GLENDALE — In her strongest attack to date, Gov. Jan Brewer lashed out Thursday at state lawmakers who won't vote to put the question of higher sales taxes to voters.
In a speech to insurance agents, the governor invoked former President Dwight Eisenhower, who commented, "history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid."
"The truth is, those of us who are entrusted with the government here in Arizona at this moment in time cannot be weak or timid," Brewer said.
"We must be strong," the governor continued. "And we must resolve that our differences will be settled, with the triumph going to the best interests of Arizona rather than the best interests of political egos or political futures."
The comments came as Brewer detailed for the group her efforts, so far unsuccessful, to line up support for a referendum on her plan to put a one-cent surcharge on the state sales tax for two years and a half-cent hike for a third.
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"I've always trusted the people of Arizona," she said.
"But I do remain deeply disappointed that some members of the Arizona State Senate do not," Brewer said. "They have so little trust in the voters that they have denied passage of a sound state budget and they have denied the people an opportunity to protect critical funding for education, public safety and the care of our most vulnerable citizens of Arizona."
Interviewed after her speech, Brewer said some of that is "inherent" in the way politicians think.
"I think that we, at times, think, 'How is this going to affect my next election? How is this going to play with my constituents? Are they going to be in favor of it, or are they not going to be in favor of it?' " Brewer explained.
"So instead of looking clearly at the whole situation, they look at other things outside of the realm of the problem we're dealing with," the governor said. "And that sometimes interferes with good judgment."
Brewer refused to name names, instead praising the 32 House and 14 Senate Republicans who voted to put the issue of a temporary sales-tax hike on the ballot. She wants to generate $2.5 billion over the next three years to mitigate the effects of the spending cuts that are necessary because tax collections are currently running close to $3 billion behind proposed spending plans.
But that still leaves her two votes short in the Senate.
Democratic legislative leaders say they're willing to support the plan in exchange for some concessions from the Republican governor and the GOP majority that runs the Legislature. That includes allowing the currently suspended state property tax to return, and using the $250 million a year that would generate to restore some education cuts.
Four Republican senators have refused to vote for an election on the tax. Brewer said whatever their reasons are, they should not stand in the way of letting their own voters have the last word.
But Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, one of those GOP holdouts, said his decision is based on principle and not his own ego.
"I believe that a tax increase is the worst thing you can do in a recession," he said, and the fact that the question would be on the ballot does not make it any more acceptable.
"The people that make millions of dollars off of taxpayer spending will dump millions of dollars into the campaign," Gould said. "And me and my friends will be scrounging old pieces of plywood to paint 'No New Taxes' signs up to run our campaign."
Gould took particular offense at the governor's saying that foes of the tax plan are more concerned with their own egos than the well-being of the state.
"If you want to talk about battles of egos, I think the governor ought to take a look at the three fingers that are pointing back at her when she points one at me," he said.
Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, said his opposition stems from his belief the state cannot keep living beyond its means.
"There are places where we can pare things down a bit," he said. Waring said those need to be considered before the state increases its sales tax rate to 6.6 percent.
Besides, Waring said, even if voters approve the tax increase there is no guarantee services won't be cut, and even with the $80 million a month it would bring in there is no way to restore services to prerecession levels.
Brewer has until Sept. 5 to decide whether to sign or veto the budget lawmakers sent her earlier this week, a budget that does not include the sales tax referral.
