by David Safier
To Brewer's dismay, the story just won't go away. Now it's Politico which put up an article yesterday and updated it this morning:
Health questions still dog Jan Brewer in Ariz. race
Just two weeks before the election, the Arizona governor’s race is abuzz over a bandage on the collarbone of Republican incumbent Jan Brewer.
For a second week in a row, the governor is fending off rumors from a veteran Arizona journalist and Democratic operative that she’s in poor health.
Politico spotlights Brewer's refusal to answer the question about whether she had a biopsy for thyroid cancer.
The article also brings up Coughlin's shameful retort, Oh yeah, why don't you ask Goddard if he's gay?
I didn't know, however, that Goddard has called on Brewer to give Coughlin the ax.
“I do know that Chuck Coughlin is a despicable human being, and I think anyone who has the kind of leadership style that [Brewer] just described to you should not be tolerating somebody as her top person who is willing to stoop to this level of vile and gutter tactics,” Goddard said during a recent newspaper editorial board meeting with Brewer.
Later he said, “I have to explain this to an 11-year-old at home, and I think that she is countenancing this kind of attack absolutely tears down the whole fabric of the political discussion.”
When Goddard turned to Brewer, pointedly asking if she was going to fire Coughlin, Brewer shot back: “Terry, your hands are not clean, and you don’t want to go there with me.”
After shaking hands, Goddard told the governor: “You’ve gotta get rid of Chuck.”
And here's an older Brewer health problem that reasonable newcomers like me don't know about:
Brewer had been a longtime smoker but quit after suffering a nearly fatal heart attack in 1994, when she was serving as Senate majority whip in the state Legislature. And political insiders say Brewer’s health had been a consideration before she made the decision last fall to run for a full four-year term.
Monday, Phoenix's PBS station ran an 8 minute video of an interview with John Dougherty on the subject. I can't find a way to embed it, so here's the link.
Phoenix PBS Monday. Politico yesterday and today. The Brewer health story is still very much alive. Any member of the media who gets within 20 feet of Brewer needs to ask, "Governor, have you had a biopsy for thyroid cancer?" If they can't get within 20 feet, they need to call Brewer and her campaign over and over asking the question. If they're stonewalled, that should be on the news.
Only in the parallel democratic universe would a public official not be held accountable for answering public questions. Fight back. Vote and get all your friends to do the same.
I’m about as anti-Brewer as they come, but like VoteAZ I question whether this particular tact is really appropriate. If it isn’t interfering with her ability to govern*, it isn’t our business. However, I understand that the question is rooted in her performance during her one and only debate appearance. I think there are three simple yes/no questions we are within our rights as voters to ask based on that performance,
1. Where you under the influence of prescription or non-prescription medication at the time of the debate that may have affected your ability to respond to the questions?
If yes,
2. Are you currently on those medications, or are you likely to be on them again in the next four years?
If no,
3. Where you drunk or under the influence of non-prescription drugs at the time of the debate?
*Now, she appears unable to govern effectively, but I’m not sure that this has anything to do with a possible health condition. How many of our elected officials from both sides of the aisle have dealt with a serious health condition and continued to be effective, while in office?
I’m not sure the issue is whether she has the right to withhold her medical records. Of course she does. But the voters should be aware she has made that decision in the face of allegations from a credible source that she has health problems.
Brewer has the right to without her medical records. What I am more concerned about is when she continues to withhold her presence at debates that Terry Goddard has invited her to. Brewer feels she doesn’t not need to attend these debates because of her constant media spotlight whether signing the SB1070 or her failing health, her name in the media will assist in her votes. This is somewhat true as she still has a large following even after the horrendous presentation at the one and only debate she has attended. If Brewer does have a failing health she should definitely step down for if she is this terrible when she is healthy, I could only imagine if she is ill.