Thursday, November 27, 2008

AZ's Legislative Republican Picking Their Targets...

...and it looks like that in addition to education, Mexicans and other minorities, poor people, the future of the state, and plain ol' common good, one of their targets this coming session will be the press.

From Matt Benson at the AZ Rep's Political Insider -
Those of us in who inhabit the Senate press room just received this notice, proving the axiom that no good news ever arrives after 5 p.m. on the evening before a holiday (what, you've never heard that?)

Anyway, below is the letter. It was addressed to Howie Fischer, Capitol Media Services reporter and dean of the Capitol Press Corps (he's been in this room since 1982. Just ask him.).

Dear Mr. Fischer:

This letter is to inform you that the Arizona state Senate will not be renewing the current lease ending December 31, 2008, for the media space within the Arizona Senate building.

Arrangements are being made for you to continue to lease space from the Arizona Legislative Council on the Capitol Complex in the old Capitol. The Legislative Council will be mailing out a new lease that is similar in all material respects with a few modifications.

The new lease amount is not anticipated to increase over the next lease term. If you choose to enter into a new lease with the Legislative Council, please respond as soon as possible so the space can be made ready for occupancy January 1, 2009.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Timothy Bee, Arizona Senate President


Now, I don't understand why they've targeted Howie Fischer or why they want the press out of the proximity of Senators. Fischer is not only the dean of AZ's political reporters, he's one of the fairest. He just reports the news and other developments at the lege honestly.

Of course, given the hyper-partisan nature of the incoming Republicans, that honesty may be the thing they dislike the most about Fischer. An honest reporting of their activities over the next two years may be just the medicine that the Arizona Democrats need.

Note1 - I don't normally quote MSM pieces in their entirety, but this one was short and it was all relevant.

Note2 - There is a possibility that while Bee's letter was addressed to Fischer, it applies to all media operations based in the press offices in the Senate building. I would check on that, except that it's Thanksgiving and there's no one around to answer that question, and either way, it doesn't change the point of this post.

Have a happy and safe holiday!

Later!

2 comments:

Thane Eichenauer said...

"Of course, given the hyper-partisan nature of the incoming"

Come now, I realize that some people have become inured to characterizations that Republicans whose political positions you don't like have to be characterized as "hyper-" or "ultra-" but I still hope that some modern day liberal will just call a conservative a conservative and leave it at that.

I am only now considering the possibility that Barack Obama isn't a socialist (yes I read HumanEvents.com).

Is there no source of info that can just call a rose a rose without characterizing it as a hyper-red rose?

Craig said...

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

I stand by the description of many of the Reps in the legislature as "hyper-partisan" because, well, they are.

Note that I'm talking about their partisanship, not their conservative-ness (is that actually a word? LOL).

Disagreement is part of democracy and the democratic process. If someone can't handle the fact that someone might have an idea that different than their own, they need to walk out to the desert, find their rock, and crawl back under it.

While some "hyper" or "ultra" characterizations may have been unfair, "hyper" is a mild term when it is used in reference to the AZ Republican Party.

The Reps in the lege, both rookies and returning veterans, tend to work to exclude Democrats from all aspects of the legislative process. Whether it is Jack Harper refusing to bring a Democrat-sponsored bill before his committee or now-former Speaker Jim Weiers exclusion of House Democrats from the annual budget process, the Reps in the lege take partisanship to new extremes.

The jury is still out on new speaker Kirk Adams, but the senate, with new president Bob Burns, new Appropriations chair Russell Pearce, and the entrenched Harper, looks to be ready to exclude all Democrats and their constituents from any consideration this session.