The chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party blasted Republican lawmakers led by Senate President Russell Pearce on Wednesday as the state's Legislature ended its 2011 regular session.

"Mainstream and middle-class Arizonans can breathe a little easier now that the state Legislature is out of session," Andrei Cherny said. "But it's a sad day for fringe extremists and corporate lobbyists who are seeing the close of the best Legislature they'll ever have."

"The Russell Pearce Republicans used their supermajority to kill jobs, maim education and slash public safety. They pulled the rug out from under the middle class while doing the bidding of corporate lobbyists. And they wasted precious time on birther bills, tea party license plates, and other useless legislation that appealed only to a small, extreme fringe group of the Republican Party."

A "birther" bill that would have required presidential candidates to prove they are natural born American citizens before their names can appear on the Arizona ballot was vetoed by the state's Republican governor on Monday. Another bill that would have allowed guns on university and college campuses was also vetoed by the governor.