I like Sinema, but she flubbed a couple of facts on Olbermann
UPDATE, July 13 5:17PM: Sinema called me about her appearance on Olbermann. She explained that she didn't call Parraz ahead of time because she didn't know Olbermann was going to ask her about the recall.
She knew it was going to be 1070-related, but didn't know until Olbermann asked her about it on TV that it would be recall-related.
Regarding the flubs, with the 1070-stuff, she said she was mainly trying to segue into pointing out that the opposition to Pearce was about much more than 1070. She said she understands that the recall effort has stayed away from the immigration debate and agrees this is smart.
On the part having to do with Snow, Sinema admitted that she screwed up. She said she knew Snow was from Peoria, but that she was operating in the moment and made a mistake, for which she has apologized to Snow directly. (Snow confirmed this to me.)
Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill, here, people. Sinema is on our side. She's good on TV, but none of us is perfect. And unlike many of her fellow politicians, she's unafraid to admit when she's made a mistake.
You may not agree with everything she says or does, but so what? I'm tired of all the division. We all have our roles to play. And after watching Sinema in committee, I know she's dedicated. Enough said.
Though it's mostly a formality, Governor Jan Brewer today officially called a November 8 recall election for state Senate President Russell Pearce.
In a terse memo issued on her website, she stated:
"Today, in accordance with state law, I issued an order calling a special recall election. This action is mandated under ARS Section 19-209.
"Under Arizona law, the Governor must call a special election once the Secretary of State's Office has certified that a sufficient number of valid recall petitions have been submitted. The special election will be November 8, 2011, as determined by ARS Section 16-204."
Let the high-fives commence.
Yesterday, recall organizer Randy Parraz of Citizens for a Better Arizona and supporters of the recall effort from Mesa tried to deliver a letter to Pearce asking him to resign.
Mr. Wannabe John Wayne, however, didn't have the stones to come out and get the missive himself. He didn't even want to send his secretary out from his state Senate bunker. So he had a Legislative page pick it up for him.
He won't be able to hide from his constituents for much longer, however. And his effort to challenge the recall in court is doomed to fail. Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne has already stated that she's found no evidence of the "massive voter registration fraud," incorrectly alleged by some seriously disturbed individuals.
"I have never lost an election," Pearce told the AP in response to the news from the governor's office. "And [I] will fight these outside forces that support lax law enforcement, amnesty and open borders."
Good luck, wingnut. The people who recalled you, more than 10,000 of them, are not "outside forces," but voters in your district. Moreover, everyone involved in gathering signatures had to be at least qualified to be a registered voter in Arizona.
This page has more guts than big wuss Pearce ever will
I must also correct a couple of points that our friend and ally Democratic state Senator Kyrsten Sinema made recently when she was on Keith Olbermann's Countdown, now on Al Gore's Current TV.
Sinema can be effective on TV, and I don't begrudge her the chance to be on, but she and the local Democratic Party had zip to do with the recall. Instead, the recall was a grass roots effort.
(Note: I should add that I'm referring to the Democratic leadership, here, not the party faithful, some of whom worked hard on the recall, as we all know.)
The Dems stayed out of it, and many of them have expressed concern to me in the past that the end result could be a stronger Pearce, assuming, as many have wrongly done, that Pearce will handily win.
Guess some minds have been changed on that front. Still, it's probably best that the Democratic Party is not directly involved, as that would give the recall an overtly partisan tinge.
I would also say that if Sinema is going to be on the boob tube talking about the recall, she needs to give Parraz a call and find out what's going on.
In speaking with Olbermann, for instance, she incorrectly stated that the recall effort began as a reaction to Senate Bill 1070.
It did not. Rather, it was a reaction to Pearce becoming state Senate President, and thus the most powerful politician in Sand Land.
Moreover, immigration has never been an issue in the recall campaign. It is not mentioned in the recall statement on the petitions, and it has never been part of the recall's message.
Secondly, when Olbermann asked about possible challengers to Pearce in Legislative District 18, Sinema uttered a major boo-boo.
"Interestingly enough, the chairman of the effort to recall Pearce is a Republican Mormon named Chad Snow out of Mesa," she said, floating Snow's name.
Snow is a Republican Mormon and he is chairman of CBA, but he is not from Mesa and does not live in LD18. He actually lives in Peoria, and he practices law in Phoenix.
Once again, nothing wrong with Sinema jumping on the bandwagon here. The more the merrier. But Parraz told me that Sinema did not give him a call before going on the show, and said he wished she had.
The stakes are very high, and we have to be careful about speculation and not having our facts down.
For instance, I do know the name of one possible contender to replace Pearce, but I'm not going anywhere near it until this person confirms to me that it's the subject of his or her consideration.
We should also be wary of the inevitable, two-bit political hacks who will be coming out of the woodwork to get their names on the November 8 ballot. Some self-serving crazies and shills for Pearce are sure to sign up, particularly with a mere 621 signature requirement.
Words to the wise, ladies and gents. Pearce will not go down without a fight, but he is weak, and there are major players on the left, the right and in the middle who want him to fall. So, let's all remain unified and keep our eyes on the prize.
