What an interesting reason for a veto.

She heard her master's voice; teh Chamber of Commerce.

Now we should all shower her with praise as the latest standard bearer for the gay rights movement! Jan Brewer, truly one of our great allies.

Money talks.

"Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said Wednesday she will veto a controversial religious-freedoms bill that was sent to her desk by the state's legislature, dousing anxiety that had been growing daily for the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee.
Host Committee CEO Jay Parry had said the organization went straight to Brewer's office to express its concern and disagreement over Senate Bill 1062, which would have allowed Arizonans the ability to cite religious beliefs as a reason to deny services to anybody."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/105233…

I knew the NFL was gay, all those tight pants and confetti

Yes, I know I am being petty, but does it not look like the guv spends entirely too much time in the sun? To borrow a line from The Women: "I hate to tell you this dear, but your skin makes the Rocky Mountains look like chiffon velvet."

@6 Nice beehive hairdo, though. Haven't seen one of those in awhile.

@6: Yes, that was petty as well as rude and misogynistic.

@ 8, sorry, but observing that someone spends too much time in the sun isn't misogynistic. I can say this because this is one case where you're just as likely to hear men be criticized for it as women.

Anyway, Brewer is all done. She bucked the crazies, and the crazies don't forgive.

WSJ tweet

Wall Street Journal ‏@WSJ · 1h
Breaking: Arizona governor vetoes religious-freedom bill. http://wsj.com

https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/438839111…

I'm the furthest thing from a fan of Brewer, but that's a pretty solid statement from her. She could have weaseled it in an attempt to save face with the phobes.

Conservative ditto-heads complaining that she caved to "big business"? That's special!

This is a substantial victory. Why?
When the inevitable court cases come, the judges won't have to weigh the right to equal protection against the right to discriminate, because state law won't guarantee a right to discriminate. All they need to determine is whether sexual orientation is a valid protected category under the 14th Amendment.
Also, if I understand the bill correctly, it would have prevented state-level lawsuits from even being filed against discriminators, making legal challenges more difficult.

@12: I know, right?

To all the haters: Wow great argument fagtron you sure convinced me with those hot opinions.

Time for a Paul-Brewer '16 candidacy.

Counter to Gainor, I think this is was gold for Brewer.

She Got to put down a law that half the country loathed as bigoted, and any true conservative should have opposed as just bad legislation. She had total political cover. Only the Crazy Right--a loud 20% of the country--is upset.

Hell, I think she strung this out a bit to get two or three national news cycles. A woman, with executive experience, who clearly appeals to conservatives [AZ], and yet can show a pragmatic moderate side for the independents...and who is term-limited as Gov.

I think she just dipped a toe in the water for '16.

Arizona should pass a law requiring Idiot bigot Joe Walsh to change his name, lest he & his Neanderthal rants be confused with the great guitarist of the same name.

Hmm, where to go to find the best schadenfreude over assploding wingnut heads? Red State? Free Republic? Faux Newz?

As nutty as the right-wingers are , thankfully Brewer made the obvious pragmatic decision. Arizona has shot itself in the foot too many times!

No surprise. Brewer is not far right. She and Gabby Giffords are good friends, which began when Giffords was a fellow Republican before she switch parties.

@18: It's very hard to keep smooth skin in that climate. Lots of sun block and lots of water. I think the governor looks lovely.

Once again Dan Savage calls someone out without checking his facts first. Nat Johnson was not expressing support for the bill. He tweeted that she should resign because her veto was for financial reasons not opposition to discrimination.

@9: Really? As I recall Senator John McCain was never ridiculed for his scared face from skin cancer, but Cindy McCain was milked by SNL and other comedians for her "lizard" look.

@20 is right, Nat Johnson has been calling her out for her faux bravery all night. His tweet right before the one shown here said that this should never have seemed like it would pass.

@21 Glad we have raindrop here to stand up for the ladies. Of course male politicians never have their looks questioned. Al Gore and John Edwards can swear to that. And don't get me started on Obama. His complexion is downright something.

@13 Another huge problem with the Bill is that it violates the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment. No matter how vague the bill was about "religious liberties" (ie the proponents hoped they could skirt by with the Free Exercise Clause of the !st Amendment) it established "religous beliefs" as the standard for the law. Religion, no matter how vague cannot be the foundation of a law...

These Gay Bashing/"Religious Liberties" bills are so badly written, and so discriminatory, I really question why the proponents think they can stand any court challenge.

@21 - When I envision a lizard-like alien creature, it's What'sHerFace Gingrich that I immediately think of. Then Cindy McCain.

bummer I was hoping she'd wait till Friday to veto. Let the out cry grow it has been having the effect of turning the light onto all the other state legislatures considering this and making them back away... from the light at least.

19, that is hysterical. I suppose you're right, if you use the twisted and skewed scale of modern conservatives. Brewer is far more conservative than Reagan, but to today's current crop of frothing-mouth fanatics, even someone like Ghenghis Khan would be viewed suspiciously as a possible right-wing traitor. I mean, look at your justification. Brewer is actual friends with (*gasp*) a Democrat! A true conservative would burn the chair that any Democrat has sat in, right?

But lookie-here, Ms. Pearl Clutcher-- you constantly post & freely associate yourself with all these damn liberals on this damn liberal blog of that damn liberal paper. Doesn't that make you... kinda pink? I'd keep your identity secret from your conservative friends. If they find out, they're likely to wrap you in gas-soaked Che t-shirts and light you on fire.

@12 Ditto. Isn't Big Business the voice of its master for conservatives ?

Don't forget, Mr. Savage, it's still legal to fire someone self-identifying as straight/hetero in AZ, as well as for AZ businesses to refuse to serve the same. Just as it is in Georgia.

I make more discussion points, and actually change some people's minds down here in Savannah, by instructing them that laws prohibiting discrimination solely on the basis of a self-identifying sexual orientation, protects all comers, not just LGBT citizens. We need to keep stressing this simple fact.

Too bad. I was really looking forward to the collapse of the Super Bowl as all of the devote Christians refused to come to work on the Sabbath.

@15 I wondered that too, but she's 69 years old.