Arizona Republic editorial condemns the abuse of power by Governor Brewer and her Star Chamber

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Speaking of the Arizona Republic, kudos for this editorial opinion today GOP tramples redistricting:

Gov. Jan Brewer and Senate Republicans ran roughshod over the public on Tuesday. In a slam-bang special session, they threw out the chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

They trampled a process that voters approved in 2000 to take the job of redrawing the political map away from elected officials.

Many Arizonans may not follow the details of redistricting. But they understand a raw power play.

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Republicans haven't made the case for taking such a drastic step. And their own rush to judgment and execution is a sorry example of the kind of behavior they find so objectionable.

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[T]he governor jumped in last week, demanding commissioners answer a series of questions.

Then she chose what to believe and asked for the head of commission chair Colleen Coyle Mathis.

This is wrong on two counts. First is the basic question of whether open-meeting violations rise to the level of gross misconduct, when they usually trigger minor sanctions and training requirements.

If a commissioner is going to be removed, the process must meet at least minimal standards of fairness and due deliberation. Instead, this was a rush job of a few hours. And the GOP votes were lined up beforehand. Behind closed doors.

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[T]he final maps aren't drawn yet, and there are legal routes for challenging the result. Kicking out a commissioner is the wrong way.

The fact that Republicans disagreed with how the commission applied the various criteria for mapping, such as respecting communities of interest, does not fit the definition of gross misconduct.

Now Republicans have thrown the redistricting process into turmoil.

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In a crowning affront to the public, Gov. Brewer is out of town on a book signing tour this week and had Secretary of State Ken Bennett issue the call for a special session.

She didn't bother to come back when taking a historic blow against a voter-approved institution.

The Arizona Republic has a long history with Jan Brewer and her brand of right-wing politics. The Republic has regularly endorsed Jan Brewer over many years and did so again in 2010 for governor. The Republic also endorsed a number of the Tea-Publican senators in Jan Brewer's Star Chamber. The editors knew full well what they were getting. The Republic was complicit in creating this Tea-Publican tyranny, it's going to take more than one editorial of regret to end it. The Arizona Republic is going to have to change its ways and be relentless in pursuing these Tea-Publican tyrants out of office.