by Governor Sarah Palin
F or weeks, April 24, 2010, had been circled on my calendar. With my Alaska home still surrounded by snow, I looked forward to traveling outside Americas forty-ninth state to the forty-eighth, where spring had already sprung.
I was scheduled to give a speech about challenges and overcoming adversity in Glendale, while the eyes of the nation were fixed on the rough-and-tumble debate over the Grand Canyon States immigration policy. It was on April 23, the day before my speech, that Arizona governor Jan Brewer put pen to paper and sent a ringing wake-up call to the White House and the federal government with a legislative message that would change the country.
She had signed SB 1070 into law.
It was during this breathless political drama that I met Jan for the first time. I was immediately struck by her determination, her kindness and concern, and her good spirit, and sensed that in the face of an international media firestorm, Jan Brewer was still a down-to-earth mom committed to public service and principled leadership.
In my speech in Glendale I publicly thanked Jan for her courage, and have followed her progress and success carefully since then. As weve experienced the uniqueness of each others states together, Ive gotten to know her better.
Like many of us, she was called to public life after first getting involved with the education of her children. Im never surprised when I hear that a stint with the PTA or local school board helped bring someone into even more robust public service. School boards just seem to get the political blood pumping in mama grizzlies.
Jan has risen from local government to the governors office. And shes done it by bringing people togetherby building up, instead of tearing down. Her strong conservative values are matched by a driving optimism that seems to know no end. Above all else, Jan Brewer is an authentic leader. She talks straight and does what she believes is right for the people she serveseven when its the hard thing to do.
As youll see in this book, Jan doesnt back down from tough challenges. She doesnt turn away in the face of attacks. She leans into problems and works toward meaningful, achievable solutions.
Arizonans are lucky to have Jan Brewer on their side. And our country is a better place because of her honest, humble commitment to everlasting American freedom.
Im thankful shes leading and Im proud to call her a friend.
Sarah Palin, summer 2011
T he best comparison I could think of was: This must be what its like to be waterboarded.
There I was, in my office at the Arizona Capitol, with a bill about which everyone in America seemed to have an opinionand a strong one at that. Advice, objections, encouragement, discouragement, fan letters, and death threats were coming at me so fast I could barely breathe. And not just me but my staff, the Arizona legislators who had worked on the billall of us felt as if we were strapped to a board with torrents of accusations raining down on our heads. Manning the buckets were the national media, the unions, civil rights groups, business groups, and political operatives all the way up to the president himself. Was it torture? I never did ask Dick Cheney, but Ill tell you this: It was not an experience I want to repeat.
It was a surreal time to be the governor of the Grand Canyon State. For weeks, protesters had been massing outside my windows on the ninth floor of the executive tower of the Capitol. They were there every day, marching, chanting, and beating drums. Always beating drums. Some of them flew Mexican flags. Some of them desecrated American flags. Our supporters were there, too, of course, but they were a lower-key bunch. They tended to sing the national anthem rather than chant, and to quote the U.S. Constitution rather than Che Guevara. Things eventually got so testy between the two sides that the peace officers had to form a human chain between the supporters and the protesters. It was an amazing scene. The chanting. The drumming. The Constitution quoting. Only in America.
The reason for all this passion was Senate Bill 1070, the now famous law that I signed as a tool to help secure our southern border. You may think you know something about what was quickly dubbed Americas toughest immigration law, but chances are, if youre a devoted consumer of MSNBC and the New York Times , you dont know much at all about our law. Its opponents call it racist. The Obama administration calls it unconstitutional. Supporters call it necessary. I call it a wake-up call. I signed it to send a clear, unequivocal message to Washington. Its a message that Ive repeated more times than I care to count during my three years as Arizonas governor. Its a message thats long past due. And its a message that Washington very clearly doesnt want to hear:
Mr. President: Do your job. Secure our border!
Thats itsimple and direct. Kind of like me. Kind of like Arizona.
The story of the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, or SB 1070, is a story of a state in crisis. That state is my state, Arizona. Were dealing with a crisis caused by drug dealers, human smugglers, generic criminals, and the sheer volume of people pouring over our unsecured border. Innocents are being victimized. People are living in fear. Our beautiful desert is being ruined. The story of SB 1070 is a story of leadershipand its opposite. Its the story of how the people of the state of Arizona took charge of their own future after decades of benign neglect and not-so-benign indifference from Washington. Its the story of how Arizonans stepped up to lead when their representatives in Washington failed to do so. The citizens of Arizona didnt want this fight. They didnt cause this crisis. But theyre not going to sit still anymore. Not when they can do something about it.
The story of SB 1070 is also the story of a countrya great countrywhose ending is yet to be written. Immigration has made America great. Illegal immigration threatens to fundamentally change our country, and not in a way that the Norwegians, Poles, Italians, Jews, Irish, Chinese, Kenyans, Cubans, Mexicans, and others who waited their turn in line to come here legally would approve of. They all came because here the law was supreme. Here the law meant something. It ensured a level playing field. It made sure that everyone got an equal chanceand if they didnt, the law had something to say about it. They came here and embraced a set of values that made them Americans.
But in the end, the story of SB 1070 is the story of an arrogant, out-of-control federal government. The people of Arizona watched for years as our border went unenforced, as our schools and hospitals became overwhelmed with poor, desperate illegal aliens, and, finally, as violent crime invaded our cities when the Mexican drug cartels took over the border crossings. We saw all this happening and we appealed to our federal government for help. We asked them to do their job. And when they refused, we acted. We passed a law to protect ourselves because the federal government wouldnt. And what did we get for our effort? We were demonized and called racists. We were sued and treated like subjects instead of citizens. We were told that the federal government will enforce the law how it chooses and when it chooses. We were slapped down like wayward children.
