BREWER VS. OTHER BORDER GOVERNORS

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is increasingly alone when it comes to her doing battle with the Feds over her state's immigration problem. The Governors in the other border states with Mexico - Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Bill Richardson in New Mexico, and of course Rick Perry here in Texas - either oppose Arizona openly or won't express support.

John Gizzi at Human Events conducted an interview with Brewer that covered a variety of issues relative to her state but focused on her having to do battle with Eric Holder; she suggests that he take any funds he's considering to use in a lawsuit challenging Arizona and put them toward the construction of a fence. What I found more interesting was the part of the story involving the positions of Brewer's gubernatorial border state colleagues.

Asked what fellow governors facing similar problems with their borders and illegal immigrants are saying, Brewer mentioned that she has "certainly spoken with [Texas Republican] Gov. [Rick] Perry and [New Mexico Democratic] Gov. Richardson and Gov. Schwarzenegger with regard to it. They, of course aren't facing the problem that Arizona is because we now have been left as the gateway for all illegal immigration, drug cartels and gangs coming into the Americas."

Schwarzenegger is siding with the Feds, not based on his having read SB 1070 but because of what he's read in the papers, according to Brewer. The only thing he seems to be terminating these days is courage and common sense inside his own brain.

Richardson in New Mexico is predictably as opposed to Brewer's efforts as one could be. He's a hard left Democrat and we've long known where he stands.

Rick Perry continues to be a disappointment on this issue, more so because of the stance he doesn't seem willing to take. To some extent, I have more respect for Richardson for letting people know where he stands. Perry won't even do that. He doesn't have to support the law for his state but as a fellow Republican who talked tough on immigration and states rights before his primary, he should publicly stand with Governor Brewer in support of her state's right to pass its own laws.

Here's what Gizzi wrote earlier in his piece:

Brewer mentioned opposition to what is increasingly called "the Arizona laws" from fellow governors on border states, notably Democrat Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger of California. Brewer said she knew Schwarzenegger didn't know what was in the bill because "he figured what he read in the paper was exactly what the bill said."

It would seem to me that Rick Perry needs to get off the fence; at some point, he's going to have to choose a side.

Read the whole interview.