Frankly, if I was planning a drive to New Mexico from Los Angeles, I’d rather drive around Arizona than buy gas in the state and give a single penny to Jan Brewer and her venal Republican pals to spend on their racist, anti-immigrant law enforcement. When I think of Arizona, I can’t get Gov. Jan Brewer’s mean, sun-damaged lemon-face out of my mind. The sight of her sickens me. Apparently quite a few folks in the southern part of the state must feel the same way and have decided to do something about it. BRAVO! From Pueblo Politics:
A political committee comprised of a handful of attorneys, including the former chairman of the Pima County Democratic Party, have established a political committee dedicated to helping Southern Arizona secede from the rest of the state.
Start Our State, which is asking other like-minded counties to join the effort, is hoping to put the question before Pima County voters in 2012.
Co-chair Paul Eckerstrom said it’s not a joke and not a political statement. He said the state legislature has gone too far to the right, particularly with a round of measures to challenge federal supremacy.
“This really does border on them saying they don’t want to be part of the Union any longer,” he said. “Well, I want to be part of the United States.”
He said at a minimum, it will send a message that Pima County doesn’t want to go along with the priorities being outlined in Phoenix. He said Pima County has more land and more people than several other states.
“It’s no longer a laughing matter to me,” Eckerstrom said. “My kids’ futures are at stake because if this continues, the economic ramifications could be very dire. I’m tired of hoping and praying that rationality will come to Phoenix.”
The committee is pressing the Pima County Board of Supervisors to put the measure on the ballot. If that doesn’t happen, Eckerstrom said the group is prepared to circulate petitions.
Frankly, it’s about time something like this happened in Arizona. The hard right, racist asshats in Phoenix need someone to call their bluff. But would the new state be viable? Absolutely. Pima County has more than 1 million residents, about the same number of people as Rhode Island as. It actually has a larger population than Vermont, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas, as per the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 estimates. The proposed new state would be larger than Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut. And secession would absolutely decimate the tax coffers of the state they’d depart!
And again I say, “Bravo”!