Brewer Claims Voter Outrage

Republicans are strongly implying that Secretary of State Jan Brewer is responsible for the large increase in voter registration in 2004, despite her support of Prop 200 and generally acting like Arizona’s own Katherine Harris. What is responsible for the surge in voter registration is not Brewer’s non-existent leadership, but the contentious and close-run 2004 Presidential election and wide-spread concern for the direction the GOP is taking this country, even among traditional Republicans.

The AZGOP writes of Brewer:

"Secretary
of State Jan Brewer last week highlighted her impressive record on
increasing voter registration since she was elected in 2002.  Through
expansion of electronic voter registration and comprehensive voter
education efforts, Secretary of State Brewer announced voter
registration went up a whopping 18.6 percent from 2002 to 2004, and is
estimated to jump by another 10 percent during this current election
cycle.  Put in perspective, that means under Secretary Brewer’s
administration, voter registration rates have increased more than in
any time in recent Arizona history."

YEAR       ACTIVE REGISTRATIONS         PERCENT INCREASE
1988        1,797,716 
1990        1,858,941                                      3.41%
1992      
1,963,492                                      5.62%
1994        2,075,033                                      5.68%
1996      
2,237,765                                      7.84%
1998        2,264,291                                      1.19%
2000      
2,173,122                                     -4.03%
2002        2,229,180                                      2.58%
2004      
2,643,331                                      18.58%
2006        ESTIMATE                                     10.00%

So Brewer is taking credit for, um, doing her job by processing the voter registration of the many who decided to participate in 2004? Does she really expect us to believe that her inspired leadership somehow CAUSED the spike in registration? Next thing you know, Brewer will be taking credit for all the other things she had no hand in causing, but is tenuously connected to: the blooming of Arizona’s wildflowers because she was in the state at the time,or the continued population growth of Maricopa County because she lives there.

One can only hope that she’ll be equally eager to take credit for things she has nothing to do with, like the defeat of Senator Jon Kyl, the re-election of Governor Janet Napolitano, and Democratic gain of two or three Congressional seats this fall.

One thing that certainly is within her control and that she can take credit for is her own defeat at the hands of Israel Torres. Credit for that I certainly don’t begrudge her.