A list to make your eyes water

I wish I could take credit for this one, but the list is from an email from Chad Campbell, Democratic State Representative from LD14 and House Democratic Whip.

The list -

For the past 18 months, Arizona’s economy has languished. Jobs have been lost, schools have been starved of funding and the budget deficit has loomed. Have the Republicans who control the Arizona State Legislature worked to fix these problems? No. But they HAVE kept themselves busy!


Here are 15 of the most outrageous things the Republicans have been spending their time (and our resources) on:

1) Cut $1.2 billion out of Arizona’s already dismally funded public education system and forced schools to loan the state government another $1 billion to help balance the state budget.

2) Voted to give a $1 billion tax cut to special interests and the rich.

3) Tried to make milk the official state drink.

4) Eliminated the need for a person to get a permit and complete training to carry a concealed weapon.

5) Passed legislation banning human-animal hybrids in Arizona. We should all be thankful that imminent threat was taken care of…

6) Voted to deny over 47,000 children access to KidsCare.

7) Allowed guns in bars.

8) Increased property taxes and asked voters to tax themselves, but refused to close tax loopholes that allow country club memberships, spas and pet grooming to be exempt from the sales tax. Clothes and school supplies are subject to the tax.

9) Voted to override renewable energy requirements created by the Arizona Corporation Commission, jeopardizing solar industry jobs and economic investments statewide.

10) Made it a crime for teachers to talk to students of color about their own history and heritage.

11) Based environmental policies on the belief that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, as cited by a state senator.

12) Cut off services to 36,500 seriously mentally ill patients, creating a public safety threat as those individuals start to wander through Arizona’s communities homeless, untreated and unmedicated.

13) Jumped on the extreme band wagon of the so-called “birther” movement that questions President Obama’s citizenship, requiring US Presidential candidates to show proof of US citizenship to be on the Arizona ballot.

14) Eliminated funding for Science Foundation Arizona, a public private partnership created to stimulate both high tech economic development and science and math education efforts to ensure Arizona has a high-tech work force. The $25 million annual state funding would have leveraged $100 million in private funding for the project over four years.

15) Passed bills that make it harder for childless couples to take advantage of infertility research to have a family.

We’ve had over 40 years of a Republican controlled legislature that has refused to address the serious issues facing our state, so this shouldn’t be surprising. These examples come from the past couple of years alone!

I would love to hear if you have any examples of the outlandish actions we’ve seen from the Republican leadership in Arizona. Reply to this email to tell me your favorites!

And more importantly, please join our fight to get our state back on track by electing representatives who understand the importance of the challenges we face. To volunteer with the Democratic Party, please visit http://www.azdem.org/action/volunteer/ or contact me via my website at http://www.chadcampbell.org/.

Later...