The Provincial Arrogance of The Red Queen

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In the American system of justice, everyone is entitled to due process, and when they have exhausted all appeals and the highest court has ruled on the matter, it is to be accepted and the only appropriate response is to comply with the order of the court. That is what makes us a nation of laws.

But our Red Queen, Governor Jan Brewer, does not accept the American system of justice. In her provincial arrogance, she believes that "I am the law" and no court can tell her what to do. Check out the arrogance of her statement in response to the Arizona Supreme Court ruling against her:

Today’s decision by the Arizona Supreme Court is deeply regrettable. I am disappointed, certainly. More important, this misguided ruling bodes ill for the integrity of redistricting in this state.

Only after much deliberation did I act to remove the Chairwoman of the Independent Redistricting Commission. In doing so, I wielded a constitutional authority specifically granted by the voters of this state for cases in which the Governor — in his/her judgment — found that an IRC member had committed gross misconduct or acted with substantial neglect of duty. With today’s decision, the Court has substituted its judgment and authority for that which the voters specifically assigned to the Governor.

Let’s not forget why we’re here: The IRC followed an unconstitutional redistricting process, conducting too much of its business behind closed doors and disregarding mapping criteria seemingly at will. They did all of this without explanation. Knowing that redistricting is a once-a-decade process, it is critical that Arizona get it right.

With its reinstatement of the IRC Chairwoman, the Supreme Court has averted its eyes from the Commission’s misdeeds. The Chairwoman’s actions to meet in secret, arrange critical votes in advance of meetings and twist the words and spirit of the Constitution have been forgiven—if not endorsed outright.

The clearest victim in this matter is a redistricting process that voters intended to be honest, impartial and transparent. In the coming days, I’ll be considering my options as to how best to proceed.

The Red Queen seeks to undermine the authority of the Arizona Supreme Court, in fact the entire judiciary, a co-equal branch of government. She seeks to arrogate judicial power to herself.

This provincial arrogance is reflected in comments made by the Red Queen's media villager idiot spokesman, Matthew Benson, and her court jester, Lisa Hauser.

Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said the governor was disappointed by the ruling, but indicated that the court’s decision may not be the final word on the dispute over Mathis’ tenure as chairwoman. High court reinstates ousted redistricting chairwoman – Arizona Capitol Times:

“The governor strongly disagrees with the court’s decision and finds it deeply regrettable. She and legislative leaders will be speaking as quickly as possible and (will consider) their next potential steps,” Benson said. “The governor of course felt she was on strong legal footing with her legal actions, and she continues to feel that way.”

Ah, but this media villager idiot went further. Court rules Gov. Brewer acted illegally in firing redistricting chair – East Valley Tribune:

Gubernatorial spokesman Matthew Benson blasted the ruling. He said the voter-approved constitutional provision creating the commission empowered his boss to remove any member who "in the governor's judgment" had committed gross misconduct or substantial neglect of duty.

* * *

Benson, however, said the justices had no right to conclude that what Brewer said Mathis did wrong did not rise to the level of an offense for which she could be fired.

He acknowledged that those grounds for removal are part of the Arizona Constitution. And Benson said it is "absolutely" the job of the court to interpret that document.

"It is not the job of the court to, out of whole cloth, insert things that are not in the Constitution," he said.

"There is nothing in the Constitution that says that the court has preapproval of any removals from the IRC," Benson continued. "And there's nothing in the Constitution that defines 'neglect of duty' or 'misconduct in office' in the way the court has defined."

What that means, Benson said, is that Brewer gets to make that decision.

If there is anyone who needs to be fired, it is this media villager idiot.

But the most eggregiously outrageous statements were made by the Red Queen's court jester, Lisa Hauser, in court. The Justices of the Supreme Court were taken aback by her provincial arrogance. Court rules Gov. Brewer acted illegally in firing redistricting chair – East Valley Tribune:

Brewer's position is even broader than that. Hauser told the justices that the governor, alone, gets to decide what constitutes a firing offense. And she said that decision stands if Brewer can get the consent of two-thirds of the Senate.

That claim brought raised eyebrows from the justices.

Acting Chief Justice Andrew Hurwitz asked Hauser if that means Brewer could remove a commission member solely because the governor did not like that person's hair style. Hauser said she could — and the decision could not be appealed to the court.

In fact, Hauser told the justices that they were powerless to do anything, even if there actually was evidence that the facts cited by the governor in firing a commissioner turned out to be false.

"Even if the governor were to be a rogue sort of individual who might do something that would be very off the wall, we have to assume that the Senate will function correctly," Hauser said.

The Red Queen's court jester did get one thing right: "They are all elected officials who are accountable to the voters through a number of processes," Hauser continued, pointing out that "Mesa voters just proved that point with the recall of Senate President Russell Pearce."

Arizonan's have successfully recalled "King" Russell Pearce. Now it is time to recall the "Red Queen" Jan Brewer. Just get it right this time. Yes, you can recall the Red Queen, Jan Brewer.