Sunday, April 4, 2010* I confess that I was very surprised that Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas decided to resign to run for state attorney general. With all that's going on, I thought he would hunker down and try to tough things out from his current bunker.
Thomas clearly believes that immigration and crime, and the relationship he maintains exists between the two, will be enough to carry the day.
The shooting of the rancher on the border certainly will make the immigration issue more salient and strengthens the political position of those who advocate an enforcement first approach. If the feds leave Thomas alone during the election, it might be enough to get Thomas through a Republican primary. But I think he faces serious trouble in a general election, assuming Democrats nominate someone reasonably competent.
While Arizona voters have overwhelmingly supported get-tough ballot measures regarding illegal immigration, it hasn't been a decisive factor in candidate races. Otherwise, there would still be a Congressman J.D. Hayworth and there wouldn't be a Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Moreover, I think Thomas burned a bridge that cannot be repaired when he attacked the judges. He filed a criminal complaint against one and accused three others of criminal activity in his civil racketeering lawsuit.
His criminal conspiracy theory was highly implausible, that these judges sold themselves out for nicer office digs. And Thomas never produced a bit of evidence that they did, except for the fact that they kept ruling against him and sometimes seemed not to like him.
The rule of law ultimately depends on an independent judiciary. Thomas accusing judges of criminal conduct for ruling against him, assuming there is nothing more than has come out so far, was an unforgiveable assault on the rule of law. That will make
it very difficult for him to get the votes of swing Democrats, independents and civil-libertarian Republicans.
Then there is the sour taste his tenure as county attorney and his constant battles with the county supervisors has left with the electorate, regardless of who was right or wrong. Except for passionate immigration restrictionists, I don't think many people will look forward to Thomas doing to state government what he did to county government.
Related Article:
Federal grand jury probe into Arpaio, Thomas continues
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