Baja Arizona

An article in the Wall Street Journal describes Pima County as "a liberal southern swatch of Arizona that borders Mexico and includes Tucson". The article says the Left there is considering how to secede from Arizona and become a separate state (provisionally named Baja Arizona) because of the "growing chasm between the state's Republican leaders and its frustrated liberal minority."

I grew up there, on the north side of Tucson, from birth through high school. About the time I graduated, the city may have been best known as the home of singer Linda Ronstadt. daughter of the family that owned Ronstadt Hardware. (The Ronstadts are one of the families that have lived there longer than my own.) So let me give you my take on the county and these events.

Tucson and Pima County were (and are) certainly more liberal than parts of Phoenix and its Maricopa County. Back then, we elected Stewart Udall and his brother Morris to the House of Representatives (their sons Tom and Mark are now senators from New Mexico and Colorado), and one of the area's representatives there is now the Lefty extremist Raul Grijalva. Still, Pima County is only liberal by Arizona standards, not by comparison with the liberals of either the East or West Coast. Gabrielle Giffords, not Grijalva, is more characteristic of the county.

Translation: The Lefties considering secession from Arizona are a minority within Pima County, as well as being a minority within Arizona. In my considered opinion, there is no possibility they could win any local or statewide secession election, though much of the state might be glad to get rid of them.