He saw Ariz. schools undivided by racial prejudice of the time

e was an enlightened man in Arizona's dark ages.

Because Arizonans have faced tough obstacles for a long time, it's worth remembering our history of conquering problems. One man faced issues years ago and stood up for his beliefs.

Joseph H. Kibbey came to the Salt River Valley from Indiana, when Phoenix was still a remote settlement of dirt roads and deep ruts and the powerful musk of livestock reminded everyone this was very much a cow town.

The young lawyer had come to Territorial Arizona, specifically to Florence, to be a legal adviser to an irrigation firm, historian Jay J. Wagoner recounts. But very soon after, he would climb his career ladder to Arizona's highest rung.

If there was work of great import, Kibbey was the man to do it. He served as city attorney of Phoenix, territorial attorney general, territorial governor and county and state chairman of the Republican Party.

He is best known for so skillfully crafting Articles of Incorporation for the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association that they became a model of organization for many of America's later reclamation projects, according to the Salt River Project's history "The Taming of the Salt."

But his most extraordinary act was one of defiance: a defense of the public-school system and the few Black children it served.

The Arizona Territory in 1909 was very much a creature of its time, both reflexively and institutionally intolerant.

The Territorial Legislature passed a measure that year giving school districts the option to segregate their Black students from students of other races. The popular will was being expressed, and Kibbey, then territorial governor, would have none of it.

It is one thing to stand against racism in an enlightened age when there is broad agreement that such laws are despicable. It is radicalism to do it when virtually all of polite society, all of government, all of your friends and neighbors stand against you.

To his eternal credit, none of that deterred Gov. Kibbey. He leaned into those headwinds and eagerly vetoed the bill, historian Brad Luckingham writes.

"It would be unfair that pupils of the African race should be given accommodations and facilities for a common school education, less effective, less complete, less convenient or less pleasant … than those accorded pupils of the White race," Kibbey wrote.

Unmoved, the Territorial Legislature promptly overrode Kibbey's veto.

A year later, the Phoenix School Board began to segregate its schools.

Kibbey by then was no longer governor and back in private practice. Phoenix Blacks hired him to seek an injunction against the school board. A lawsuit was filed on behalf of Black leader Samuel F. Bayless to address the hardship created:

"Bayless had two daughters, six and 10 years old, who prior to segregation had walked five blocks to school. After Douglass School (for Blacks) opened, the girls were forced to walk two miles and to cross the tracks of both the Southern Pacific and the SFP&P, an act that imperiled life and limb," Luckingham writes.

The courts ultimately ruled against Kibbey and his Black clients. It would take another generation to right this wrong. Another generation before history's gavel would fall.

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Are pleas by Obama hindering the push?

As President Barack Obama re-engages on immigration reform, some of his allies disagree about how big of a role he should take in the debate on Capitol Hill.

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Follow the immigration-reform debate in Congress at immigration.azcentral.com.

In Thursday remarks at the White House, Obama reiterated his position that "common sense" immigration reform is a politically popular way to "grow the economy and shrink our deficits" while securing the U.S. border, modernizing the visa system and offering a pathway to citizenship for most of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants who have already settled in the United States.

Urging Congress to act this year, Obama also made it clear that he prefers the bipartisan approach of the Democratic- controlled Senate, which on June 27 passed a comprehensive package that has been languishing in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. House Democrats have offered similar legislation, but Obama added that "if House Republicans have new and different, additional ideas for how we should move forward, then we want to hear them."

The House has been working on its own series of smaller immigration-related bills but has yet to pass any. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has signaled that action on immigration is still possible, and several GOP lawmakers have indicated that they are exploring possible approaches to addressing the legal status of the undocumented population.

Obama's remarks earned applause in the immigrant community, but some observers said they want the president to move beyond prodding Congress and use his executive authority to halt deportations.

Other reform supporters, particularly in the business world, worry that his high-profile stand risks further alienating conservative House Republicans, many of whom are still nursing bruised egos from the recent government shutdown and debt-ceiling fight.

Immigration-reform advocates have considered 2013 their best opportunity to pass a comprehensive bill since the last serious effort failed in 2007, but time is running out.

The push is on to finish immigration reform in the next few months because by early 2014, Congress will be overshadowed by midterm-election politics. Those partisan atmospherics make bipartisan cooperation less likely, although some analysts and reform supporters are hopeful there may be another window of opportunity once primary-election ballots are set and Republican incumbents don't need to worry about challenges from conservatives who oppose "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants.

"It doesn't make sense to have 11 million people who are in this country illegally without any incentive or any way for them to come out of the shadows, get right with the law, meet their responsibilities and permit their families then to move ahead," Obama said during his speech at the White House, where he was joined by Vice President Joe Biden and reform supporters.

"It's not smart," Obama said. "It's not fair. It doesn't make sense. We have kicked this particular can down the road for too long."

Growing support

For most of this year, Obama has kept his distance from the legislative action, giving the Senate's bipartisan "Gang of Eight" of four Democrats and four Republicans the time they needed to craft their bill. The group included Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Because of the delicate political dynamics of the House, Obama's increasing presence in the immigration debate gives anxiety to some pro-reform business leaders who traditionally have a good rapport with Republicans. The fear is that some GOP partisans who might otherwise support reform could balk if they feel Obama is muscling them.

"It hurts more than it helps," said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who, with other business leaders, will travel to Washington next week to lobby lawmakers to pass immigration reform. "We understand and we appreciate that this is a big issue for him. It's a big issue for the country. This would be a good time for the House of Representatives to really pass out its vision for immigration reform."

In his Thursday statement, Obama acknowledged that his support could provoke new antagonism from his conservative critics, but he emphasized that immigration reform -- the top domestic priority of Obama's second term -- has broad-based political appeal and historically has attracted support from Republicans, including former President George W. Bush.

"I know that there are some folks in this town who are primed to think, 'Well, if Obama is for it, then I'm against it,'" Obama said. "But I'd remind everybody that my Republican predecessor was also for it when he proposed reforms like this almost a decade ago, and I joined with 23 Senate Republicans back then to support that reform. I'd remind you that this reform won more than a dozen Republican votes in the Senate in June."

He added: "I'm not running for office again. I just believe this is the right thing to do."

One leading national champion of immigration reform dismissed the idea that Obama should defer to House Republicans who dislike him.

Frank Sharry, executive director of the pro- reform organization America's Voice and an expert in immigration politics, said the restraint that Obama has shown thus far is testament to how badly the president wants a bill passed.

For example, Obama has refrained from trying to punish Republicans politically for holding it up, he said.

"Come on, he's the president. He gets to use the bully pulpit to try to set the agenda," Sharry said. "Obviously, it's only going to happen if the House Republicans decide to do it. Everybody in the world knows that everybody wants to get it done except for the divided House GOP. They have to decide whether they want to be the party of responsible governance or the party of confrontational nihilism. So, it's their call."

Another immigrant advocate called on Obama to show more leadership by curtailing his administration's "outrageous number of deportations," which affect many people who could benefit from reform, although such a step also could rile House Republicans.

Some GOP lawmakers already have suggested they don't trust the Obama administration to properly enforce any new immigration or border- security laws that might be passed.

"From our perspective, the president is definitely a big stakeholder and player in getting immigration reform done," said Cristina Jimenez, managing director of the immigrant-youth network United We Dream.

"We don't believe that for the president to step up and push Congress to get this done undermines the efforts," she said. "But we also believe that the president himself could do more."

Limited influence

Other observers, including Arizona's two members of the Senate Gang of Eight, suggested that Obama's powers of persuasion probably are limited with regard to many House Republicans.

"I don't know if it helps or hurts, to be honest with you," McCain said Tuesday when asked about a more active Obama role. "I think that the Republican Party understands the majority of Americans want this issue resolved. There are many members of Congress that represent districts where the majority do not support immigration reform, and we understand and respect that."

John J. "Jack" Pitney Jr., a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California, also said rank-and-file House Republicans are more likely to take their cues on immigration reform from their conservative base than from Obama or even the national GOP leaders who want to improve the party's image with Latino voters.

"For the average House Republican, the Number 1 concern is his or her own district, and most Republicans are not getting much clamor for the liberalization of immigration laws in their own districts," Pitney said. "You can argue that it's in the party's long-term interest to address the issue, but 'long-term interest' doesn't get a vote in primaries and general elections."

Flake, who served 12 years in the House before moving to the Senate, said time appears to be immigration reform's biggest enemy. "The president saying it isn't going to make it happen," Flake said. "Let's face it: The calendar is going to be tough this year."

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Christie's race covers political present, future

WAYNE, N.J. — WAYNE, N.J. With the governor election less than a month away, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is telling voters that he might not serve out his full second term if elected.

The admission might hurt any other candidate.

But for Christie, it underscores his popularity as a straight-talking Republican in a Democratic state. And it highlights what's at stake in New Jersey's looming governor election -- a contest as much about Christie's presidential aspirations as the governor's race.

He did not laugh off a question about his political future when asked during his first re-election debate Tuesday.

"I am not going to declare tonight … that I am or I'm not running for president," Christie said.

He later quipped: "I can walk and chew gum at the same time. I can do this job and also deal with my future. And that's what I will do."

That's exactly what Christie is doing as he uses his governor election to make the case for a higher office.

Buoyed by polls suggesting he has a commanding lead in his re-election bid, Christie's team is assembling a broad coalition of supporters -- groups of Democrats, union workers, women and minorities that Republican candidates elsewhere struggle to attract. He says his re-election campaign offers a road map of sorts for beleaguered Republicans across the nation as the party works to expand.

"We've got to win elections again. And that's what we're going to show the whole country in New Jersey on Nov. 5," Christie said of his party.

"I thought that the Republican Party was put into effect to win elections. I didn't think we were some debating society or some group of academic elites that sit around and talk about big ideas but don't do anything about them," he continued.

Christie's philosophy aligns him with Republican pragmatists pushing the GOP to embrace political moderation. Despite detailed recommendations by the Republican National Committee to do just that, the pragmatists are losing the debate as the GOP's more conservative wing drives the national discussion in Washington.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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SCHIEFFER

(PNI) They said it

"Presidents change and directors change -- you can keep changing the showbiz side, the names on the marquee -- but the ways, needs, demands, imperatives, secrets and strategies of The Agencies stay pretty much the same, except for one thing: They always want more."

Peggy Noonan,

Wall Street Journal

"But wait, the president can explain. It's not what we think. People won't have the same insurance -- they will have better insurance, administration officials assure. That's not the way some of the people receiving these letters see it. The president's original promise was so ironclad and repeated so often that any explanation now sounds like dissembling."

John Dickerson,

Slate

Top tweets

Bob Schieffer

@bobschieffer

Many people have received Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, not sure anyone appreciates it more than I do. Thanks @Cronkite _ASU!

Constantin Querard

@CQuerard

So much media coverage of how @JohnMcCain could face a "tea party challenger" if he runs again. It will be a Republican Party challenger.

Joe Arpaio

@RealSheriffJoe

If I were ever going to don a Halloween costume, it would be…The Lone Ranger.

Barrett Marson

@barrettmarson

If Landrum Taylor doesn't run for SOS, who will? Dems don't have a bench. Heck, they don't even have a footstool.

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GOP to keep focus on health-care law for 2014 races

WASHINGTON — one handed to them by the administration itself.

While Congress was arguing, Obama's plan to expand coverage for the uninsured suffered a self-inflicted wound. A computer system with design flaws gummed up the first open enrollment season. After nearly three weeks, it's still not fixed.

Republicans hope to ride that and other defects they see in the law into the 2014 congressional elections.

Four Democratic senators are facing re-election for the first time since they voted for the Affordable Care Act, and their defeat is critical to GOP aspirations for a Senate majority. Democrats say that's just more wishful thinking, if not obsession.

Although Obama's law remains divisive, only 29percent of the public favors its complete repeal, according to a recent Gallup poll.

The business-oriented wing of the Republican Party wants to move on to other issues. And Americans may be weary from the health-care fight.

'Stop the arguing'

"This is the law of the land at this point," said Michael Weaver, a self-employed photographer from rural southern Illinois who's been uninsured for about a year. "We need to stop the arguing and move forward to make it work."

It took him about a week and half, but Weaver kept going back to the healthcare.gov website until he was able to open an account and apply for a tax credit that will reduce his premiums. He's not completely finished because he hasn't selected an insurance plan, but he's been able to browse options.

It beats providing page after page of personal health information to insurance companies, Weaver said.

Under the new law, insurers have to accept people with health problems. Weaver is in his mid-50s, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but otherwise in good health. He says those common conditions made it hard for him to get coverage before.

Although Weaver seems to have gotten past the major website obstacles, he's still finding shortcomings.

There's no place to type in his medications and find out what plans cover them. "I wish there was more detail, so you could really figure it out," he said.

Congressional Republicans are favoring a less nuanced critique.

Criticism continues

"TrainWreck: Skyrocketing Prices, Blank Screens, & Error Messages," screamed the headline on a press release Friday from House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. A House hearing on the ACA rollout is scheduled for this week. GOP lawmakers want Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to resign.

Administration officials, in their most detailed accounting yet of the early rollout, said Saturday that about 476,000 health-insurance applications have been filed through federal and state exchanges. But the officials continue to refuse to say how many people have enrolled in the insurance markets.

Without enrollment figures, it's unclear whether the program is on track to reach the 7million people projected by the Congressional Budget Office to gain coverage during the six-month sign-up period.

The president was expected to address the problems today during a health-care event at the White House. The administration has yet to fully explain what has gone wrong with the online sign-up system.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake says she doesn't see how going after the health-law rollout will help Republicans by the time of next year's election.

Fixing the website

"Americans are technology optimists," Lake said.

"You tell them the website has problems today, and they'll assume it will be better tomorrow. I mean, we're Americans. We can fix a website."

Republicans are intent on making the health law an uncomfortable anchor around the neck of four Democratic senators seeking re-election in GOP-leaning states, weighing them down as they try to unseat them. Republicans need to gain six seats to seize the majority in the Senate, and any formula for control includes flipping the four seats.

Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Kay Hagan of North Carolina will face voters for the first time since they were among the 60 Democrats who voted for the health law in 2009.

More than a year before the election, Republican Rep. Tom Cotton is airing an ad that criticizes Pryor for his vote, telling Arkansans that Pryor "cast the deciding vote to make you live under Obamacare." The commercial's final image shows Pryor with Obama, who took a drubbing in Arkansas last year.

"The bottom line is these candidates will have to answer for why they voted for this bill," said Rob Engstrom, senior vice president and national political director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

If the website gets fixed, other problems may emerge. Republicans can still try linking 'Obamacare' to rising premiums, anemic job growth and broader economic worries.

Will criticism work?

The chamber spent millions on ads in 2012 criticizing Senate incumbents such as Jon Tester of Montana and Bill Nelson of Florida for their health-care votes, yet many of those candidates overcame the criticism and won re-election.

The economy, not health care, remains the top concern of voters. By putting opposition to the health-care law ahead of all other priorities, economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin says "tea party" conservatives may have overdone it.

"Obamacare was an effective campaign weapon," said Holtz-Eakin, an adviser to Republicans. "The question is, have they damaged it beyond its political viability?"

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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New rallying cry: Throw the bums out

(PNI) I am embarrassed to be an American today. Our representatives in Washington have made fools of us, as well as themselves -- some promoting stupidity, the rest not stopping them.

We need a new national mission and a new motto -- and a new rallying cry to symbolize it. I nominate "2TBO," standing for "Throw the bums out."

I suggest that we create and display bumper stickers, front-yard signs, pennants to hang on radio antennas, printed T-shirts, placards to wave about at rallies and parades and sports events. We must have a public conversation proclaiming this new concept and accept a personal commitment to use our votes to oust all presently serving federal-level elected officials in 2014, 2016 and beyond, if necessary.

Let us restore our national sanity and our pride. Americans deserves better than we are getting, and I insist that my country can and shall be worthy of itself once again.

--J. Hill, Surprise

McCain's remarks

Much can be said, both pro and con, about Sen. John McCain's political positions taken during the partial government shutdown and debt-ceiling debates.

But speaking as a long-term, loyal Republican, his highly publicized attacks on his fellow Republican senators are inexcusable, pure bush league -- like the rants of a radical, left-wing Democrat.

--John Forster,

Phoenix

Lawmakers must go

It was with great disappointment I note that the four Arizona Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives -- Trent Franks, Paul Gosar, Matt Salmon and David Schweikert -- voted against raising the debt ceiling and opening the federal government. How irresponsible, as per our Constitution, the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned.

What happens if I as a citizen don't pay my loans? Repossession results. So it is time that these four be repossessed during the next election as Arizona must do better and have better representation in Congress.

--Rollin L. Stark,

Scottsdale

Traitorous politicians

I have two words for the traitorous politicians attempting to bring our great nation to its knees: "tar" and "feathers"!

--Jim White, Glendale

Government's job?

While reading the editorial Tuesday, "If Congress acts, don't clap," I noted the last paragraph, which I think may have been an error.

It stated, "The only heroes in this tragedy are the Americans who still believe their government can -- eventually -- do the right thing."

It should have stated, "The only heroes are the Americans who still believe their government can -- eventually --do everything!" That is, food stamps, free cellphones, free health care (a lie), subsidized housing, free lunches for grade school kids, and the list goes on.

--Barbara Woltz,

Surprise

GOP's next wave

The path to Republican Party dominance is finally clear.

For the near future, they have lost the Black, Hispanic and independent voters. "Tea party" and far-right-wing voters will still control the primary selections, and true conservatives will vote for Democratic candidates while holding their nose.

Democrats gain control of all branches of the government. The tea party and Religious Right lose their traction.

The next wave of Republican Party candidates are thoughtful moderates that focus on restoring the middle class, developing a workable immigration policy, an improved health-care program and promote gay and women's rights.

Voters respect the change in the party and the pendulum swings again.

--Earl Barrett,

Phoenix

Under 'Cruz control'

Americans, it's time to get back in the driver's seat and take control of this out-of-control Congress, which is unable to make compromises and just keeps kicking the can down the road.

The national debt is continuing to rise and the nation's economy to deteriorate. It's time to put this vehicle under "Cruz control," Texas style.

We need to support Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who will attempt to reduce spending and move this country towards a balanced budget.

--Dess Chappelear,

Sun City West

Kids' consequences

Concerning the Arizona State University drunk-and-disorderly students:

The fault lies completely at the hands of the students who are choosing to drink, get drunk and drive. The problem is that they do not care about any consequences, short-term or long-term.

That brings the question: "What will it take for them to care?"

More immediate consequences are needed. Longer jail time and larger fines for drinking offenses. Nothing else seems to be working. Alcohol education seems to have only added to their drinking.

Sadly, how many will never see the end of college because of a final consequence? We shall see.

--Trae West, Phoenix

Enforcement broken

During the immigration debate, we frequently hear the statement: "We need to fix our immigration policy; it is broken."

For me, the only thing broken is the lack of enforcement. The federal government has been absent for political purposes.

There is nothing wrong with immigrants coming to America; what is wrong is when it is done illegally. No one has the right to demand legal status when that person broke immigration laws to get here. Sometimes, the answer is too simple for the politicians to figure out. It is time to clean house.

--Michael Grassia,

Mesa

Negotiations needed

Negotiations on sequester but not on "Obamacare"? Both are the "law of the land."

--Phil Pizzi, Mesa

Kids figured it out

My daughter was talking back to the news on the radio as she was driving her children home from school. She was expressing frustration at the political standoff in Washington with the debt ceiling, government shutdown and the general mess we are in.

Her 9-year-old son asked her what was going on. She must have done a pretty good job of explaining it because he said, with very firm disgust, "Mom, that's a dity."

When she asked him what a "dity" is, he replied: "It's dumb and a pity with a hint of ridiculousness."

The kids have it figured out; why can't our great leaders?

--Aggie Angerer,

Phoenix

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House Republicans, Obama seek end to budget stalemate

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON Negotiations to end the government shutdown and avert default continued Friday as Senate Republicans huddled with President Barack Obama privately to discuss a pathway out of the impasse.

POLL: MOST FAULT REPUBLICANS FOR SHUTDOWN

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed more people blaming Republicans than President Barack Obama for the shutdown, 53percent to 31percent. Just 24percent viewed the Republican Party positively, compared with 39 percent with positive views of the Democratic Party.

"The question is: Can you get something in the next 72 hours? The president seems committed to being engaged in it, and he hadn't been up to this point, so I'm optimistic," said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., after the meeting.

House and Senate Republicans appear to be pursuing different negotiations with the White House, and it is unclear whether either proposal can win over Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is leading congressional Democrats in the negotiations.

Democrats have resisted GOP efforts, led by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to engage in budget talks until the government is reopened and the debt ceiling is increased before the Oct.17 deadline.

Day 11

The shutdown, in its 11th day Friday, began when Republicans demanded a delay or defunding of the Affordable Care Act in exchange for their votes to keep the government running.

The funding discussion has now snowballed to include a plan to increase the U.S. borrowing limit so the nation can continue to pay its bills on time. Republicans have since moved on from focusing solely on the health care law to seeking broader concessions on fiscal issues.

Congress will continue to work through the weekend. House Republicans will huddle Saturday morning and the Senate is scheduled to vote on a key procedural hurdle to move ahead with a 15-month increase in the debt ceiling with no conditions attached.

House Republicans have offered a short-term path to resolve the shutdown and avert default in order to reach a broader budget deal, while Senate Republicans appear to be mulling longer-term solutions in order to reach an agreement.

Stopgap measure

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is working with senators in both parties on a budget framework that includes a six-month stopgap funding bill and suspends the debt ceiling through January. The extensions would give Congress breathing room to reach a broader budget agreement.

"I believe that still gives us plenty of leverage to work out a long-term fiscal plan, but it removes the threat of an immediate default," Collins said Friday.

Multiple Senate Republicans said the conversation with the president did not include the competing House proposal that would increase the debt ceiling for six weeks.

Republicans have also proposed a short-term stopgap spending bill to reopen the government after Obama rejected their proposal for only a debt ceiling increase.

Senate Republicans seem eager to resolve the impasse. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., cited a "devastating" NBC/WSJ polled released Thursday that showed the Republican Party's favorability at an all-time low. "I know that they're reading the polls," McCain said of House Republicans.

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