One on One

June 16, 2008

Transcript:

Ted Simons:
Now for our regular Monday feature focusing on issues of concern to those watching the state legislature and upcoming elections. Two political types go one on one. Tonight Barrett Marson, State House Republican Spokesman, goes head to head with Emily Derose, the Arizona Democratic Party Communications Director.

Barrett Marson:
Good evening, Emily. This is your first appearance here since you were married, congratulations on your nuptials.

Emily Derose:
Thank you.

Barrett Marson:
We'll start out tonight talking about the ninth circuit court of appeals in San Francisco heard the employer sanctions law that the legislature passed last year. And I have to say, I think the legislature is going to go 2-0. First Neal Wake in Phoenix, said the constitutional muster in Phoenix, and then from reading the stories, sounds like it's going to yet again be upheld, as a law that Arizona is allowed to take seriously, particularly considering the federal government's failure to do so in this arena.

Emily Derose:
I think the governor has been saying for a long time as well that Arizona has been forced to act in a vacuum of federal action.

Barrett Marson:
Don't give the governor too much credit, considering she had nothing to do with this law, but signing it. She negotiated not a whit with the legislature on this, refused to say anything about her position on it, but essentially signed it because she had to. I wouldn't say the governor gave a lot --

Emily Derose:
Barrett can I finish?

Barrett Marson:
No, because wait a second. I'll finish, and then you can finish. I wouldn't say that the governor had a lot to do about it. I would say the legislature, after numerous times trying to get the governor to approve this, she finally did and it's being upheld as a constitutional law.

Emily Derose:
I think that the governor has been on the forefront of making Arizona one of the most innovative states when it comes to immigration and enforcement. I think that she was one of the first governors in the country to put the National Guard on the border. I think she has worked incredibly hard to make sure we have a fair sanctions policy. What the governor really wanted, Barrett, was for the federal government to do what it was supposed to. And then it didn't.

Barrett Marson:
Can you name where she worked hard to make sure we have a fair employer sanctions policy? Because I didn't see the governor do anything on employer sanctions.

Emily Derose:
The governor signed this bill into law, she's been out there talking about it, been advocating for it. I think if you look at all of the governor's appearances nationally, talking about the issue of immigration, she's become a national leader on the issue, is constantly quoted and sought for her wisdom and advice on it. Folks like Russell Pearce and the speaker aren't.

Barrett Marson:
First of all, I don't even know what you're thinking about, Russell Pearce is the acknowledged leader nationwide of immigration ideas.

Emily Derose:
He's the acknowledged leader nationwide of a fringe movement of immigration ideas.

Barrett Marson:
First of all, almost every single ballot initiative and almost every single law whether they're signed or vetoed has come from Russell Pearce. The employer sanctions law came from Russell Pearce. So, if anything they found common ground --

Emily Derose:
I'm not going to say certainly that Russell -- everything Russell Pearce says and does is bad, even a blind squirrel can find a nut right, and a broken clock is right twice day. But, I will say the governor is responsible for making sure that our immigration policies are reasonable, that they are fair, and they deal with the problems that Arizona faces. Now, I think let's move on to another issue that we're sort of, kind of, maybe working on at the state legislature. You know, after I got married I came back, and the Spurs were out of the playoffs and the Democrats have a presidential nominee, and I kind of thought maybe we would have a budget. But it looks like we still don't. In fact, I went back through the entire month of May to see just how much time has been spent working down at the legislature. I added up the hours that the house has spent on the floor, in committees and caucuses. From May 1 to June 11th that was 17 hours and 13 minutes. The average Arizonan worked 232 hours in that period. It is unacceptable that the legislature at this point, 14 days out from their deadline, has not presented a budget plan to the governor.

Barrett Marson:
You know, and Emily, I'm sorry to say you just don't know that the governor today, right now, and in fact last week, is looking at a budget presentation. You're wrong. Unfortunately.

Emily Derose:
But the members are all saying that that's not the case and they're frustrated -- the members of the Republican caucus, plenty of them.

Barrett Marson:
Emily, I hate to tell you, the governor right now as we speak is looking at a budget that she had last week.

Emily Derose:
It's certainly possible.

Barrett Marson:
Emily, it's not possible, it is. And I'm sorry that you've spent too much time looking on the computer to figure out how many hours the house is in session, which by the way, you must not have spent a lot of time at the legislature. Just because the legislature isn't on the floor doesn't mean work isn't being done.

Emily Derose:
Well, I would say the proof of the work being done is in putting out a budget and they haven't done that yet.

Barrett Marson:
We've put out a budget for 2008, to fix the problem.

Emily Derose:
And that's terrific.

Barrett Marson:
And we did that in May.

Emily Derose:
Good job for doing what you were supposed to.

Barrett Marson:
But there's work going on Emily. Just because it's not something you can look up on the computer, sorry.

Emily Derose:
Just because we're now 14 days away from the deadline, this is the legislature's singular most important responsibility.

Barrett Marson:
And you're right, and for some reason Democrats have been stalling. They've had the budget proposal.

Emily Derose:
The Democrats have been stalling? That's why all --

Barrett Marson:
The Democrats went to the governor and talked about an offer, and they have not come back to us. That was last week. Where is that offer now?

Emily Derose:
Where have the stories of that been, Barrett? Where is the coverage of this mystery budget that's out there?

Barrett Marson:
I don't know, you'll have to ask all the good friends who came to your wedding why they haven't reported this. But they're looking at it. Not everybody's reporting every offer back and forth, back and forth.

Emily Derose:
Moving on to things that have been interesting in the news this week and since my wedding, recently John McCain's camp came out and said that Arizona is a swing state. We've been saying this long time. He got less than 50% in his primary, Barack Obama is pulling to within 9 to 11 points of John McCain.

Barrett Marson:
All you have to do is look at 77%, that's what john McCain received in his last senatorial election. John McCain has never lost an election in Arizona. John McCain has never faced a serious challenger. Now, I will say, if the Democrats want to spend money and try to defeat John McCain in his home state, God bless I say. Come in here and divert money and bring to it Arizona. Keep it out of Pennsylvania. Keep it out of Florida where it might do some good. But if democrats think they could beat John McCain on his home turf, I say it's a great day, spend the money here. Arizona's economy definitely needs it. The newspapers and TV definitely need some of that. I don't think the McCain camp is going to spend a lot of money. But I think it's great that the Democrats want to spend money in Arizona. It's terrific.

Emily Derose:
And the McCain camp clearly believes that Arizona is competitive, and Senator Obama is committed to running a campaign in every state in the country.

Barrett Marson:
Excellent. That is great news for Republicans. That money is just burning good money after bad, I'll tell you that right now. And to the Democrats, I think it's great that they'll bring money in to Arizona. It's great. It's wasted money, but I hope you bring a lot of it with you.