She’s back…
Today, Dee Dee Blase of Somos Republicans filed paperwork forming a political committee to recall State Senator Russell Pearce. The committee, using the name Arizonans For Better Government, is based out of a P.O. Box based in Scottsdale (document). Senate President Russell Pearce serves in Legislative District 18 which only covers west Mesa. A total of 7,756 valid signatures must be collected by May 27th in order to force the recall for the ballot.
Today’s committee announcement was probably in the works as Somos Republicans anticipated legislation forcing clarification and enforcement of the 14th Amendment. That legislation was introduced today and likely triggered the recall. As much as Senator Pearce has been on the forefront of efforts to tighten illegal immigration law, he is not the prime sponsor on the legislation. Instead, Senator Ron Gould and Representative John Kavanagh are the prime sponsors along with multiple co-sponsors. No recall efforts have been launched against either Gould or Kavanagh.
At the heart of the legislation is the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1 which states the following:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The operative clause in that section is “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Many anti-illegal immigration advocates believe that birthright citizenship should not be determined based on one’s GPS location at the moment of birth.
Blase is no stranger to confrontational politics. On the Somos Republican website, visitors will find constant verbal attacks on conservative Republicans such as congressional candidate Janet Contreras, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Governors Jan Brewer and Sarah Palin.
Recall campaigns are extremely difficult to win first, in obtaining the number of valid signatures and second, through winning in the election process.
Having worked in west Mesa legislative campaigns, I believe this effort will fail and may actually be more of a public relations stunt to bring exposure to Somos Republicans cause.
Good luck Dee Dee but I will be supporting the efforts of Senator Pearce and the Arizona Latino Republican Association.
