Arizona governor Jan Brewer is reminding us of Sarah Palin inasmuch as she makes all women in politics look bad and makes their defenders queasy. She’s also reactionary — and has a way with words.
Making the rounds on politics blogs today: footage from yesterday’s gubernatorial debate in Arizona. Brewer kicked it off by flubbing her lines, trailing off, and nervously giggling. Her opening statement also included the words, “We have did what was best for Arizona… I have really did the very best anyone could do.”
That “best,” of course, included the notorious anti-immigrant “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.” Part of Brewer’s justification for the law included grim rhetoric about migrants conducting “beheadings” in the Arizona desert, which no one has ever been able to actually prove happened. Brewer, who became governor after Janet Napolitano took over the Department of Homeland Security, was asked to recant the claims by her Democratic opponent, and then by reporters after the event. Her response, first figuratively and then literally, was to run away.
Update: To clarify, we’re not saying that Brewer’s incompetence should be taken to be representative of all women in politics. We’re saying that based on how female screwups have been viewed in the past, we worry that it will.
