Contrarian: I'm happy Napolitano is head of Homeland Security and not Arizona gov.

I think her experience as governor and her experience as a US Attorney as well as being in high profile positions makes her a good choice for the job.

Yes, I'm disappointed that Arizona got saddled with Brewer as a result of Napolitano's appointment, though her term as governor would be just about over by now.

I guess my point overall is that if she was too good to lose as governor of Arizona, perhaps she was too good to pass up for head of Homeland Security. How many others competing for that job have her qualities, her background, her knowledge and also experience as State Attorney General and Governor?

I just see post after post blaming Obama for choosing her with no mention of the value she brings at a critical department, a department so big and complicated that perhaps it's almost unmanageable.

:patriot:

Hoaxland Security should be broken up, anyway, and the agencies distributed back where they came from.

the architecture of the agency you are proposing is not what is in existence now and because it exists NOW, it needs to be run in the meantime.

not only that, the same AZ legislature could've passed the same bill 9 months from now.

and leave the state to the largely bigoted AZ electorate who put the state legislators in place to enact Jim Crow laws.

unless you know you have something in your background that would embarrass the administration- like Daschle had.

with a large majority.

should have been considered for roles such as DHS Leader? Why would you deny the country the abilities of this very qualified person?

Many of us leave jobs that we are damned good at but have been asked by those higher than us to take on additional authority and responsibilities.

this qualified person if it preserved the state and prevented it from becoming the horror it now is. All politics is local and local comes first.

This is a nation of 300 million people. There are no shortage of good talented experienced people to do any government job including that of President. Napolitano was planning to run against McCain for Senate when her term was up. She was the only person who could have beat him this time. If you are happy she is head of HS then you are happy McCain will win re-election.

as for McCain's seat, that's valid...assuming she actually would've run for the Senate.

Starting in 2006 it was known in Democratic circles since she was term limited she would run for McCain's seat in 2010 and Attorney General Goddard would run for Governor. But that's life....

So we can't be happy she is head of DHS if we do then we want McCain to win? Really?

Arizona did lose a top professional but the country gained someone that is very, very capable. Arizona has bigger problems than just losing Ms. Napolitano.......

It's true that this bill would have been vetoed had Napolitano still been in the Governor's seat, but there's a bigger picture. The Republicans are making trouble for themselves and in the long run, that's good for the electoral picture. There is no use worrying about what is done, it can't be changed.

looking at it..thank you for spellng it out. Big Picture and all.

We shall see.

As was Sebelius.

Now, AZ could have avoided Brewer. But a Repub could have easily won in 2010.

campaigning for him? That was one of the resons she was going to stay, why in fact she "promised" to until she was persuaded otherwise. You see to be saying we shouldn't even bother to run anyone for any office in Arizona. Gee, we would have been so much better off if we never elected Janet to begin with and think how much better off we would be if Terry was never AG! Boy I am so glad those from blue states are so willing to make sacrifices for us and tell us what would have happened. And how none of this really matters.

The legislature is Dem. But we have had a Gov. wanting draconian budget cuts here as well.
One thing that is different in Arizona is that the Secretary of State in next in line, no Lt. Gov. Rell took over here when Roland went to jail and got reelected again. She is not the worst Rethug gov. in the country but she is not that great either.

I don't think Napolitano leaving was the greatest for Arizona but she was either going to run for the Senate or take a cabinet job. She decided to take the cabinet job.

didn't really want. She had been promised AC but that didn't happen. When she left madeall the difference in the world. I think it likely changed the landscape of Arizona politics forever. There is no question we took a huge step backwards. I really hope we can dig out of this somehow. And BTW, her political career is now likely over as well. I hope she gets Scotus because there is nothing left for her.

accomplishement of Janet's in less than 6 months. We should be thrilled that choice has virtually been outlawed, all day kindergarten done away with and the enviornment butchered. As yoyu do not live here and have to deal with watching everything of value be destroyed It seems really easy for you to be willing to sacrifice those of us who must live here and worked very hard to make a difference. We had almost succeeded in turning this state blue but now we must pay the price of that appointment. many people could have done the job of Homelend Security but only one Democrat was able to be Governor of Arizona. Homelenand Security wasn't even the job Janet wanted. She actually was leaned on to take it.

Janet was our only line of defense and we knew that this would happen without her.
Sorry if I find my self "ungrateful" for the destruction of our state.

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People in AZ voted for the idiots that are bringing these laws to Brewer's desk. I feel sorry for my fellow liberals that now have to suffer under this nonsense, but it sounds like the voters of the state need to choose better elected leaders throughout their government.

Presidential race was brilliant on the part of the AZ State Party. They left the local elections to shift for themselves, they were too unimportant to bother with.The State Chair is STILL spinning this as a "good thing for Az". He thinks losing n every race except the congressional seats and two corporationcommission seats would teach the electorate a lesson and ensure our 2010 victory LOL.May this time the GOTV will include the down ticket races, but I wouldn't count on it.

considering she despised her SOS, Jan Brewer. And for good reason. How do you blame the voters when they voted for Janet? I guess you could blame the AZ Dem Party for not educating the voters about down ticket voting.

Brewer isn't coming up with this garbage all on her own.

would have been vetoed.

Blame the AZ State Dem State Party for no down line voting.They were to busy with the presidential race. If everyone who voted for Obama voted for the leg and state senate, we would have won.But most just voted for Prez and congress because that was all that was important. Volunteers weren't even allowed to mention local candidates on phone calls.

When you don't bother to elect a legislature because local elections aren't beneficial as career moves and then your Governor is scooped up, you end up in a world of hurt. And I do not believe Obama really cared what happened in AZ and all the work so many had done for so long was just flushed. Hopefully this time they will get out the vote but it is no much harder than it needs to be, and many of our best workers have just given up. And those that replace them haven't either the institutional knowledge or the dedication.

that's your right, but I'm sure it's incorrect.

so defensive. It doesn't appear that your state got turned to crap as if a magic wand was waved over it. None of this would have happened if Janet stayed put. None of it. She was famous for her veto pen.

Nobody is upset because Napolitano was so singularly awesome that Arizona couldn't get along without her.

They are upset because her heading DHS meant putting a particular, known degenerate moron in power in AZ.

questions later.

Janet was in her final term as Governor and was looking at a tough fight to replace McCain as Senator. McCain would have had no problems using his massive warchest of money to drag her through the mud (psst.....did you hear she's a lez-bee-ann??---I'm John McCain, and I approve this message). Now she's in charge of one the most powerful departments in the World and is in the running to becoming a Supreme Court Justice. NO BRAINER----take the fed gig.

As for the AZ legislature. This state has been gerry-mandered up the ass for a republican majority for decades. And in case you didn't know, this state is basically little Utah in areas (Mesa, Gilbert, Kingman, Prescott, yada, yada, yada), and as people in California can tell you, Mormons are mostly hard core republican assholes. Add that to the old folks and stupid people who think they are rich enough to be republicans and you got a huge right-wing state even though there are a lot of Democrats here.

I predict that Terry Goddard will easily become Governor and will have to deal with a Republican legislature.