Short attention span musing - democracy isn't for dilettantes edition

- If, in 2019, someone told me that our election center should nicknamed "Fortress Democracy." I would have laughed.

Then 2020 happened.

From AP -

Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its top officials are going on offense

The room sits behind a chain-link fence, then black iron gates. Guards block the entrance, which requires a security badge to access. The glass surrounding it is shatterproof.

What merits all these layers of protection is somewhat surprising: tabulating machines that count the votes during elections in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The security measures are a necessary expense, said the county recorder, Stephen Richer, as Arizona and its largest county have become hotbeds of election misinformation and conspiracy theories that have led to near continuous threats and harassment against election workers.

[snip]

The false claims, promoted by prominent Republicans such as presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, have driven protesters to rally outside vote-counting centers and to patrol drop boxes. The claims have fueled death threats against election workers and their families and prompted top election officials to quit across Arizona.

The battleground state also has become a target for attacks from election meddlers and other bad actors who repeatedly attempt to hack or disable the state’s electronic systems, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said.

- It seems that throwing ideological bombs is preferable to actually, you know, governing.  At least it is for certain people..

From The Independent (UK) -

Marjorie Taylor Greene insists she doesn’t want ‘chaos’ after second threat to oust House Speaker

Marjorie Taylor Greene has defended her bid to oust Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson - after threatening to do so in January - and insisted that she was not seeking to throw the government into “chaos”.

The Georgia representative and other far right members of the House opposed the $1.2trn federal spending package that passed Congress this past week, and claimed that it was full of wasteful spending.

She denounced Mr Johnson as “willing to do the bidding of [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer”.

[snip]

Ms Greene denied that the House’s paralysis is due to far-right conservatives, or the second effort to oust a speaker in six months.

“Those people stepping down early and leaving, are the ones leaving us at risk of the Democrats controlling the majority, not me,” the congresswoman said.

She's not the only GOPer in the House who is ticked at Johnson over the budget deal.

- It seems redundant to make a deep fake video about a dilettante, but it sure can be entertaining.

From Arizona Agenda, written by Hank Stephenson -

Hey Agenda readers!

We have a very special announcement today. 

To our great surprise, Kari Lake, the former newscaster turned political candidate and frequent subject of our derision, offered to film a testimonial about how much she likes the Arizona Agenda. 

[snip]

At least, did you spot it before she told you?

Or — like most people that we’ve shown this to — did it take a second for your brain to catch up even after our “Deep Fake Kari Lake” told you she was fake?

 

Many commentators/outlets have bemoaned the effect of deep fake videos on politics.

My concern is the effect of AI-generated videos on credibility; nobody will be able to believe what they see.

And while I believe that the destruction of credibility, especially institutional credibility, is an end goal of MAGA types, it will go far beyond politics.

Can you say "reasonable doubt"?

Arizona getting (mostly) national exposure, and (mostly) not in a good way

...First up, the national debt ceiling, something used by MAGA types and other ideological terrorists to threaten America.

From Politico -

Biden beware: Manchin and Sinema align with Republicans in debt negotiations

Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema saved the filibuster and cut down President Joe Biden’s agenda, delighting Republicans. Now they’re breaking with Democrats on the debt limit, and Republicans hope they keep it coming.

The two centrists, who spent Biden’s first two years in office at odds with the left, are glaring outliers on the debt drama in the party’s 51-member Senate caucus. While their Democratic colleagues insist on no negotiations until the debt ceiling is lifted, Manchin and Sinema are not only pushing for a bipartisan deal but positioning themselves as potential players in any future Senate talks on a way out of the crisis.

Referring to Manchin and Sinema as "centrists" is mislabeling them.  Better to refer to them by what they are - "Republicans in everything but name."

...Why do we keep electing Paul Gosar?

From the Southern Poverty Law Center -

CONGRESSMEN TO MIX WITH LEADER OF FPÖ, A PARTY 

FOUNDED BY NAZIS

At CPAC Hungary this week, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Rep. 

Barry Moore of Alabama will speak alongside a global collection of 

radical-right figures, including the leader of an Austrian political party 

founded by Nazi SS officers.

CPAC Hungary, an offshoot of the U.S.-based Conservative Political Action 

Conference, puts that country’s autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a 

global spotlight for a second consecutive year, surrounding him with 

like-minded figures from across the world. Orbán is an authoritarian leader 

whom Tucker Carlson regularly lauded on his show before Fox News 

canceled it last month. In addition to Orbán’s history of corruption and 

hostility to press freedom, he has given voice to the great replacement 

conspiracy theory espoused by radical-right extremists.

...Arizona, back to being punch line material for the rest of the country.

From the NBC series Night Court, broadcast on May 2, via TVFanatic, emphasis added by me -

Olivia: Where do you feel most safe?
Gurgs: Uh, the basement level of Bed, Bath, and Beyond; the world of aquatic birds at the Bronx Zoo; and this court.
Olivia: Yes! You love this court! It’s the thing I understand least about you, and you love Daylight Savings Time.
Gurgs: Well, I love anything that Arizona is not involved in.

Olivia is played by India de Beaufort and Gurgs is plated by Lacretta

...There's one good thing; at least, the geek in me thinks it's good. :)

From KPNX, written by Kevin Reagan -

Fontes officially declares Thursday as 'Star Wars Day' in Arizona

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has officially declared Thursday as "Star Wars Day" in the Grand Canyon State. 

The proclamation coincides with May 4, a day often associated with the beloved 1977 film due to a classic line spoken by Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan Kenobi character. 

The line was "may the Force be with yo."

Primary Ballots Are In!

While I've decided who I'm going to vote for in some of the primary races, regardless of how they turn out, everyone involved seems to be a decent human being.  As such, there won't be any "nose-holding" in the general election.

No matter who emerges from the primaries, I hope the runners-up stay involved in the political process.  Their energy is needed, both to help the primary winners in the general election, and to be leaders for the rest of us.

When I "hold my nose" and vote for someone in spite of my misgivings because that person is better than the alternative, I may be right about the "better" part, but I still usually regret the vote (see: Sinema, Kysten).

Having said that, I *have* made a few decisions.

In the governor's race, I'll be voting for Katie Hobbs.  I've known her since she was an LD24 legislator and I lived in LD24.  She was impressive then, is impressive as Secretary of State, and I think that she'll make a great governor.

In the race for secretary of state, I'll be voting for Adrian Fontes.  He did a fantastic job as Maricopa County Recorder, and will be an outstanding SOS.

I live in LD5 now (didn't move; just got redistricted) and that's where I haven't made up my mind yet.

All pics (except the ballot) from the website of the AZSOS; federal candidates here; statewide candidates here, and legislative candidates here.

Ummm...so who wants to tell him?

Mark Finchem seems to have a bit of a problem with the truth.  At least, with the telling of it.

First, he lied about his whereabouts at the January 6 insurrection.

From Jerod MacDonald-Evoy at the AZ Mirror -

Mark Finchem was much closer to the Jan. 6 insurrection than he claimed

Newly discovered footage taken during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot shows Arizona GOP legislator Mark Finchem was much closer to the day’s violence than he has previously claimed. 

Finchem has insisted that he never got within 500 yards of the Capitol building, but Getty footage of the failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election that was recently discovered by activists on Twitter shows Finchem walking directly in front of the east steps at the Capitol after pro-Trump rioters had already broken through a series of barricades and police lines, and then smashed their way into the Capitol building.

Then, there's this (from Twitter) -

Yes, he seems to believe that the future? Arizona Secretary of State and the current Arizona Secretary of State (and future? Governor of Arizona are more responsible for skyrocketing gasoline prices than the people running Big Oil.

Or maybe he just wants others to believe it.