Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who recently found fame and adulation as a Conservative icon by enacting tough immigration laws in her state, today toned down her support of similar causes by vetoing two new bills that would ask Presidential candidates to show a birth certificate to make the ballot in Arizona, and a law that would allow guns on campuses.
I support her on the first veto. I don't support the second veto.
The "Birther Bill", as it had become known in the media, was sure to give Arizona a black eye in the media had it passed. The furor over Barack Obama being President is what drove this bill. Not any logical argument or common sense.
Liberals are quick to point out that no other American President has ever been asked to produce his birth certificate. They say this campaign against Obama smacks of racism. I respond to this line of argument by saying that no other Presidential candidate has ever been as secretive or misleading as Barack Obama.
However, as I have said in other blog posts, the "birther" stuff needs to go away. It is unproductive. The time for vetting Obama was before he got elected, not after he has served as President for two years.
Brewer showed unusual fair-mindedness when she vetoed this bill, saying that States should not be setting their own standards as to who can and cannot run for office. I agree with her that there is too much potential for abuse if you start allowing people to make up their own rules about getting on the ballot.
On the second veto, Brewer made an excuse about it being "poorly written", but that doesn't mean they should abandon the idea. As an NRA member, I am always concerned about citizens having the right to arm and defend themselves from violence. A number of recent campus shootings show that without an armed presence on campus, the students who attend are at a severe disadvantage should someone wish to harm them.
