Tuesday, March 19, AD 2024 6:13am

Arizona Strikes Back! Ready to Cut Power to L.A.

The boycott that Los Angeles is imposing on Arizona has its first victim, the city of Los Angeles itself.

The state of Arizona is about to strike back at L.A. again to defend itself.

A letter written by one of the commissioners of the Arizona Corporate Commission is telling Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to be ready to accept the consequences of his actions:

If Los Angeles wants to boycott Arizona, it had better get used to reading by candlelight.

Basically Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s bluff has been called.

Gary Pierce, a commissioner on the five-member Arizona Corporate Commission, wrote a letter to the Mayor Villaraigosa threatening to cut the city of Los Angeles power supply for his stand of boycotting Arizona.

Commissioner Pierce is forcing Mayor Villaraigosa to put his money where his mouth is..

“Doggone it — if you’re going to boycott this candy store … then don’t come in for any of it,”

(…)

“If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation.”

There has been a flood of support for the Arizona Corporate Commissions actions.

The reaction thus far by the Los Angeles city council has been one of nervousness.

One council member has desperately been following up on the threat and is grasping for straws claiming that the city of Los Angeles “partially” owns some of the Arizona power generators in question.

Mayor Villaraigosa issued a statement that he is ready to face the consequences:

“The mayor stands strongly behind the city council and he will not respond to threats from the state [of Arizona]…”

If I were still living in Arizona I would be making sure that Gary Pierce follows through with his threat.  It’s time to make grandstanding liberals accountable for their rhetoric.

_._

Other important updates:

Governor Brewer Speaks

What If A Law Can’t Be Enforced?

Steyn Defends Arizona

Illegal Aliens Boycott Arizona

Arizona’s New Immigration Law

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Anthony
Anthony
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 3:09pm

So silly on the part of L.A. and California… a state that one day soon might have to be bailed out by the U.S. government, in part funded by Arizona taxpayers! Frankly the best thing to happen to California is bankruptcy at this point…

Perhaps if California did not have such outlandish welfare services they would not have severe budget and immigration issues of their own.

Chris
Chris
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 3:14pm

Man, if only CA would have used those billions of dollars of bond money to gain complete independence from the rest of the nation instead of building huge, inefficient new embryonic stem cell research labs, maybe they wouldn’t be so affected by AZ’s actions.

As it is, the fact that the silliness has gone as far as it has is worrying.

Tito Edwards
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 3:15pm

You probably could be right.

A bankruptcy would be beneficial.

It would sober up California voters to the fact that the socialist-liberal policies of the past 20 years has been a complete bust.

And maybe, just maybe, they’ll vote responsible, fiscally conservative politicians into office.

Joseph
Joseph
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 3:35pm

When I first read the letter, I thought it was just chest-beating, but now I’m not so sure. I’m sure it would be a last resort, and there would no doubt be serious repercussions, but it is a delight to imagine. For the moment, I think the commissioner is just telling L.A., “Watch it! We can you hurt you!”, and pointing out the city’s hypocrisy in thinking they can start boycott on their terms alone, without any reverse consequenses..

Tito Edwards
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 3:55pm

Joseph,

I think you’re right.

He’s putting L.A. on notice, though the mayor is not balking, so it’ll be interesting how this plays out.

JohnH
JohnH
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 4:00pm

It would sober up California voters to the fact that the socialist-liberal policies of the past 20 years has been a complete bust.

Actually, it’s more of a schizoid situation. We routinely vote in restrictions on new taxes or introduce tax breaks while at the same time voting for expensive projects like high-speed rail.

Joe Hargrave
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 4:00pm

Good for AZ! I read an article the other day too that AZ travelers are canceling plans to destinations that have called for similar ridiculous boycotts, like San Diego. The response? “Oh, its just local politics, please don’t hurt our economy by canceling your plans!”

What pathetic, whining, sniveling cowards. I hope AZ sticks to every last one of them and makes them pay for the slanders, their race-baiting, their hatred and their ignorance. Teach them humility, Arizona!

JohnH
JohnH
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 4:10pm

BTW, Tito, have you seen Archbishop Chaput’s take on the Arizona law?

http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/3858

It’s very good, and quite balanced.

No Man
No Man
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 4:24pm

Meanwhile, in a country where one-in-six workers is unemployed or under-employed, the undertaker-in-chief fetes in the white house a man mainly responsible for stealing millions of American jobs and almost bankrupting hundreds of municipalities.

Truth IS stranger than fiction.

Tito Edwards
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 4:27pm

JohnH,

That was a good article.

Archbishop Chaput for prelate of America!

restrainedradical
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 5:39pm

Boycotts are blunt instruments that hurt the innocent with the guilty. I would not support cutting off existing business with Arizona but I would support boycotting any new business. I hope sports leagues blacklist Arizona. I’d love to see New York’s Arizona iced tea company change its name in protest. I want Arizona to learn that the rest of America stands in solidarity with those who are unjustly discriminated against. I want Arizona to learn that the bishops of Arizona know better than bigots about what’s right and wrong.

Tito Edwards
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 5:55pm

RR,

The rest of America?

Over 60% of American’s agree with Arizona’s illegal immigration law.

Joe Hargrave
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 6:19pm

I still want to know what the “flaw” is.

Joe Hargrave
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 6:19pm

Restrained,

It will be we who teach you that false claims about bigotry will be met with the contempt and disgust that they deserve.

Bear
Bear
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 6:48pm

The Los Angeles Dept of Water & Power doesn’t merely buy electricity from AZ, it is a part OWNER of two electrical generating plants there. We are only using what we own – this guy needs to get his facts straight.

When did Christianity become so xenophobic. Do you think Jesus gave a rat’s behind where someone was born (sorry, no loaves and fishes for you – you were born on the wrong side of a man-made line)

Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 6:52pm

What in the world is xenophobic about reguiring Mexicans to obey American immigration laws if they wish to live in America? Is it xenophobic of Mexico to expect that Americans will obey Mexican immigration laws if they wish to live in Mexico?

Anthony
Anthony
Wednesday, May 19, AD 2010 10:52pm

You don’t get it, Don. You see, we’re all racists and we don’t know it yet.

Thankfully, we have MSNBC to let us know what horrible people we are on the inside.

What Mexicans (legal and illegal for that matter) really should be angry about is how they’re used as political pawns by American politicians. That might ACTUALLY be sort of racist.

A nation that cannot defend and protect its own physical integrity ceases to be a nation. Americans are perfectly within their rights to expect their state or federal government to enforce the border, and not use it as a backhanded means to manipulate demographics and election outcomes.

jh
jh
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 7:13am

No Power is about to be shut off to California. I am not sure why people are cheering this own anyway. Regardless I have to imagine that all sort of things comeinto play here such as the Commerce Clause and the Dormant Commerce cause. I also have to imagine since so much of our power comes from all the over place there is already Fed regulation on this

Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 7:21am

“I am not sure why people are cheering this own anyway.”

Because it helps illustrate what complete buffoons the LA politicians are for calling for a boycott of the State of Arizona. Politicians, and not just in LA, have gotten used to playing the dirty game of identity politics by appealing to ethnic constituents through empty gestures such as this. Now there is pushback and the solons in LA are squealing about it which is vastly amusing.

Joe Hargrave
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 7:25am

It’s as if they’re saying, “wait, people are taking us seriously? Our words actually mean something?”

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 8:04am

Liberals are conflating Christianity with “Ali Baba and the 40,000,000 Thieves.”

I love and pray for all the cloistered marxists that call yourselves social justice advocates.

Woe unto him who calls evil good.

PS: If I believed they would comprehend “Marxist/Leninism”, I’d have used that term insetad of “Ali Baba.”

jh
jh
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 9:46am

“Because it helps illustrate what complete buffoons the LA politicians are for calling for a boycott of the State of Arizona. Politicians, and not just in LA, have gotten used to playing the dirty game of identity politics by appealing to ethnic constituents through empty gestures such as this. Now there is pushback and the solons in LA are squealing about it which is vastly amusing.”

I just think escalting this is nonsense especially in these bad economic times. People I think will move on from this issue if given time. We have short attentions spans. Also the fact that it appears that

People actually think AZ can do this is annoying

That people seem to think it is proper for State to engage in a war with each other
(Can Louisiana shut off the pipelines of oil and natural gas if we get bad?)

That people that are proclaiming themselves Federalist think this is a great idea. I MEAN I AM SEEING PEOPLE ACTUALLY wanting this to happen. Why? Because of what some yahoos on the LA City Council did?

Personally in these days I would prefer that our military assets in San Diego are able to have the lights on.

This just seems all counterproductive and gets us no where to solving the problem.

Phillip
Phillip
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 10:02am

I guess again it highlights that cities boycotting AZ is also wrong and gets us nowhere. Only punishes hard working people in AZ including the military in Yuma. Really needs to stop.

Jay Anderson
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 10:14am

Yeah, the problem is NOT the pushback from the AZ politicians, but the fact that these city governments around the country are engaging in symbolic boycotts.

Wanna boycott AZ? Then boycott ALL that comes from AZ, even if it means you have to, you know, ACTUALLY make some sacrifices.

Seriously, the “escalation” isn’t coming from the AZ politicians defending themselves, it’s coming from the grandstanding a-holes threatening to wreck the AZ economy by fomenting a nationwide boycott of the state.

Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 10:16am

Bingo Phillip. All the people of LA have to do is to have their cretinous leaders swallow some crow and simply state that upon reflection maybe calling for a boycott of Arizona wasn’t such a brilliant idea after all.

Colin Gormley
Colin Gormley
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 10:20am

The point is jh that the WHOLE THING is nonsense. LA calls for a boycott in these harsh times and that isn’t irresponsible? That those “yahoos” on the city council are now having to deal with the consequences of their actions is refreshing. Too many politicians shoot their mouths off without regard for the consequences. It’s time they felt the results of their actions.

Centinel
Centinel
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 10:48am

Is a boycott even constitutional? Maybe yes because of freedom of speech. Maybe no because of the interstate commerce clause. Any opinions?

Mike Petrik
Mike Petrik
Thursday, May 20, AD 2010 10:58am

Centinel:
I think boycotts by individuals are generally first amendment protected, but government acts would have to be evaluated under dormant commerce clause jurisprudence.

restrainedradical
Friday, May 21, AD 2010 3:33pm

Government boycotts would fall under the market participation exception to the Dormant Commerce Clause.

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