With the Trump uproar, and long form birth certificate release by his O’ness, sucking all the air out of the room, Part III of the Arizona Circus was held until there was a clearing in the blather before posting. For those waiting with breathless anticipation (both of you), here it is.
Sideshow: The Birther Booth
Since birtherism has already been mentioned, let’s return to the sideshow with a visit to the Birther Bill Booth. Yesirree, Arizona became the first state to pass a Birther Bill requiring a “long form” birth certificate to get on the state’s presidential ballot. The Gov had the good sense to veto the nonsense even before the Trump flap. With the legislature out of session, no attempt to override would be forthcoming, but proponents, who swore it had nothing to do with Obama, vowed to bring it back next year. Since it had nothing to do with Obama, one can only wonder whether proponents will, in fact, bring it back for round two next year now that Obama has released the long form.
Sideshow: The Great White Tent
Normally, sideshows are in trailers or booths, but some are big enough to require their own tent. Such is the case with the Arizona Immigration Sideshow. Before entering the Great White Tent, attend to the sign “No Browns Allowed Without Proof of Citizenship”. For those who don’t remember, Arizona thinks of itself as its own nation, setting its own foreign and immigration policy. Another first-in-the-nation, SB 1070, the “Papers Please” law, entered our lexicon last year. Four of its provisions have since been declared unconstitutional, with a trip to the Supreme Court in the future.
Given the legal failures to date of SB1070, the immigration-obsessed Arizona legislature decided to double down for 2011. Four new immigration bills were brought forward with the blessing of Senate President Russell Pearce. These were lovely pieces of legislation that included such brilliant ideas as challenging the U. S. Constitution’s birthright citizenship clause and, my personal favorite, requiring medical service providers in hospitals and clinics to check citizenship during the course of treatment.
But what would you expect from a legislature whose Senate President just a few years ago posted to friends and supporters, by email, part of an article lifted from a white supremacist website? Oh, you don’t need to ask for proof. He admitted it and did one of those “if anyone may have been offended” apology things. Still, his mea culpa didn’t explain his ongoing association with a political operative who traveled the country speaking to neo-nazi groups. I think Pearce has now, at least officially, disowned that friendship for public purposes.
Thank goodness for Business Republicans. Now Business Republicans are good party loyalists, but they are also realists and genuinely seek to do what is good for business. They may be socially conservative on certain issues, but business savvy prevents them from jumping off cliffs with extremists. Those Business Republicans, seeing the impact of the SB1070 boycott with its lost business revenues in Arizona, and aware of the image hit taken by the state in the wake of “Papers Please”, garnered enough votes to stop the most recent wave of immigration nonsense. For their good sense, they were called out as RINO’s and defiled as spineless apologists for open borders policies. Maybe next session, when the immigration-obsessed contingent vows to bring back all four bills and waste more time on such things rather than serious issues facing the state, the Business Republicans can be arm wrestled into changing their votes.
Sideshow: The Private Prison Display
If you’re inclined to see this exhibit, bring plenty of money, preferably taxpayer money. In a recent study it came to light that housing inmates in private prisons cost 14% more per prisoner, per day than housing them in state run correctional facilities. Knowing this, the bright bulbs leading Arizona sought to expand the program. You may remember from Part II that Gov. Jan Brewer hired two private prison lobbyists as policy advisors.
Circling back to the immigration tent, a recent NPR investigative report showed that private prison interests played a significant role in SB1070. Now why would they do that? Well, private prisons charge on a per person per day basis. Detaining more people increases their “market.”
Private prisons are also less likely to award good time to inmates than state operated institutions. It’s that per person per day payment thing again. Less good time means their guests stay longer at taxpayer expense. The investigation also showed that private prisons fail to offer meaningful rehabilitation programs on a par with state run institutions. It’s simple really. Rehabilitation programs are an expense item that cuts into the bottom line, and private prisons exist for profit. Isn’t privatizing government functions wonderful?
You haven’t heard the best part though. Private prisons in Arizona get away with all this because they are not subject to the same correctional facility standards as state facilities. In the last legislative session 10 separate bills were introduced to provide increased state oversight of private prisons. The Chairman of the Committee prevented them from even being brought up for hearing.
Sideshow: I’ve Got a Capitol to Sell You
That’s right. You too can own your own state capitol or other state office building. One way to solve a budget crisis is to sell assets, or so goes the logic in Arizona. Sell state buildings, then lease them back at a 5% a year premium on a 20 year lease, then buy them back. Gee, I’m no math whiz, but that sounds to me like selling them, then paying twice the price you received to buy them back.
The deal is really more a back handed mortgage arrangement, or maybe a time share purchase, than an outright sale. That’s because of the buy-back provision. Since it’s such a good idea, I think I’ll sell my house and agree to buy it back from the purchaser at twice the price. It makes especially good sense in Arizona’s defunct real estate market.
Sideshow: Poor People Don’t Need Organ Transplants
This sideshow trailer is almost too gruesome to enter. Yes, Arizona cut off funding for life saving organ transplants for the poor. Nothing like letting people die to save money. Ya gotta cut back somewhere if you’re gonna pay 14% more than you have to for housing inmates, right? The organ transplant cutoff was supposedly temporary. There has yet to be an official body count of those who lost out in the transplant debacle.
That’s in keeping with reducing Medicaid benefits from a maximum of 60 months to a maximum of 30 months. And, let’s not forget dropping the Kid’s Care Program. It was 75% paid for by the feds. Kid’s Care was for the working poor to help people who are on their way to becoming productive working members of society but didn’t have health coverage for their kids. After the geniuses in Phoenix figured out that it cost more to pay for care outside the state’s 25% share of Kid’s Care, they opted back in…I think.
In Closing
I had hoped to entertain you further with a few ruminations about Sheriff Joe Arpaio. But, he’s a circus unto himself, so I’ll put that in my back pocket and save it for a separate article somewhere down the road.
Hope you enjoyed the circus.
[Author’s Note: I’ll be on vacation for the next week, spending some of my disposable income in a state other than Arizona. Consider this your chance to hammer my article without worrying about a retort from me.]
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.