Democrats seem willing to serve the interests of everyone except American citizens.
In Arizona, that apparently includes serving the interests of hostile regimes.
On Monday, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona vetoed Senate Bill 1109, which would have prohibited the government of Communist China from purchasing land in the state.
“Improvements to systems that protect our infrastructure are important,” Hobbs wrote in her brief veto letter.
Indeed, Senate Bill 1109 grew out of concerns over potential Chinese spying near U.S. military installations.
“However,” the governor continued, “this legislation is ineffective at counter-espionage and does not directly protect our military assets. Additionally, it lacks clear implementation criteria and opens the door to arbitrary enforcement.”
In a word: rubbish. Let the state legislature deal with any potential implementation and enforcement problems as they arise. In the meantime, no foreign government, let alone a hostile one, should own American land.
During debate over the bill in February, Republican state Sen. Janae Shamp, who sponsored the bill, described it as a national-security emergency.
“The actual Chinese government, our enemy, was trying to lease buildings near the (Luke Air Force) base,” Shamp said, per the Arizona Mirror. “(N)ot making sure that we are protecting our national security or our men and women on the ground here in Arizona is ludicrous to me.”
Should China and Chinese entities be allowed to purchase property in the U.S.?
Senate Bill 1109 would have prevented China from having a stake of 30 percent or more in Arizona property.
Of course, the state legislature could override Hobbs’ veto. After all, the Arizona House of Representatives voted 41-17 for the bill on May 7. In that case, eight Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill. The Arizona Senate, however, poses more of a challenge. On May 28, the Senate approved the bill on a 17-11 party-line vote.
Whatever the bill’s ultimate fate, Hobbs’ veto amounts to a species of lunacy.
Michael Lucci, CEO and founder of State Armor Action, which focuses on global security threats at the state level, denounced the veto.
“Governor Hobbs’s veto of SB 1109 hangs an ‘Open for the [Chinese Communist Party]’ sign on Arizona’s front door, allowing Communist China to buy up American land near critical assets like Luke Air Force Base, Palo Verde nuclear power plant, and Taiwan Semiconductor’s growing fabrication footprint,” Lucci said, according to Fox News.
“Allowing Communist China to buy up land near our critical assets is a national security risk, plain and simple, and Governor Hobbs is substantively and completely wrong when she says that SB 1109 ‘is ineffective at counter-espionage and does not directly protect our military assets,’” he added.
As an American citizen, two things about Hobbs’ veto offend me to my core.
First, the governor explained her decision in a mere four lines. She could not bother to elaborate or perhaps to provide guidance on how to improve a bipartisan bill? In 1817, President James Madison wrote seven thoughtful paragraphs explaining why he vetoed an internal improvements bill.
But that might be too much to ask, for Hobbs, of course, is no James Madison.
Second, why must legislators frame these kinds of bills as a matter of national security? Why do any foreign governments, let alone hostile ones, own American land — never mind land around military installations?
If foreign governments can own American land, then how does the United States qualify as a republic, i.e., a government “of the people”?
Hobbs, of course, could not care less. After all, she belongs to a party that serves everyone’s interests except Americans’.
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