Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:

Gov. Brewer, do your job!

Protect Arizona and stop playing politics with special sessions

STATE CAPITOL – As Arizona struggles with several crises, Gov. Brewer has called the Legislature into an urgent special session on … union voting methods. This waste of time and resources at the Capitol is the latest proof that Brewer’s political motivations are her No.1 priority. Here’s what should have been on her special-session agenda:

1. Immediately address public-safety threats — and stop Arizona’s over-reliance on private prisons.
Brewer has chosen to take the state further down the path of prison privatization. In fact, her top advisers are directly connected to the private-prison lobby. Meanwhile, violent criminals are being reassigned to low-security prisons. The governor should take action to protect Arizonans by using the special session to tighten state rules governing private prisons.

2. Fix the broken budget  — and stop claiming you’ve “balanced” it.
Brewer’s “Jenga budget” is far from balanced. Pull out one piece (revenue projections, upcoming ballot measures, et al) and the whole budget crashes down. Just last week, Congress voted to send additional Medicaid and education funding to states, but not nearly as much as Brewer had banked on. Her budget is now short another $150 million. She gambled and lost. [Arizona Guardian, Aug. 4, 2010]

3. Create a credible jobs plan  — and stop driving jobs away.
Brewer has unveiled several "jobs plans," but so far they've only generated publicity — no actual jobs. Meanwhile, she is working overtime to hurt tourism and Arizona’s economic recovery by using fear-mongering and fact-twisting to help her odds in November.

4. Take action on Arizona’s housing crisis — do something … help struggling families!
One of the state’s most crippling crises is not even on Brewer’s radar. In fact, the most noteworthy thing she’s done for struggling homeowners is collude with the Republican Legislature to raise homeowners’ property taxes! [Arizona Republic, Aug. 5, 2010]

"A monsoon storm is swirling the Capitol while Brewer and Republicans fiddle with political stunts," said Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director. "Stop wasting time and taxpayer money. Stop blaming everyone else and take responsibility for the real challenges facing Arizona."

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