Arizona Strikes Out with Threat to Cut Off Power to Los Angeles

Last updated on February 12th, 2013 at 01:57 pm

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Papers Please State VS City of Angels

In a battle closely mimicking the larger battle between Republicans and Democrats, Arizona swung wildly at Los Angeles after the City of Angels signed a resolution to boycott Arizona over the Papers Please law. Wounded by the perceived threat to their dwindling tourism business (due to similar boycotts around the country), Arizona punched back yesterday with a threat befitting an impotent schoolyard bully. Because, you know, instead of taking another look at the law, the thing to do is escalate the authoritarian power grab at the very root of the trouble.

You can't cut our Power, Clowns!

But before we get to this cringe-inducing moment of hubris, it’s worth noting that this is an entire state versus a city, but a city that provides a huge amount of wealth for the entire country. California’s economy is the largest of any state in the US. In fact, if California were it’s own country, it would be one of the world’s richest economies (this is aside from the current state woes). Those darn goofy, granola eating tree huggers sure know how to bring in the money. Just sayin’. In fact, the per capita income in LA is one of the top in the country. Translation: a Los Angeles boycott has to sting. Well, er, that is if one is dealing with reality. But this is a story about Republicans, so you had to know better.

Yes, leave it to Republicans to think they hold all of the power. Literally. Arizona threatened to TURN THE POWER OFF on Los Angeles yesterday, since LA gets some of its power from two plants in Arizona. Take that, you liberal elites! Ha! You don’t agree with our violation of citizens’ rights? You dare to boycott the great state of Arizona? You will pay! Much like the entire country will pay when Texas secedes or Alaska finally makes good on Palin’s all American desire to secede. Yes, sir, you can just close that Federal pork/teat fund because these Teapublicans are going rogue!

ABC reports:

“Arizona is threatening to leave Los Angeles in the dark — and its air conditioners without power — if the city doesn’t rescind its order to boycott the state over Arizona’s tough new immigration law. Cities across have vowed to boycott Arizona following the immigration bill.

“I feel like if you’re going to boycott the candy store, you’ve got to leave all the candy alone,” said (Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary) Pierce. Arizona provides 25 percent of Los Angeles’ power.

“I feel like Arizona is the candy store,” he added.”

Um, gee, Gary, thanks for clarifying about the candy store and guns – er, oops. You weren’t talking about the revenue y’all make from selling guns to illegals….k then. Back to that lights off threat.

Some of you may remember that those are fighting words to a city which suffered through the rolling black outs of another Republican/Cheney/Scandal (Enron)/Debacle. It’s tiresome to keep typing Republican Cheney Scandal Debacle every time we’re faced with yet another way they destroyed this country. Sigh. If anyone comes up with an acronym please let me know.

You didn’t think the Republicans were gonna take to being morally shamed by the liberals, did you? Mock moral superiority is their entire game! So, naturally they had to hit back. Listen as the swaggering Arizonian socked it to those namby pamby liberal elites:

ABC further reports:

“”If they’re really serious about this, then be true to your conviction,” Pierce (Arizona Corporation commissioner Gary Pierce) told ABCNews.com. “I would be happy to help them to renegotiate the power agreements so they no longer receive power from Arizona.”

“When temperatures rise over 100 degrees we’re going to love to have the extra power,” he said.””

What are the odds that the “Corporations commissioner” in Arizona is a Republican? Oh, I know, I should stop stereotyping. At any rate, this guy sure brought it! Liberals the city wide were quaking in their Juicy Birkenstocks when they realized the Corporations Czar was going to cut them off from power, which would kill the old people due to the heat (Death Panels?). I mean, yeah, it might seem extreme, but we are talking a threat to profits here, people. And I think you realize by now that if profits are threatened, there is no low to which one should not stoop to restore the God of the almighty dollar.

But wait…I’m afraid I hear the annoying rustle of courage and conviction backed by power:

The General Manager’s Statement Regarding LADWP Power Generation Assets in Arizona:

“I want to make clear that we support the City position regarding the recent law enacted in Arizona and the resolution adopted by the Los Angeles City Council. On any given day, we receive 20 – 25% of our power from two power plants located in Arizona: Navajo, a coal-fired plant, and Palo Verde, a nuclear plant.

We are part owner of both power plants, which are generating assets of the Department. As such, nothing in the City’s resolution is inconsistent with our continuing to receive power from those LADWP-owned assets.

I might add that, as the City’s Job Czar, I certainly would welcome any conventions or meetings that were going to be held in Arizona to come to Los Angeles. We have fantastic facilities and incomparable weather and we’d welcome them to the City of Angels.””

– Austin Beutner, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Oh dear. The shame. The humiliation. The utter impotency. I just wonder…did they not think LA would, like, know who owned the power plants? And did it never occur to these “small government” ideologues that the feds kind of regulate that there interstate transmission of power?

I guess those empty threats are looking kinda silly now, eh Arizona? But by all means, stand by your bumper sticker solution to a complex problem, crafted as it were by the great minds of this century. After all, when I think “real solutions”, I think Republicans. Drill baby drill.

So, um, I guess Los Angles can count on some extra tourism this year. Jan Brewer is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Nothing says standing by your values like pledging to violate the rights of citizens and then threatening to cut the power off to a city full of citizens whose rights you have just danced on when they object using the very free market principles you claim to stand for. Gosh, I am awash in patriotism at this moment.

While this just makes me want to vote Republican, I think it’s safe to say that we best not leave our energy resources in the hands of angry Republicans. Well, that was redundant. We best not leave our energy resources in the hands of Republicans.

Sarah Jones

Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.

Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.

Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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