Capitol Quotes 5/22

“I think we can do at least three, maybe five. I mean, we’re not going to privatize death row, obviously.” — Rep. John Kavanagh, a Republican from Fountain Hills, speaking about the possibility of privatizing prisons. The comment was made less than a week before the release of a Senate Appropriations budget proposal that included the privatization of the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman, which includes the state’s death row.

“The biggest room in the House is the room for improvement.” — Rep. Carl Seel, a Republican from Phoenix, talking to a reporter May 21 about the budget.

“We cannot hold law enforcement agencies accountable for their performance when they can file any performance they want.” — Goldwater Institute attorney Clint Bolick, criticizing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the methods used by the Sheriff’s Office to report case-clearance statistics to the FBI.

“This whole flap we’ve had over putting in checks and balances has been way overblown.” — State Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen, commenting on his relationship with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.