Special Session Update: another week of comtemplating their navels

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Special Session rolls into its third week on Monday. Don't anticipate any breakthroughs on the budget. A number of legislators are out of town attending the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual convention in Philadelphia. Sixteen Arizona legislators are expected to be in attendance. Special session kicks off 3rd week

As a result, don't look for lawmakers to do much more on Monday than check in, do the pledge and invocation, and adjourn until next week.

Or maybe not. I spoke to several Democratic legislators at an event this weekend. One intimated to me that he has heard that Sen. Ron Gould (R-Lake Havasu City) intends to call for a quorum — which may not exist — so that he can move to sine die the Special Session. That could force the President of the Senate to round up legislators to obtain a quorum. Senate President Bob "Bluto" Burns has demonstrated his willingness to disregard the rules whenever it suits him in the past, so we'll see.

I have no idea what Sen. Gould hopes to accomplish with such a stunt other than to piss off his colleagues. It is unlikely that his motion to sine die would carry, given that the purpose of the Special Session has not been accomplished. But even in the unlikely event that his motion carried in both chambers, the Governor would simply call the Legislature back into session for yet another Special Session. Checkmate.

Should the Republicans hold another closed door caucus meeting as they did last Monday (something which is permitted for election of leadership positions, but apparently did not occur last Monday), capitol reporters may want to put their ears to the door for the scuttlebut which was shared with me, to wit, there may be a movement to replace Senate President Bob "Bluto" Burns with President Pro Tempore Thayer Verschoor (R-Gilbert), reviving an old battle. Now wouldn't that be karmic justice coming back around to kick ol' Bob in his butt! Dig a little deeper boys and girls.

As for any progress on the state budget, there is none. Democratic legislators tell me that the Accidental Governor has made no overtures to them to play "Let's Make a Deal," and there have been no face-to-face talks between her and Democratic leadership.

I was told that some Democrats are starting to get wobbly in the knees and want to make a deal on the sales tax measure with the Accidental Governor. Snap out of it! Unless the Accidental Governor is ready to put substantial concessions to Democrats on the table there is nothing to discuss. Force her to get the votes she needs for her ill-conceived sales tax measure from her own caucus. Do not enable her.

The consensus opinion apparears to be that there will not be enough votes to put the sales tax measure on the ballot, and the Legislature will turn to taking out the chainsaw and cutting the budget to the bone, as I predicted previously.

This means that Arizona is hamstrung with essentially a lame duck governor who does not even have the support of her own party, and the inmates will be in charge of the asylum at the Legislature.

Maybe it is time for opinion makers in this state to not so subtlely suggest that it is time for our Accidental Governor to pull a palin and quit for the good of the state. She has proven herself to be grossly incompetent and entirely incapable of leading even her own party. The ship of state is rudderless and it needs a new captain.

NB: Under Arizona's rules of succession, Attorney General Terry Goddard is next in line to succeed to the governorship.