Henry Fountain Ashurst, the Flagstaff Democrat who represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate for the first few decades of statehood, may have put it best when he reportedly said, “When choosing to vote with the people or the special interests, I choose the special interests. They always remember. The people forget.”
This bit of wisdom goes a long way toward answering a question on the minds of many Arizonans. Namely, how exactly did a bill like SB 1062, which had little public support and did nothing to advance the economic development of the state or the health and safety of its residents, become a priority for the Legislature while other issues are ignored? It turns out that this is actually just an example of a larger problem in the Legislature.
SB 1062, which would have allowed businesses to discriminate based on the purported religious convictions of their owners, was, of course, vetoed by Gov. Jan Brewer after widespread outcry from both the organized business community and thousands of average people.
In her veto message, the governor expressed frustration that reform of Child Protective Services, the issue in all the papers at the beginning of the legislative session, was still awaiting action while this bill seemed to address a problem that did not exist. While we think that members of the Legislature should be able to walk and chew gum simultaneously, the truth is that the majority leadership pushes for the session to end quickly so that members can start campaigning for Congress or whatever. So even important issues, especially complicated ones like CPS reform, are often ignored in the name of expediency, and any time and effort spent on an item like SB 1062 means that something else is not getting heard.
This is why the argument of SB 1062 supporters that the bill did not really do anything is particularly damning. To a great extent, they were right. The bill did very little of substance, and what it did do was unlikely to survive a court challenge. This means that, by their own admission, supporters wasted a lot of everybody’s time to make a bold (and disgusting) statement that was ultimately irrelevant in terms of policy.
The affair has focused attention on the outsized power of Cathi Herrod and her Center for Arizona Policy, which lobbies for right-wing social causes. Herrod has faced criticism over SB 1062 and the fact that she is treated with more deference at the Capitol than some elected officials.
Actually, lots of lobbyists operate like Herrod. She just seems particularly offensive because of what she lobbies for (bigotry) and the fact that, unlike, say, the mining industry, no one’s paycheck depends on the issues she argues for.
Actually, this is unfair to Herrod. She is concerned about her own paycheck. Her positive cash flow depends on scaring the hell out of the folks on her mailing list. She needs to maintain a sense of crisis in order to meet payroll. This may explain why Arizona banned same-sex marriage multiple times in the course of a decade and why a bill like SB 1062, which addressed a nonexistent problem, became a priority.
But none of this alone explains why Herrod and other unelected lobbyists have become so powerful. Some folks dismiss it as merely a matter of money, but that is far too simplistic. The truth is that the Legislature, as an institution, creates a bubble around itself that insulates the members from the people they are supposed to represent. Money plays a role in this simply because legislators attending a fundraiser in Fountain Hills or having dinner at a fancy steakhouse in Phoenix are not at home talking to their constituents. Generally, there is a class of lobbyists who work hard to seem indispensable, making sure to always be around and to monopolize the time of legislators. In this environment it is easy to see why the agenda at the Capitol seems alien to most Arizonans.
In fairness, lobbying is an important part of the process. Folks such as Herrod have every right to petition the Legislature as aggressively as they see fit. The problem arises when, as in the case of SB 1062, legislators let these people have the run of the place, whether out of laziness, expedience or simple small-mindedness. Maybe rather than complain about lobbyists, we need to elect a Legislature that does not let this sort of thing happen.
This article appears in Mar 20-26, 2014.
“In fairness, lobbying is an important part of the process.”
Hey Tom, LIFE isn’t fair. Why do you think you need to be fair to Herrod OR to the concept of lobbyists who petition the Arizona Legislature?
What makes you think that changing a few members is going to change how the SYSTEM works?
Don’t worry Tom,
In Nov., the lemmings will go to the polls and do what they’ve always done and then they’ll get what they’ve always got,
A state famous for it’s racist and ignorant population.
Steve, with all due respect, fair has nothing to do with it (and I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who shares your apparent assessment that I was somehow being charitable to Herrod). The right of lobbyists and the folks they represent to petition the legislature is protected by the 1st amendment whether we like their agenda or not. The problem arises when the leadership gives some of them the keys to the building.
I disagree that “changing a few members” will not address the problem. Blaming the “system” is a great way for both legislators and, to a lesser extent, the electorate, to shirk responsibility for what happens at the capitol. The game is played the way it is only because the folks there insist on playing it that way. A different set of players with a different attitude and new perspectives would certainly do things differently. Under previous leadership, the legislature was getting a lot more of substance accomplished.
SB 1064 was an attempt to protect the First Amendment, which is being perverted by those who want to make Christianity illegal. The gay movement is supported by far-left groups and atheists in order to shred the Constitution and ultimately to make of the United States a third world dictatorship. The primary impetus of the gay movement is to marginalize, persecute and eventually criminalize Christians. Gay activists, with the help of far-left radicals in the media and the universities, are creating special laws that give them the right to persecute those who disagree with them, whether it be television shows and movies that brand Christians as haters, or purposely taunting Christian businesses to support homosexual practices or be sued. The media never publicizes the violent assaults by gays in San Francisco against Christians and churches, but tries to convince us that Christians are persecuting gay people and hate them, which is all propaganda and lies, with the exception of the so-called Westboro Baptist Church, which is not really Christian in character, but is always used by gays to characterize all Christians. The fact remains that SB 1064 was not discriminatory, but a protection of First Amendment rights to live a Christian life.
To Chris Cecil:
You state the “violent assaults against Christians and Churches in San Francisco”. This is your chance to cite these NOW. Name the incidents and assaults.
I am considered a right winger here but you have to tell the truth. Cite the cases or shut the hell up.
Chris, could I get a list of all the dozens or hundreds of Christians or ‘straights’ that have been murdered by gays for being so? We know for a fact that gays have murdered by the dozens or hundreds (1,000’s?) for being gay. We know the Westboro Church exists. We know that gays are discriminated against in a myriad of ways…..jobs, housing, marriage not to mention taunting and physical abuse. When you can show me the equivilent for Christians or straights, then I’ll listen to you. So far, I’ve never seen any evidence of this ever happening since the Roman Arena’s.
Chris Cecil appears to live a fact-challenged life. As soon as he/she got the number of the bill wrong (despite the correct one being supplied in the original piece), his/her credibility was teetering. The unsupported allegations that followed were depressingly inevitable.
Thanks to Fraser and Kenneth for doing my job for me in a more restrained and literate manner than I could have managed.
Alright, my turn. Mr. Cecil, I am a Christian (Catholic) and I’m gay. Get your facts right. Plain and simple. You vehemently defend the Christian right in your piece (however factually incorrect it may be), yet not once do you hold so-called Christians to task when it comes to the treatment of others. Your accusation of the Gay movement wanting to undermine the US Constitution is ridiculous. If anything, this “movement” is seeking nothing more than equal treatment under the law and Constitution. My God teaches caring, compassion and love for thy neighbor. He does not teach damnification of those who are different or unlike us. He also teaches us to love our enemies. It appears that you believe that for the Right, it is absolutely acceptable to pick and choose which parts of the Bible one can follow as with the Constitution.
I agree with Fraser, please cite factual instances of your accusations.
Thank you Tom Prezalski for a thoughtful and quite insightful piece.
One reason for the problem is that legislators are term-limited and lobbyists aren’t. It’s one of those unintended consequences of what seemed like a good idea at the time (term limits).
By the time our legislators get the hang of how the capitol works, they are termed out. Meanwhile, the unelected lobbyists, who have been there for 20 or 30 years, know how everything works and write the actual legislation.
It takes years and years to become expert enough in a particular area (say, CPS) to make good decisions and write legislation that stands a chance of fixing it. But since our elected officials are termed out before that, it’s left to career bureaucrats (who don’t have the power even if they do happen to be well-meaning) and lobbyists (who are typically working for special interests).
Too bad nobody is talking about (or reporting on) SB 1303, which will give massive property tax subsidies to one corporation: Grand Canyon University. It is being sponsored by Steve Farley and Al Melvin: so how could it be bad, right?
Most intelligent people know that Republicans are controlled by lobbyist, NRA, ALEC, Koch brothers. Republicans don’t have the knowledge to create the bills they submit and pass. Just think if they actually was in control of our government. It would be run by the lobbyists, not what the voters wanted. We just need to look at the Republican controlled states and that would be the direct reflection of our US government. Huge water way pollutions in VA and NC, controlled by big pollution companies. Paying off the Republican government of those states.
Volumes could be written about what Republicans have done to their states since 2010.
The curious issue is why voters continue to elect the extreme and radicals. Must be the education they failed to get.
The Republicans attempt to protect the Constitution is a BIG FRAUD. They have been using this agenda for years. Of course they have padded the court system so the conservatives Judges agree with them.