Arizona All-Stars
The baseball players at Chase Field were not the only all-stars in Arizona last night.
Although there were no big salaries or major league teams involved, the good citizens of West Mesa Arizona hit a home run when they forced Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to sign off on a proclamation recalling Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, the chief sponsor of Arizona’s SB 1070, the infamous “Show Me Your Papers” law. That puts Pearce in a fight for his extremist political life. Come this November he will be forced to defend his state senate seat in an unexpected sudden death electoral playoff.
Make no mistake, Russell Pearce earned it. In fact he worked hard for it. His anti-immigrant crusade-in which he partners with extremist anti-immigrant restrictionists-has cost the hard working taxpayers of Arizona millions in legal fees and lost tourist and business revenue, while doing nothing to make Arizona or the nation safer.
It is ironic that just a year ago Jan Brewer, a political ally of Pearce, dutifully took the pitch when Pearce, who shepparded SB 1070 through the Arizona legislature, lobbed it her way. Brewer could have swung for the fences and hit one out of the park by vetoing the law for the good of Arizona and the nation. But she didn’t. She dutifully stood by and signed the bill into law.
But Tuesday the citizens of Pearce’s district forced Brewer to sit on the bench and watch as her signature on their recall proclamation became a mere formality forcing her to call for a special election for Pearce’s senate seat.
The All Star game is a celebration of statistics. Which player has the highest batting average? Which player has the most hits (New York Yankees slugger Derek Jeter’s absence in Phoenix notwithstanding)? Which player is on track to hit the most home runs? Which pitcher has the lowest earned run average?
But last night the most impressive statistic in Arizona was 10,365. That is the number of folks in West Mesa who demanded that Senate President Russell Pearce, chief sponsor of Arizona’s mean spirited SB 1070, answer to the voters.