Arizona is rapidly becoming a pariah because of its passage of an illegal immigration law last month!
Now it has reverberated on Arizona, as the Republican National Committee chose Tampa over Phoenix and Salt Lake City as the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention!
The author predicted this a couple of months ago, as Arizona and Utah were guaranteed GOP states, so why hold the convention in either location? Florida made a lot more sense, as the state which has the most electoral votes of the three contending states, and a state in play in the upcoming Presidential election of 2012!
Now, however, with Arizona going “off the deep end” with several laws on guns, and now banning ethnic studies being taught in public schools, along with the illegal immigration law, and with economic boycotts developing that will certainly hurt a state already having foreclosure problems in housing, the Republicans had good reason to go to Tampa.
And Utah, with its anti democratic way of eliminating a sitting Senator in a convention, and not permitting Senator Bennett the option of being on the primary ballot so that the voters could ultimately decide his fate, also gains a bad name and reputation! Both states seem to have become the most right wing states outside of a few Southern states, and that is not meant to be a compliment! 🙁
But ironically, Florida, the center of the contested 2000 Presidential election, will now host the convention, but the question arises whether the GOP will allow the sitting Governor Charlie Crist, who has just broken with the party and is running as an Independent, to show up at the convention to welcome the delegates, a normal routine for the Governor of any state!
So the Republicans have a very interesting situation caused by their final list of state candidates as hosts for their national convention! 🙂