Former Arizona state Sen. Sylvia Allen, the Republican whose first stint in the Legislature made Internet history over and over, was selected last week to be on the ballot for senator again.
Even in Arizona politics, it's hard to recall anyone who established a more solid reputation as a moon-howler in a shorter period of holding office.
Picking which Allen chestnut became the most famous during her 2008-2012 time in the Legislature would be futile, but her statement that trees were "stealing Arizona's water supply" was a notable example.
Allen's part of the state includes huge expanses of national forest, and when she got a towering ponderosa pine donated as a Christmas tree for the Senate lobby, the state's largest newspaper commented, "One less tree to steal our water."
Her defense of Arizona's notorious "don't be around if you're brown" anti-immigrant law SB 1070 still circulates in wingnut email chains, as does her avowal that the Earth is only 6,000 years old.
In her defense of 1070, Allen states that "nothing has been added by this law." I guess "added" could mean different things to different people, but still ...
Allen didn't mention that the law attempted to make immigration a state responsibility rather than a federal one as it is under the U.S. Constitution, nor did she mention that the law changed illegal presence in the country to a criminal violation from being a civil matter, as it had been previously.
Whether the law "added" anything seems small potatoes beside the fact that it completely redefined the governments' roles (in defiance of the Constitution) and redefined the legal proceedings involved.
Allen, who is from Snowflake in Navajo County, was named to the November ballot spot of state Sen. Chester Crandell, who died Aug. 4 after a fall from a horse. Her first service in the Senate began by replacing longtime Sen. Jake Flake, who also died after a fall from a horse.
Allen was selected for the Legislature this time by the precinct committeemen of Legislative District 6, as Crandell's death came too close to the Aug. 26 primary for him to be replaced on that ballot.
Tom O'Halleran, who previously ran as a Republican, is seeking the seat as an independent in the heavily GOP district. There is no Democrat running, virtually assuring Allen of the position.