Two great letters in today’s Republic. In one, Barry Cohen outs the newspaper’s mandated cheerleading. He imagines how the paper would have covered some of the big stories of history:
"Atomic bomb fails to deter enthusiasts at Hiroshima sushi festival."
In another, Kit Miller slams Cindy McCain for trying to shame Michelle Obama for the "proud of my country flap."
Meanwhile, Evan Mecham RIP. The former Arizona governor did incalculable damage to the state, embodying the racism, ignorance and anti-modernity of the right. At least he was straight-forward bout it. Little Mecham clones still run the Legislature. In many ways, Mecham was a sad figure, way over his head, but bullheaded about his damaging policies. Beyond the MLK embarrassment, Mecham began the Republic war on education that has set Arizona so far back. Similarly, his followers happily oversaw the degradation of the environment for profit, and the tribalism that keeps Arizona divided and distracted from its real challenges.
Mecham’s ascendancy marked the end of the old Arizona Republican party. Leaders of the ’60s such as Gene Pulliam, Barry Goldwater et al were happy to use the maniacal "John Birchers" embodied by Mecham’s supporters — they were so full of energy and passion — even if they found most of their views extreme, and the "Birchers" themselves low class. In the end, of course, the "Birchers" took over.