Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Al Melvin Knows of No Arizonan Who Discriminates

In a jaw-dropping interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Al Melvin tells Cooper that he should move from New York to Arizona where "we're more people friendly here."

And, Melvin, who rewrote Arizona's history during his interview with Cooper, also said to a national audience: "I don't know of anybody in Arizona who would discriminate against a fellow human being."

Is there nothing in Arizona's history that would call to his mind any discriminatory attitudes? Nothing?

See also: -Jan Brewer Promises To Do "the Right Thing" in 2012 Over SB 1070 -Russell Pearce Can't Shake His Ties to Neo-Nazi J.T. Ready -A Racist State?

The interviews was aimed at giving Melvin, the only governor candidate a chance to explain his support of SB 1062 -- a bill that allows business and individuals to assert their religious beliefs if they choose not to serve certain individuals, say, gays, for example.

Governor Jan Brewer has until Saturday to either sign the bill, veto it or do nothing and allow it to become law.

A second video below.

Mr. Melvin, how about a little history lesson on Arizona and its attitudes toward women, people of color, immigrants and gays.

An observation in a New York Times article about the impeached Even Mecham captures the essence of one of Arizona's most controversial governors:

Some said Mr. Mecham brought out the worst traits in Arizonans, like racism, bigotry and intolerance. In addition to canceling the King holiday, Mr. Mecham said that working women cause divorce and that he saw nothing wrong with calling black children "pickaninnies."

Arizona voters in 2008 approved a proposition that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The state's lawmaking body adopted SB 1070, and Governor Jan Brewer signed the draconian law in 2010 to allow local police officers to act as immigration-enforcement officials.

The U.S. Department of Justice found that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his office demonstrated one of the worst patterns in racial profiling in the nation's history.

And then, back to Brewer. She refuses to grant drivers licenses to certain undocumented youth who were granted deferred action on their immigration status and given the right to work by President Barack Obama.

Senate Majority Leader Russell Peace, who was thrown out of office in a recall election, has a chummy history with the late J.T. Ready, a known neo Nazi.

And what about Tanner Flake, the son of a U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona.

The fact is, whether or not Governor Jan Brewer signs SB 1062, the so-called Religious Freedom bill, into law, Arizona has already suffered a black eye, a busted lip and a few broken ribs.

Consider that just the fact that this measure is 1) supported by a majority of Arizona lawmakers, 2) garnering national media attention for Arizona and 3) has given the likes of Brewer and gubernatorial candidate Al Melvin national air time.

The interviews have been predictably embarrassing and torturous to watch.

If you watched the CNN videos, you saw that Melvin had a Brewer-brain-fart moment when he's asked whether it was discrimination if an employer fired an employee simply because that employee is gay.

His mind and mouth just couldn't push out the words ... and there was nothing but dead air.

And when Brewer was interviewed by CNN, she pledged that she would "do the right thing" with SB 1062.

With mounting pressure from the business community, fellow Republicans and the gay community, many say that Brewer is likely to veto the bill.

But we all remember what happened when she said she would do the "right thing" regarding SB 1070.

She signed it into law.

• Only in Arizona