Gov. Janet Napolitano must be out of her mind.
Time magazine just called her a "no-nonsense, pro-business centrist" and accused her of working outside party lines. The report goes on to name her as one of the top-five governors in the United States.
Someone forgot to tell the governor that politicians are supposed to be corrupt and beholden to special-interest groups. If a politician suddenly decides to do the work of the people, the shock is too much to bear.
According to The Arizona Republic, the governor is back at it again -- she wants every Arizonan to have a state discount card so they can save money on expensive medications. According to her plan, a private company would act as a bulk discount buying club, giving discounts on expensive but necessary drugs.
The target audience of this plan is people with limited or no coverage, with an estimated savings of $12.50 per prescription. That may not seem like a lot, but wait until you actually get sick and need the assistance.
At a time when health care costs are set to increase 8 percent to 10 percent nationally, students in their 20s may benefit as well. Because of Napolitano's plan, they may no longer have to choose between paying exorbitant fees at ASU and buying medicines.
The highlight the plan is that the state would have to pay nothing to administer it; Napolitano's aides state that the private sector would incur those costs. Critics contend that Napolitano's scheme is not the cheapest, but cannot deny that it gives people another option to get help with buying expensive medicines.
Napolitano doesn't seem to realize that she should be trying to protect Arizonans from gay, married terrorists instead of dealing with medical costs for the uninsured. It is heartbreaking when a politician acts so out of character.
The piece in Time provides more lurid details of what Napolitano has been up to. She was able to eradicate a $1 billion deficit without raising taxes. Today, a budget surplus of $300 million alongside a four percent job growth seems to be inconsistent with a staggering deficit at the federal level. Governor, why try to be so different?
The report also states that Napolitano has been able to invest in education and childcare programs without spending like a drunken sailor. She has been able to get Republican support by cutting business property taxes and, on other occasions, has solicited private donations.
Napolitano has violated a golden rule of contemporary politics with her strategy of cooperation and consultation. Instead of taking an extreme position and then discrediting those that disagree, the governor is boring us to tears with her consensus-building approach.
Napolitano has also proved to be bland while dealing with hot-button topics like illegal immigration. Instead of uniting Arizonans against the use of Spanish, Napolitano has tried to fix the loopholes that aid illegal immigration. She has held contractors responsible for hiring only legal employees, cracked down on identity forgers and asked the federal government to reimburse the $217 million the state has spent on imprisoning illegal aliens convicted of crimes.
She joined the governor of New Mexico in declaring a state of emergency in Arizona to get funds to protect the border. We have Republicans running, Washington D.C., who seem befuddled by illegal immigration while a Democrat is declaring an emergency. What's next - Jerry Falwell supporting gay marriage?
Just to replace levity with gravity in the discussion, lets look at Napolitano's job approval ratings.
A poll taken by The Arizona Republic in October showed that Napolitano was more popular among Arizona Republicans than President Bush was among all Arizona voters. Even considering that the president's poll numbers are low, it is an achievement for Napolitano to rival his popularity in a state that he carried by 11 points a year ago.
Whether one agrees with her politics or not, the governor represents some of the best politics we can expect in these polarizing times. Instead of dividing people, she likes to fix one problem and move on to the next.
She seems to understand that her job is not to be the moral messiah for an animated faith-based crowd, but to give everyone a return on their tax dollars. Thanks to Napolitano, government is less likely to enter the church or the bedroom. Instead, it will stick to the Capitol and fix the state's problems, and let people excel with their own efforts.
How utterly unentertaining.
Nishant Bhajaria is a computer science graduate student. Reach him at nishant.bhajaria@asu.edu.
