Opinion:There is only one way to describe Attorney General/Senate candidate Mark Brnovich’s declaration that Arizona is under ‘invasion’ and can send troops to the border: Genius political move.
By Laurie Roberts Arizona Republic
Mark Brnovich may not be able to match the wallets of his more well-endowed opponents in the Republicans’ Senate race but he’s got something much, much better.
His campaign office is also the Attorney General’s Office
On Monday, Brnovich was in full bully pulpit mode, declaring that Arizona is being invaded at the border and thus within its rights to go to war.
“TODAY our office issued a legal opinion determining the current crisis at Arizona’s southern border, fueled by violence and lawlessness of cartels & gangs, legally qualifies as an ‘invasion’ under the U.S. Constitution, & AZ has the power to defend itself,” he tweeted.
This was a political move. And a genius one
Attached was his inevitable interview with Fox News, which appears to have occurred even before he publicly released his opinion. (Huh. Wonder how that happens?)
Within minutes, Brnovich’s legal opinion became the tip of the spear in his political campaign for the Senate.
“I’m declaring war on the southern border invasion,” he tweeted from his campaign account, which linked to the statement from his official state account. “The southern border is being flooded by cartels and gangs, trafficking people and drugs. This is an invasion and Arizona has the right to defend itself!”
I’ll leave it to constitutional scholars to decide whether he’s got a legal leg to stand on. And to sociologists to decode the hyper-heated talk of “invasion.”
But as a political move?
Genius.
