The state of the state
Carl Muecke illustration
For all the talk about Arizona being flipped from red to blue, or at least purple, the reality on the ground is far different. That's because the most powerful branch of government, the Legislature, remains under Republican control — as it has for decades. The same situation is at work in the governor's office, where Doug Ducey is in his (term-limited) final stretch.
The most obvious result has been the "audit" of Maricopa County ballots, ordered by the Republican-run state Senate. Even if it eventually "validates" the election of Joe Biden as president, it has become a template for Republicans around the country and for any future elections they lose. It's hard to overstate the menace this presents to our experiment in self-government.
At the same time, the Legislature pressed two dozen voter suppression bills, intended to ensure that they continue to rule — widespread voting is the enemy of Republicans. One crafty measure will automatically purge by-mail voters who do not vote every two years. This happened even with mail voting widely popular in the state. Ducey took only a few hours before signing it into law.
Meanwhile, the body blows keep coming with such ferocity that it's difficult to keep up (see the daily headline links under "Phoenix and Arizona" to the left. The challenge is compounded by the hollowing out of local newspapers. . .
As a result, Arizona remains a state that won't attract top talent or advanced industries. Instead, at best, the same old call centers, data centers, and (water intensive) semiconductor fabs. Most of the economy will remain dependent on low-income jobs in tourism, catering to retirees, and construction.
> 35th in economic well-being,
> 47th in education,
> 28th in health, and
> 46th in family and community.
The leading states were uniformly blue with higher taxes.
You get what you pay for.
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