Arizona voters won't be seeing any more debates between the top gubernatorial contenders.
Incumbent Jan Brewer told Capitol Media Services Thursday she has no intention of participating in any more events with Democrat Terry Goddard. In fact, she said the only reason she debated him on Wednesday is that was a condition of her taking more than $1.7 million in public funds for her campaign.
"I certainly will take my message in a different venue out to the people of Arizona," she said.
Brewer said she has been in elected office for 28 years.
"And Terry has done so nearly as long," she continued. "I think it's pretty defined what he stands for and what I stand for."
Anyway, Brewer said, she believes the debates help Goddard more than they benefit her.
"Why would I want to give Terry a chance to redefine himself?" she said.
Brewer conceded that her performance in Wednesday's debate - and her refusal to answer a question from reporters afterwards - was not well handled.
It started with her opening statement when she lost her train of thought and went silent, which she describes as "my 16 seconds of the longest time of my life." The actual amount of dead air actually was closer to 10 seconds.
But Brewer also said she could have handled herself better after the debate when, rather than answering questions about her prior statements about headless bodies in the desert, she instead walked away.
"Coming off a debate like that, let's be honest, it's stressful," she said. "And I wanted to do a real good job."
Brewer blamed part of her post-debate activities on her gaffe in her opening statement. The governor also said she presumed reporters would want to talk to her about some of the issues raised during the hour-long televised debate.
"All you guys were doing and talking were beheadings, beheadings, beheadings," the governor said.
"That is something that has stuck with you all for so long. And I just felt we needed to move on."
But the subject arose because Brewer herself, during the debate, said the unions that support Goddard are to blame for financial fallout over the issue of illegal immigration. She said Goddard should disavow union support because they have called for boycotts of the state.
Goddard responded that any hesitation some people may have about coming to Arizona is because Brewer herself has scared off tourists with comments on TV that headless bodies are being found in the desert.
Medical examiners in Arizona have said they have found no such corpses, though there have been multiple reports of beheadings in Mexico. But Brewer chose to ignore questions about headless bodies. And when no other subjects came up, she walked off.
"I guess it's because of the way that it's always addressed to me as so aggressive coming from the media," the governor said. "All of a sudden, I get defensive."
Anyway, Brewer insisted she has been misquoted.
"I never said ‘Arizona,'" Brewer said, regarding beheadings in the desert. "And it's unfortunate that it was construed as ‘Arizona.' And I'm sorry if people thought that I said it was in Arizona."
The record, however, shows otherwise.
"Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert, either buried or just lying out there, that have been beheaded," Brewer said in a June appearance on Sunday Square Off on KPNX-TV 12 in Phoenix. And the governor said "there are people all over Arizona living in fear."
On Thursday, though, Brewer said she was referring to what is happening south of the border.
"And I am concerned about the spillover regarding the drug cartels and their activities," she said.
Goddard, in a prepared statement, does not agree with Brewer's decision to avoid future debates.
"It is our responsibility to give Arizonans clear information that will allow them to exercise their fundamental right to make an informed decision about who should lead our state into the future," his statement said. "Arizonans deserve more than a single discussion of the issues we face."
Brewer, however, told Capitol Media Services she does not believe that such face-to-face confrontations necessarily educate voters.
"I don't believe that things come out in proper context in an adversarial atmosphere," she said. And Brewer said she is available for interviews.
forkedlift1 posted at 3:19 pm on Mon, Sep 20, 2010.
Oh man, the Benson cartoon in today's Republic is a riot. Hits the mark. On the side of a milk carton, it has the word "MISSING' and underneath that a facial picture of Brewer. Below the "picture" are the details"
"JAN BREWER
GOVERNOR
Last seen evading
debates, ducking
questions and
running away
from basic English"
forkedlift1 posted at 5:24 am on Mon, Sep 20, 2010.
RollerCam's post ranks among the most stupid posts I've ever read. He effectively is saying that voters should not be involved at all in the election process. It's not necessary and is nothing but a bother. Polling companies can handle the job just fine. That will save us all the trouble of becoming informed about the proposals, competence, integrity and ideas of our prospective leaders, the people who will be governing our lives. Nice one, RollerCam.
And skipping the election process entirely will certainly be cost effective, save us the trouble of paying for all those costly and cumbersome elections. The polling companies can simply appoint our leaders. Keep the public ignorant, and never mind the fact that keeping the public in the dark about our prospective leaders which you support is an open door to tyranny. Pollsters can do the job for us. Brilliant! Hah.
RollerCam posted at 1:31 pm on Tue, Sep 14, 2010.
Good for her!
"Dull Terry" Goddard's campaign is so dead in the water that Brewer would easily win without doing ANY campaigning.
She can sit by the pool, drinking iced tea for the next 49 days and she'll STILL win.
She has more important things to do than pretend that Goddard has a chance at winning.
He doesn't.
jlmealer posted at 3:04 pm on Sun, Sep 12, 2010.
By the way.. On the headless corpses, my friends in the BP tell me about them on occassion down near Douglas, Aqua Fria all the way to the California border.
It's all about the drug mules killing off those who want extra breaks or who simply have no strength left to haul 90 lbs of dope...
jlmealer posted at 3:02 pm on Sun, Sep 12, 2010.
Right on Gov Brewer... Goddard is already a favorite by the anti-American crowd and those who ask the questions. Besides, he FAILED as Arizona's AG when he refused to do HIS JOB and pursue the Mealer v GM anti trust lawsuit.
And I do appreciate you Gov Brewer coming to my father's rescue when the nursing home murdered him. I suppose I contacted you a couple of days too late... But just so the rest of the retired people know, Gov Brewer was on the phone the same day I told her the nursing home was starving my father.
rrjenn posted at 5:02 pm on Sat, Sep 4, 2010.
I've met a few good policy makers who weren't very good debaters. I think she is a very smart lady and so far has taken the right course. She will make a good governor and those of you who dislike her can just go pound sand up your hindmost unit of an army.
DataMan posted at 9:47 pm on Fri, Sep 3, 2010.
"I done did one debate, and didding another would serve no purpose."
DataMan posted at 9:45 pm on Fri, Sep 3, 2010.
We as voters should DEMAND more debates.
If Brewer won't do it, would the Clown Sheriff PLEASE pay of attack ads for a race he isn't involved in? He's done it before!
Rich posted at 1:50 pm on Fri, Sep 3, 2010.
TruthSeeker,
I heard it as well and she said that our law enforcement officials have found the bodies of people who have been beheaded in Arizona. Supporting someone is fine, but leave the lying to the pros who are running.
TruthSeeker posted at 12:24 pm on Fri, Sep 3, 2010.
I heard her quote about the beheadings. She didn't say anything about them being in Arizona. They are twisting what she actually said.
Attorneys argue for a living. Anyone would get slimed arguing with an attorney. Just how many times is Terry going to run for governor and lose before he realizes that Arizonans don't want him to run this state?
soricobob posted at 9:37 am on Fri, Sep 3, 2010.
I would guess......maybe......perhaps.....sort of....I think... she is right to refuse.
hillstreet posted at 9:20 am on Fri, Sep 3, 2010.
She's dumb, but not stupid. Another debate would be a disaster just like the first one. The woman is so stupid and unintelligent she makes Ev Mecham look like a Rhodes scholar.
Rich posted at 10:17 pm on Thu, Sep 2, 2010.
Good call on her part. You read posts from people like slabside, she can get elected if she doesn't have to face the reality of thinking on her own in public. A couple more debates and she might actually lose. Hess made more sense than either major party candidate. And he hasn't got a snowball's chance in the desert. Kind of wish he did.
Azgulch posted at 6:37 pm on Thu, Sep 2, 2010.
I believe the only headless corpse in the Arizona desert is Jan Brewer.
My parents taught me a long time ago to think before I speak. It's clear she never learned that lesson.
She's also deficient in the area of courage. One needs courage to lead. Not debating is courage-deficient.
forkedlift1 posted at 5:46 pm on Thu, Sep 2, 2010.
If she wants to redeem herself, if her poor showing was an unfortunate fluke, she would welcome another debate.
n2mark posted at 5:32 pm on Thu, Sep 2, 2010.
Brewer was an embarrassment for the state of Arizona last night. She brought thousands of jobs here? Where are they? She brought businesses here? Where are they? She did a lot for education? If this is so why is Mississippi ahead of Az?
Beheadings? Oh, today she said they are in Mexico. Oh, okay, not what you have been telling people who want to come here.
Brewer will destroy this state if given more time as governor.
disgusted posted at 3:16 pm on Thu, Sep 2, 2010.
I am SO TIRED of her!! First, she becomes Gov. by DEFAULT, NOT ELECTED!!!! Instills FEAR, rather than having the COURAGE or FORTITUDE or ETHICS to have CIVIL CONVERSATIONS to FIND TRUE RESOLUTIONS to this STATES MANY SERIOUS PROBLEMS!! FEAR IS NOTHING MORE THAN FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL!!! Mr. Goddard has ALWAYS been one to LOOK for ANSWERS, NOT TO BLAME, POINT FINGERS AT SOMEONE ELSE FOR THE PROBLEM and has ALWAYS DONE IT WITH FAIRNESS, HONESTY AND HARD WORK!!!! Something NONE of us has experienced {save a few "personal cohorts!"} under Jan Brewers supposed leadership!
Yarbles posted at 2:16 pm on Thu, Sep 2, 2010.
What a coward. You want to lead the state for another four years Jan, but you don't even have the political courage to debate Terry again.