Lame duck Gov. Jan Brewer seeks vengeance

Her hoped for legacy? A RINO legislature

Arizona’s Republican governor Jan Brewer is sliding none too gracefully out the door of the ninth floor office she has occupied in the state Executive Tower. That’s the same office she was so warmly welcomed to in January 2009, when Democrat Janet Napolitano took an early hike to sign on with the Obama administration. Republicans greeted the change with jubilation.

Lacking a Lieutenant Governor, Arizona’s line of succession is through the Secretary of State’s Office, and many governors besides Brewer have found that to be the slickly greased route. Jane Hull, Rose Mofford, and Wesley Bolin also ascended to the state’s top job by virtue of their predecessor’s good or bad fortunes.

Jan Brewer, a woman with over three decades of political experience under her belt, has chosen a destructive path as she wraps up her final term. Rather than remaining neutral in statewide and legislative races, or endorsing GOP incumbents, she has chosen to spew bile on her way out, by working hard to topple conservative state legislators who voted against her wildly ill-conceived and costly Medicaid expansion —- which became the focal point of her left-wing platform. 

Brewer has been doling out endorsements like candy to those who voted in support of her outrageous scheme, while spitefully cold-shouldering conservatives, many of them incumbents with solid records. 

Though claiming pro-life credentials, Brewer endorsed abortion supporter Michele Reagan for Secretary of State. 

The spectacle of this petulant woman who has spent her entire career in elective office, now acting like a spoiled child is appalling to watch. One would hope for a less ignoble way to take leave.

Uncomfortably aware of her own limitations early on, Brewer was all too eager to cede her authority over to the McEstablishment and they enthusiastically took the reins, as she was relegated to a figurehead doing their bidding.

She leaves as a second-rate disappointment to those who once celebrated her arrival. Tomorrow evening’s election returns will show if her now sullied name holds clout or hampers those RINOs she sought to help. We’re betting on a noxious taint following her endorsements.