Brewer’s fear mongering helps drive tourists away from Arizona — but CCA doesn’t mind

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Jan Brewer's fear mongering over "headless corpses" is managing to destroy what little is left of Arizona's economy, in particular, tourism (down 10%). Jan Brewer's fearmongering is destroying Arizona's economy — but hey, it wins votes:

KPHO-TV in Phoenix, for instance, found that her fearmongering about "headless corpses" was driving tourists away from the state in droves:

Veronica and Richard Schultz have owned the guest ranch for the past 14 years. The operation’s close proximity to the border used to be a selling point for guests. Now, it’s more of a repellent.

“We’ve definitely lost guests and we've had guests call us. We’ve had friends call us from all over the country and say, ‘Hey, are you safe?’” Richard Schultz said.

Between the economy and boycotts related to Arizona’s tough new immigration law, SB 1070, tourism in the state is down 10 percent.

The Shultzes said state politicians are not helping matters. Every day on cable news, anchors and reporters are discussing an invasion at the border, headless bodies in the desert or a rash of kidnappings.

During this election cycle, Arizona politicians are touting the potential dangers of illegal immigration. Gov. Jan Brewer is one of the loudest voices.

She has made several statements to the national media, the validity of which CBS 5 Investigates could not confirm. The governor told one media outlet that almost all illegal immigrants are bringing drugs across the border. U.S. Border Patrol officials said that statement is false.

Brewer also said law enforcement officials have found decapitated bodies in the desert. Calls to all of Arizona’s border county medical examiners revealed no decapitated bodies have been reported to them.

You've gotta love how, when asked about her rhetoric in the segment above, Brewer said she did not want to comment any further and simply fled when confronted with the facts.

KPHO-TV also pursued Brewer in a line of questions about how private prisons stand to benefit from incarcerations of illegal immigrants under SB 1070, in particular Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and that Brewer's deputy chief of staff Paul Senseman was a lobbyist for CCA, and his wife still is. Brewer's policy advisor Chuck Coughlin owns the lobbying firm High Ground Public Affairs which also represents CCA, a connection to SB 1070 that the governor never disclosed. Again, Brewer fled and refused to answer the reporter's questions.

Brewer must be taking media advice from Sharon Angle in Nevada. When confronted by real reporters who are not part of the conservative media bubble (FAUX News Fraudcasting Network, where Brewer appeared on Sean Hannity Wednesday night), she refuses to answer factual questions and flees the reporter.

UPDATE: For more on the CCA part of this story see: Think Progress » Prison Lobbyists Working For AZ Gov. Brewer Are Set To Profit From Immigration Law She Signed.