Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin hit the airways last night on KTAR's Jay Lawrence Show expressing his lack of optimism about the way the Legislature and Governor Jan Brewer are handling the budget fiasco.
Can you blame him?
"I heard a joke the other day. They said [former Governor Janet] Napolitano and the Legislature drove the budget off into the ditch, and the next governor drove the tow truck into the same ditch," Martin told Lawrence.
Martin then compared budget negotiations to a case of frostbite -- a fairly shitty analogy considering we're in Phoenix.
"At this point, we're talking about how much of the leg are you going to lose. [The Legislature] missed the opportunity just to lose a toe or two," he says.
Martin, who seems to be the only state official with a sense of urgency when it comes to solving the state's budget crisis, has been vocal about the need for the Legislature and Governor Brewer to get something done fast.
Last week, as Martin had warned state officials months ago, the state of Arizona was forced to take out a $700 million loan.
Martin is expected run for governor, and a Rasmussen poll released today shows that while he fairs better against probable Democratic candidate Terry Goddard than Governor Jan does, he is still a two-point underdog.
In fact, the only potential Republican candidate who could beat Goddard, according to the poll, is Sheriff Joe.
Bottom line: The state is screwed.