in interest; first, it is not a typical "affirmative defense" and second, it is part of an interesting motif in the Answer and Counterclaim trying to split the plaintiff (the U.S. Government) into the Obama Administration, the executive agencies and Congress.  This appears partly designed to make an argument that the necessary laws are in place but are not being executed - never mind that Congress also controls the purse strings and that there is always a matter of prosecutorial discretion - and partly, politically, to single out the White House as the true villain.  This is borne out in another interesting affirmative defense - often used in business disputes among individuals or businesses - that claims that the federal government has "unclean hands".

The bottom line seems to be that this pretty standard legal pleading and tactic - counterclaiming - probably got a lot more public attention than it normally would, but for the Governor and AG's well-publicized news conference.  While parts are creative, other parts are exactly the types of complaints that are practically required to be brought up as a counterclaim if you feel that you have your own gripes with the plaintiff.  And, we have repeatedly been told that the reason behind S.B. 1070 and other state measures is precisely because Arizona has gripes against the federal government.  An argument could be made that IF these had not been raised as a (compulsory) counterclaim, that Arizona would not be permitted to later file this as a separate action against the U.S. government.

(note, in case any reader has a way of getting the counterclaim amended, paragraph 180 inadvertently uses "Counterclaimants" instead of "Counterdefendants".  An easy-to-make-yet-hard-to-catch common mistake that nonetheless can jar the reader off the track that you were trying to take him or her on.





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Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's Announcement of State Lawsuit Against Federal Governement

Today, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced that the state is filing a counterclaim against the U.S. government for "their failure to secure the border and enforce our laws".   (Sure, the pronouns make it appear that the federal government should be enforcing Arizona's laws.)  Attorney General Tom Horne indicates that the basis for the claims is that the U.S. has failed in its constitutional requirement to "protect Arizona from invasion."

The counterclaim (i.e. basically, a lawsuit against a party who has already sued you) is being filed in the federal case(s) that have challenged last year's anti-illegal immigration SB1070 law.

Brewer indicates that the costs of the counterclaim will be paid out of her "Keep AZ Safe Fund".  Whether that will include reimbursing the Attorney General's Office for their expenses remains to be seen. 


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READ: HHS Secretary Sebelius, Arizona Governor Brewer Exchange Broad Letters; Brewer Asks For One-on-One Meeting

US HHS (Health and Human Services) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent out a "Dear Governor" letter yesterday that addressed Medicaid programs, with some attention given to Arizona's request for a waiver to be permitted to scale back Arizona's AHCCCS program without losing federal funds.  Arizona Governor Jan Brewer responded with a same-day retort indicating that all Sebelius' cost-cutting ideas have already been implemented and asking for a meeting with Sebelius to convince her to grant the waiver.

The texts of both letters are set forth after the jump.  Sebelius offered up meetings and on-site visits from her "senior leadership":

Starting immediately, the senior leadership from across the Department will be available to meet individually with your staff about plans that you may already have in mind. My team stands ready to come to your State to discuss your priorities and how we can help achieve them.


In the meantime, recent conversations suggest a lack of clarity about what flexibility currently exists in Medicaid. Some of you have asked whether I can “waive” the maintenance of effort requirements for people who a State has covered under Medicaid’s “optional” eligibility categories and waivers. I note that the Affordable Care Act gives a State the flexibility to reduce eligibility for non-disabled, non-pregnant adults with incomes above 133 percent of the Federal poverty line ($14,500 for an individual) if the State has a budget deficit, although prior to June 30, this would mean the loss of the enhanced FMAP under the Recovery Act. I continue to review what authority, if any, I have to waive the maintenance of effort under current law.

I am not aware of any states other than Arizona passing a law to request the waiver. (Arizona requested it informally in December, before giving it extra oomph with the special session/law.) 

Brewer was ready with a response, noting that Arizona has been unsuccessful in setting up a meeting with HHS to discuss the matter:

I believe strongly that you do (have authority to waive).  Congress explicitly placed the maintenance of effort requirement in an area of federal statute that you have the authority to waive.  Given that, it appears that granting temporary relief from one of the more onerous fiscal requirements of the health care act is more a matter of political will than legal authority

Brewer's letter also provides two examples of seemingly-common sense moves that HHS has already rejected - reimbursing for taxis to bring patients to doctor visits and imposing no-show fees on patients who set appointments and do not show up.

Texts of the letters follow:

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Sets Forth Her "Four Cornerstones of Reform" (LINKS)

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer released a paper today setting forth what she considers the "Four Cornerstones of Reform" that will propel Arizona to "reclaim its historic position as a national leader in population growth, job growth and economic energy" during the next four years.  Read it here.

For those who want the shorter, press release version, click here.  Or, you can read the following synopsis.

The four cornerstones are "Economic Competitiveness", "Education", "State Government", and "Renewed Federalism". 

Economic Competitiveness:  Gov. Brewer proposes "a special session of the Legislature for the purpose of enacting an economic competitiveness package," to be convened "in the coming month."  The special session should set up a new "Arizona Commerce Authority", set up new "tax incentives that reward companies for creating high-quality jobs", and new tax reforms to reduce the corporate income tax rate and the business personal property tax.

Education: "Further details of Governor Brewer's education reform plan will be announced forthwith", according to the news release.

State Government: The Governor's policy agenda paper sets forth several budget reforms already released, and operational reforms that are in the works.  The latter include dealing with the state personnel system, the retirement system, and strengthening right-to-work provision by proposing that the governor cannot impose a meet-and-confer process.

Renewed Federalism:  Governor Brewer suggests that "the United States has a federal government, not a national government."  (emphasis hers) Her plan suggests that Arizona will keep fighting the federal government on border security and health care reform.  In addition, she urges eligible local governments in Arizona to remove themselves from the requirment that the federal government pre-clear any changes that may effect minority representation.




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READ: Gov. Brewer's Speech In Place of State of the State

Here is Gov. Jan Brewer's speech before the state legislature (and on national cable).  She shelved the State of the State speech, instead delivering a short, moving eulogy of those killed - particularly Judge John Roll and 9-year old Christina-Taylor Green in the Saturday assasination attempt in Tucson.

Here is the text:

"Good afternoon.


Speaker Adams, President Pearce, Honorable Senators and Representatives of the Centennial Legislature, Chief Justice Berch and Justices of the Supreme Court, constitutional officers, tribal leaders, honored guests, and my fellow Arizonans:

I had intended to deliver a State of the State address to you today -- remarks that outline an exciting and solid plan for job creation, education, and tax reform .....

.... and I WILL deliver that plan to you.

But, not now.

Not today.

Tragedy and terror sometimes come from the shadows – and steal our joy and take away our peace.

That happened on Saturday when a gunman took away people we love, innocent people, and outstanding public servants – like U.S. District Judge John M. Roll.

Judge Roll had just come from the light of a Catholic Mass – and confronted the darkness of a madman.

The gunman gravely wounded others -- people we love and respect -- like Gabby Giffords, my good friend.

This past weekend's events have caused me – caused all of us -- to reflect on many things, including how we respond to those terrible events.

2

First, our response to this tragedy must be led by prayer and comfort for the victims and their families.

So, please -- join me in a moment of silence as we pray for all those we've lost -- for the injured -- and for the suffering.

Thank you.

With our faith and our courage tightly in place, we will step forward from this Chamber, dedicated to the Lord's work -- continuing our service to the public.

One year ago, from this very place, I told you I would serve beside you -- proud to serve the people of Arizona.

I said then, that public service is acting NOT in self-interest -- but on behalf of others.

And, I asked people to join me in the field.

Gabby Giffords DID join me in the field.

And, we worked together, knowing that when our public service ended, we would be judged LESS by what we achieved than what we over-came.

In addition to Judge Roll -- Arizona also lost -- Dorothy Morris, Dorwan Stoddard, Phyllis Schneck, and Gabriel Zimmerman.

Let me take a moment to recognize the acts of extraordinary Arizonans -- who responded with professionalism --and saved lives -- law enforcement, emergency responders, the Tucson medical community, and the staff at the University Medical Center.

Daniel Hernandez, a University of Arizona junior showed no fear in the face of gunfire.

His quick action in going to Gabby Giffords' aid -- likely saved her life.

Daniel is here today and I'm going to ask him to stand and receive the thanks of a grateful state.

It was a sunny Saturday at the supermarket in Northwest Tucson.

It was a picture of what our country is all about: Public servants doing their duty, citizens, old and young coming to hear -- coming to participate -- in the beauty of our government in action.

We lost someone else on Saturday ... nine-year-old, Christina Green.

3

She was just elected to her student council.

She was hoping to be a positive part of the future of America.

And, she has become just that.

She loved baseball -- she was the only girl on her Little League baseball team; and she loved to wear red, white and blue.

I should tell you, Christina was born on September 11th, 2001.

She thought of her birthday as a day of hope -- a time to find goodness in America.

As her mother said, "Her light shines on all of us today."

Saturday's events were not just an attack on those individuals we loved and lost, but an assault on our Constitutional Republic -- on our democracy -- on all we treasure and hold dear -- as citizens and public servants.

Arizona is in pain, yes.

Our grief is profound.

We are yet in the first hours of our sorrow -- but, we have not been brought down.

We will never be brought down!

In fact -- we've been lifted up by America's thoughts and prayers – and we're deeply grateful for them.

Arizona, like all of America -- has been through difficult times before.

But, those times have united us, and made us stronger -- more enduring.

Let those of us who serve our state and country do so in a way that honors those we have lost.

Our meetings on sunny days will not end.

Like the words from Isaiah, I believe Arizona will rise on wings like eagles -- we will run, and not get weary -- we will walk, and not grow weak

So -- I ask for your help -- and your continued prayers, as we step from here, and guide this Great State with courage and devotion.

4

May God bless all the victims and their families and those suffering from Saturday's tragedy.

May God bless those who serve us in the cause of freedom and justice.

May He bless you and your families and our Great State of Arizona.

And may God always bless and protect the United States of America.

Thank you."
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READ: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) Letter To Speaker-Elect Boehner

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer dashed off a four-page letter to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker-Elect John Boehner on Friday (released today).  No holiday wishes, but a wish for next year: that the GOP-controlled House eliminate a "spending mandate" for state Medicaid programs, from the healthcare law.

Here is how the Arizona Daily Star summarizes it, and the response from Arizona Democratic Rep. Daniel Patterson.

Arizona's Politics is preparing a Fact Check on the detailed letter.  If you have any questions about any of the claims, or citations for or against them, please leave a comment here or send me an e-mail.


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FACT CHECK FOLLOW-UP: U.S. Urged To "Repeal" Arizona's SB 1070; Human Rights Review Process Nearing End

On Friday, the world had a chance to compliment and criticize the United States' human rights practices.  Ecuador recommended that Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law SB 1070 should be "repeal(ed)".  The U.S. delegation noted that it is already in the courts and re-expressed "the commitment to advancing comprehensive immigration reform."

In August, the United States State Department filed its self-survey of the status of human rights in the U.S.  Near the end of that mostly-positive report, it noted the ongoing legal action surrounding Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law.  This upset Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who accused the Obama Administration of "trying to make an international human rights case" of SB 1070, and that it was "unconstitutional" and "internationalism run amok."  The State Department responded by noting that the federal court case (now before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals) is a positive example of how a country should use the rule of law to deal with issues.

Arizona and SB 1070 did end up being discussed at the Working Group session on Friday, and thus being included in the (draft) report issued today.  The 228 recommendations and conclusions submitted by a large number of nations may be further responded to by the U.S. and will be forwarded to the U.N. Human Rights Council for rubber-stamping.  The U.S. will then act on some of the recommendations, reject others, and ignore the rest.  End of story.  There is no enforcement and there are no penalties.

Basically, the Universal Periodic Review ("UPR") is an opportunity to shine a light on every nation's human rights efforts and to give every nation and every NGO (non-governmental organization) a chance to sound off about each other.  For example, the United States made a number of recommendations when Iran was reviewed earlier this year; Iran rejected nearly all of them.

What happened on Friday? According to the draft report, "Mexico recognized the robust institutional infrastructure for the protection of human rights." (para. 19) There must have been some mention of Arizona in the first round of nation's statements, because the U.S. delegation virtually repeated its report word-for-word about SB 1070. (para. 37)

Discussion about racial profiling and immigration continued.  Later, the U.S. "assured delegations that it condemns racial and ethnic profiling in all of its forms, and is conducting a thorough review of policies and procedures to ensure that none of its law enforcement practices improperly target individuals based on race or ethnicity." (para. 72)  Regarding immigration, the U.S. stated that "it is committed to improving its immigration system", while noting that more than 9.4 million people have either become permanent residents (5.5M), naturalized citizens (3.5M) or resettled/granted asylum (nearly 425,000) in the U.S. in the past five years. (para. 73).

The draft report then turns to the recommendations and/or conclusions noted by the different nations.  Haiti urged the U.S. to ratify the 1990 "International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families". (para. 15).  A number of countries joined in on that suggestion, mainly from Central and South America.

Four countries then made recommendations which appeared to be referencing SB 1070.  Guatemala, Bolivia, Mexico, Uruguay urged the U.S. to attempt to restrain state initiatives which encourage racial profiling. (paras. 79, 101, 105, 108)  Finally, Ecuador came right out and urged the U.S. to "repeal and do not enforce discriminatory and racial laws such as Law SB 1070 of the State of Arizona." (para. 110)

Likely, the U.S. will respond to that entreaty by noting that the federal government can neither repeal nor prevent Arizona from enforcing the state law if the federal courts do not find in favor of the U.S. in the pending legal action. 

_____
Arizona's Politics wishes to commend the ACLU for posting the draft report and for quickly responding to its media inquiry.




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