The far right may have finally lost its death grip on the Arizona Legislature

Cue the hallelujahs.

The first sign of hope has been spotted at the state Capitol – that long-awaited signal that the Arizona Legislature is at long last ready begin work on the actual problems confronting the state.

I’m guessing the Arizona Freedom Caucus is in a full-out sweat about now.

For months, the Legislature’s hard-right bloc has called most of the shots, both because House and Senate leadership have allowed it and their more traditional Republican conservatives are leery of risking a MAGA challenge in next year’s primary election.

Thus came a new rule making it impossible for any rogue Republican to work with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs unless House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen approved, and another that required the approval of the majority of the Republican majority before any Democratic bill could be brought to the House floor for a vote.

Thus came the bills to battle drag queens and regulate pronouns and such – bills that have no hope of becoming law – while the state’s real problems have gone largely unaddressed.

Then Liz Harris happened.

Liz Harris was the burr in Toma's socks

Even before she joined the Legislature, this election conspiracy squadster was a burr inside Toma’s socks.

There she was, elected to be the 31st and deciding Republican vote in the House and what does she do? She announces she won’t be voting for any bills until there’s a redo of the 2022 election.

Which led to the initial defeat of the Republicans’ “skinny budget” and the potential demise of all Republican legislation, given their one-vote majority.

Which reportedly led Toma making a deal to get her to vote yes.

Which led to that disastrous joint legislative election hearing – the one in which one of Harris’ invited speakers accused Toma and a who’s who of other public officials, judges and private citizens of taking bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Which led to her ouster.

18 Republicans broke the far-right chokehold

Last week, the Freedom Caucus’s chokehold on the Legislature was lifted when Harris was bounced out of her seat for “damaging the institutional integrity of the House” by scheming to allow fantastical but baseless testimony, then lying about it to the House Ethics Committee.

The motion to expel her came from Toma, who stood as the votes were cast. Stood, as if to wrest away control from the Freedom Caucus that has seemed to run the joint.

When it was done, 18 Republicans joined with Democrats to send Harris packing.

Thirteen Republicans, most of them members of the Freedom Caucus, were rolled over.

It’s not the first time they’ve been rolled.

Ten of the 13 in February opposed a bill to waive the aggregate spending limit, a move that would have meant disaster for Arizona’s public schools.

And it won’t be the last.

An epiphany from the adults in the room

Remember those 13.  Most of them, I suspect, won’t be much of a factor from here on, as the real work of this legislative session gets under way.

Most of them likely won’t matter when it comes to negotiating a state budget or addressing the state’s crying need for stronger water laws and more affordable housing and teachers who don’t flee Arizona’s classrooms.

On this, the week that the Legislature is supposed to adjourn, there is finally hope that sanity may be setting in – or at least a recognition from the adults in the room that solving the state’s problems will require a bipartisan approach.

Oh, it’s not exactly dogs and cats living together, but it’s a start.

That’s got to be good for Arizona.

Who voted to keep Liz Harris?

Here are the 13 Republicans who voted to keep Harris in the Legislature: Neal Carter of Queen Creek, Joseph Chaplik of Scottsdale, David Cook of Globe, Gail Griffin of Hereford, Liz Harris of Chandler, Justin Heap of Mesa, Rachel Jones of Tucson, Alexander Kolodin of Scottsdale, Cory McGarr of Marana, Barbara Parker of Mesa, Jacqueline Parker of Mesa, Kevin Payne of Peoria and Austin Smith of Wittmann.

Reach Roberts at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Arizona broke the far-right's death grip on the Legislature