Harper's magazine is doing some of the best journalism in America today. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of it is behind a pay wall. And because it is aimed at America's declining number of educated, intelligent readers, its overall influence is sadly open to question. This is not the mass-market Harper's of the 1870s that brought down Boss Tweed through the savage and wildly popular illustrations of Thomas Nast, nor does it have an American population that is largely literate. Still, Ken Silverstein's " Tea Party in the Sonora: For the Future of GOP Governance, Look to Arizona," was flattering: A magazine-length summary of many themes long examined on this modest blog. Arizona's breakout bout of crazy has caused numerous competent national journalists to parachute in, to try to explain the damned place. The New York Times and LA Times have been especially diligent. Yet they barely scratch the surface before gratefully departing Sky Harbor.
The New York Times, for example, had an arresting front-page photo of the bodies stacked in the Pima County morgue, bodies of illegal immigrants who have died just so far this summer crossing the desert. Yeah, the ones putting guns to our heads and forcing us to hire them at the lowest possible wages and with no protections while they pay taxes to every level of our government. I'd love to see that photo on page one of the Arizona Republic.
I can guarantee you that Eugene C. Pulliam's Republic would at least have run out of office the odious Joe Arpaio. The sheriff is held in contempt by every real law-enforcement officer I talk to, and old timers still refer to him as "Nickel-Bag Joe," for his strutting but ineffective, small-time busts when he was with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (then DEA). Alas, except for New Times, the media, local and national, merely play their parts in the Badged Ego's theater. Even the media criticism of Arpaio miss the larger areas demanding inquiry. Oh, for a press corps with more skepticism. Or one that would stick around awhile and really dig...
It pains me for the national media to depict my beloved home state as a freak show (work your own side of the street). Yet it's hard to argue with many of Silverstein's observations. For example:
The general unsightliness of the capitol makes it a fitting home for today’s Arizona legislature, which is composed almost entirely of dimwits, racists, and cranks. Collectively they have bankrupted the state through a combination of ideological fanaticism on the Republican right and acquiescence and timidity on the part of G.O.P. moderates and Democrats.
And:
Arizona lawmakers have shown little enthusiasm for dealing seriously with the state’s insolvency. They have instead preferred to focus on matters that have little to do with the crisis.
As in, SB 1070 and making guns legal everywhere, as it defunds essential state agencies (Department of Water Resources cut from an inadequate $23 million to $7 million) and eliminates all-day kindergarten. Otherwise, the piece is a generally well-done summary of problems, well-known to Rogue readers but it may educate a few outsiders. His more provocative points have to do with whether Arizona is the template for Republican governance if the party wins in 2010 and 2012.
Not really.
Silverstein writes, "Arizonans are generally moderate...And yet Arizona politics are disproportionately controlled by ultraconservatives." This is one of many ways where Arizona is close to being sui generis. "Arizonans" now comprise a large number of retirees and other outsiders with little interest in the state except as a sunny place to use up for their personal convenience. Apathy is widespread, as are those working multiple low-wage jobs just to survive. In most cases, those who don't vote "no," simply don't vote — and that extends to Hispanic citizens. Those who vote now are mostly not moderate (the congressional Dems momentarily benefited from anti-Bush fever, and the state has lost many moderates since it went for Bill Clinton). I can think of few states with such a self-destructive electorate — Kansas doesn't even come close. Similarly, the influence of the Mormon church, which Silverstein mentions, is very different in Arizona than in even Utah. The anti-immigrant Jim Crow SB 1070 runs counter to LDS teaching and I have had several Mormon acquaintances privately denounce it. But privately. The East Valley LDS operates by its own cruel rules, very different from Utah and not appetizing to America upon even passing examination.
Arizona is also unique in its narrow economy and economic interests. Even Florida and Nevada have broader economies. The Real Estate Industrial Complex is happy with the Kookocracy, at least so far. (The tourism industry is now controlled from so far away that it doesn't have its historic clout; the legacy industries are gone or static, and also controlled by absentee owners). Thus it's difficult to see Jamie Dimon and Jeff Immelt allowing a Sarah Palin to get into national office. And most of America's populous states remain pluralistic and politically competitive.
That's not to say that Arizona hasn't been a gift to GOP theater. And it couldn't have come at a better time, because the Tea Party, most of which was quietly financed by big-bucks Republicans, is wearing thin. It reminds me of the first time I talked to Randy Pullen, now chairman of Arizona's Republican Party. At the time, he was running again for Phoenix mayor. Initially I thought: Sounds reasonable, even if I might challenge some of his assumptions and facts. After several minutes: This guy is probably very nice, but as any kind of political leader he's pretty unhinged. (Russell Pearce doesn't take that long to reach the Kook Zone). Nationally, even the leggy half-term former Alaska governor is losing her mojo and Sharron Angle in Nevada has lost a near-certain GOP pickup against Harry "He Looks So Lifelike" Reid.
But immigration...ah, immigration resonates. America has a long history of anti-immigration hysteria, especially in times of economic distress. Most people who support SB 1070 don't have a clue about the real immigration situation, but the thing resonates. It hits the gut in a way "comprehensive immigration reform" doesn't. If President Obama were a Ronald Reagan or an FDR, he'd know how to talk to the nation and get his way. He's not. So in this perverse and, forgive me, sinful niche, Republicans may ride to national victory. They won't govern like the goofballs on Seventeenth Avenue — the corporate puppetmasters will ensure the federal treasury remains for their picking, whatever pain is doled out to average Americans or investments in our future destroyed. But Russell Pearce will have his Huey Long moment. And it is true that the Ponzi scheme collapse of Arizona is coming to America, with unpredictable and dangerous consequences.
Back to the cruel and cynical policy ostensibly to stop illegal immigration, a misdemeanor for most, an economic boon for the Anglos. Above I write "sinful" because of all the self-professed Christians and Mormons backing SB 1070 and the general exploitation of illegal aliens. Remember, this law is mostly about keeping them in their place, because Arizona and America are addicted to cheap, exploitable labor. The law received crucial support from the suburban mega-churches and mega-stakes. Look at the photo of the bodies stacked up in Tucson. The count is on track to be higher this year — 150 so far — than in the years before 1070 was passed. Not my place to judge for I have a lumber yard in my eye, merely to note that each of those 150 is a soul unique in all creation, uniquely precious to the Lord, as precious as you or me or Russell Pearce.
I love this quote from the Harper's article:
“People who have swimming pools don’t need state parks. If you buy your books at Borders you don’t need libraries. If your kids are in private school, you don’t need K-12. The people here, or at least those who vote, don’t see the need for government. Since a lot of the population are not citizens, the message is that government exists to help the undeserving, so we shouldn’t have it at all. People think it’s OK to cut spending, because ESL is about people who refuse to assimilate and health care pays for illegals.”
Posted by: Jacob | August 02, 2010 at 08:07 PM
Also, this passage:
"Despite passage of the sales tax in May, no one believes that Arizona’s financial crisis is over. But the state’s electoral system, which rewards extreme right-wing rhetoric, has allowed the political class to be as irresponsible and reckless as it likes. State residents seem content to cheer on the legislature for lowering their taxes—even as massive budget cuts pack their children into classrooms with more and more students, or force them to stand in line for a day to renew driver’s licenses at the gutted Department of Motor Vehicles. Arizonans will complain about their legislature—one recent poll showed that just 15 percent thought state lawmakers’ performance was 'good'—but keep sending ever more radical Republicans to office. It is much like the Tea Party nationwide, which will, quite sensibly, demand political reform and protest the bank bailout, even as it backs hacks like Hayworth who represent the most corrupt wing of the G.O.P."
Posted by: Jacob | August 02, 2010 at 08:09 PM
I'm kind of tempted to run for an Arizona House seat as an Independent, saying the most batshit-crazy things in order to get elected, and then reversing my positions on my first day in office. I could really use that generous $24,000 salary.
Posted by: Jacob | August 02, 2010 at 08:13 PM
Arizona's too-rapid growth resulted in a citizenry unanchored to history and continuity. Even in central Phoenix, there are only bits and pieces of traditional urban fabric left. The accelerating destruction of old buildings, the abandonment of others, and the interchangeable quality of retail strips have resulted in a city too forlorn for love. While a city may be clean and visually inoffensive, it's the lack of vitality that explicates the civic character. I started noticing this in Phoenix 20 years ago.
You can't separate the political neurosis from a built environment that is jerry-built and haphazard. Most other places in America are in crisis as well. We disguised this situation by moving to bigger houses and buying lots of things. Now that the boom is finally over, there's no disguising the anomie that afflicts this nation. We had a 60 year spending spree in which we squandered unthinkable wealth on junk. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/1a8a5cb2-9ab2-11df-87e6-00144feab49a.html
Arizona became Ground Zero for a radical new social experiment. It involved creating a community in the absence of any rootedness to the place itself. We could do this because money and mobility swamped the ordinary buffers real communities nurtured. And as a consequence, we now have a civic and political culture that disconnects past and future.
If you cherish the place you live in, you will do whatever it takes to preserve it. You won't strip mine it, strangle it with freeways, or auction it off for a quick score. You behave sanely because your environment supports sanity. Phoenix does not. Las Vegas, obviously not. Portland, yes.
The bitterness and irreality of late-empire America will be endured until we exhaust our resources and our best efforts. I think we're all aware of the approaching storm. I wish everyone the best of possible outcomes.
Posted by: soleri | August 02, 2010 at 08:52 PM
Portland provides an interesting contrast to Phoenix; however the unswerving resistance to enacting a sales tax has starved the education system, which ranks poorly. Here's the irony: the liberals in Oregon have inflicted their own kind of damage because the state has an inadequate revenue stream to support it. Once again, we're reminded that single party rule isn't a good thing.
Posted by: Jim Hamblin | August 03, 2010 at 10:05 AM
Jim, I agree one-party rule is a terrible thing. Indeed, you can expand that idea to the national level and see what happens when there's only one functional political party (Democrats) and one politicized religion (Republicans). The result is that ideas don't get adequately debated. Liberals absolutely require conservatives (and vice versa) for the system to function rationally. President Obama ought to be the liberal president but he can't govern in a vacuum given Republican intransigence. He proposes Republican ideas (cap-and-trade, individual health-insurance mandates) in order to engage the other party but those ideas get stonewalled by them, I suspect, out of sheer nihilistic joy. The national political debate has become virtually insane as a result.
One reason why Portland is a jewel and not the kind of sprawling hellhole most people live in is that 40years ago REPUBLICANS like Governor Tom McCall helped create the urban growth boundary system that guided growth inward instead of outward. These Republican moderates are now nearly extinct in Arizona and most of the nation as a whole.
I'll assume that Oregon liberals don't want a sales tax out of a reflexive advocacy for the working class. If so, the political stalemate may result from the absence of a pragmatic class of Republican legislators in Salem to engage. I don't want to blame everything on Republicans (they might want to rebalance revenues by raising sales taxes and lowering property taxes), but absent further research I'll play the agnostic here. If you have some insights on the subject, I'd like to read them.
Posted by: soleri | August 03, 2010 at 04:17 PM
My take on Oregon is that the liberals have a rather mindless "no sales tax" catechism somewhat reminiscent of the Grover Norquist cult. They don't realize that you can't run this beautiful state on (oppressive) personal income taxes.
A lobbyist friend says there's not much meaningful dialog across party lines in Salem, which is quite a contrast to the culture associated with Gov. Thomas Lawson McCall. When I bring up my great respect for his legacy, some wrinkle their brow and wonder if I know he was a Republican! We need a helluva lot more Republicans like Tom. He cleaned his eyeglasses in his martini at his retirement dinner and I've loved him ever since!
Former Phoenix Suns Chris Dudley is running for Gov. and might just cut through the fog. Nowadays, I'd gladly settle for a moderate (and charming) Republican like Dudley vs. the arthritic old Demmicraps!
Posted by: Jim Hamblin | August 03, 2010 at 06:33 PM
I don't yet know enough about the Northwest to write authoritatively. But...both Oregon and Washington are very divided states. One is the cosmopolitan western metropolitan areas, the other closer in political affinity to the Intermountain West.
Thus, if it weren't for the population of Seattle, Washington would be a red state, or very much in play. Even now, Patty Murray may be in trouble from a right-wing pol with no record of achievement -- but he is the darling of the developers, the white suburbs and the eastern part of the state.
Similarly, Bill Gates Sr. has an initiative on the ballot to raise taxes on the richest Washingtonians. Many rich progressives in Seattle support it. But it may well fail. Meanwhile, a rightwinger named Tim Eyman has made a cottage industry -- and living -- from floating Norquist-like initiatives that, among other things, have gutted what was once the nation's best ferry system.
So it's not as simple as "liberals" running Washington and Oregon, in a mirror image of the Kookocracy in Arizona. In addition, there are real stewards in both states, diverse economies, people who care passionately about the states' history and sense of place. Almost all lacking in Arizona. Both are pluralistic and diverse and talent magnets -- again, not AZ.
The tax situations here are not progressive. It's hard to change custom and history, whomever is in charge. But don't assume either of these states is a slam dunk for "liberals."
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | August 03, 2010 at 08:43 PM
Having followed Oregon's fortunes since we first lived there in the 70's, mine is only an arms length perspective vs. Jon's "on the scene" involvement with Seattle. Anecdotal stories indicate that many Oregonians have a well-grounded sense of place and an abiding sense of environmental responsibility . . both of which are sadly lacking in AZ. There, the "legal immigrants" are often seasonal and typically disconnected, as we've all observed. The point remains, however, that (for many years) the legislatures have tried to run both states on a 4 cylinder revenue engine with no real rainy day strategy. Granted, the term "strategy" cannot be applied to those whose decisions are driven by catechism.
Posted by: Jim Hamblin | August 04, 2010 at 10:05 AM
"the legislatures have tried to run both states [OR & WA] on a 4 cylinder revenue engine with no real rainy day strategy." - Jim Hamblin.
"rainy day" . . . a revealing metaphor. Having water is a great advantage. Water availability determines the economic foundation and allows for an entirely different economic strategy for OR & WA than Arizona's unsustainable, short-term ponzi scheme.
The metaphorical 'rainy day' of Arizona is an unending, terminal drought.
Posted by: Rate Crimes | August 04, 2010 at 03:55 PM
Mr. Rate Crimes: 'Scuse me! I was referring to OR and AZ apparently lacking a contingency strategy . . dunno about WA.
Posted by: Jim Hamblin | August 04, 2010 at 05:03 PM
I intended no critique of your astute observations, Jim. I was simply pointing out the impossibility of Arizona even considering a contingency strategy because the foundation of its 'economy' is made of dry sand and parched criminal intent.
Posted by: Rate Crimes | August 05, 2010 at 07:39 AM
An Arizona republican political candidate recently called for disconnecting the utilities of illegal immigrants. Forgetting the fact that in the summer no cooling would kill some people, it is rumored that the only reason the candidate is an advocate for the idea is not because he believes it is an action he should take, but by stating such a cruel idea it improves his chance of being elected. Shameful opportunism is acceptable in Arizona.
SB1070 is nothing more than a GOP experiment in manipulation of voters, and if successful will disenfranchise many Latino voters.
Posted by: elephty | August 06, 2010 at 02:52 PM