Statewide candidate update

 Courtesy the website of the AZSOS -

Masche is best known as a reality TV star who was arrested.

Konarski has been to the US Supreme Court over a lawsuit against the City of Tucson.  He's got a long history of antipathy toward Tucson and poor people.

Garett, her office intentions unclear (hence the inclusion here - she may have formed a state level committee, but not a federal level one [at least, I couldn't find one on the FEC's website]), has previously indicated an interest in running for US Senate.

Not a candidate committee, but a PAC to keep an eye has been formed.  From the IRS' website -

The contact, Youssef Khalaf, has ties to Kirk Adams.

From page 149 of the 2011 journal of the AZ House of Representatives -

The GOP's new/old favorite word - "Conflate"

 From Merriam-Webster -

Want an example?

From Taegan Goddard's Political Wire -

GOP Lawmaker Says Vaccine Drive Is Part of Biden Plot

July 9, 2021 at 11:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) said that the Biden administration’s immunization drive sounded more to him like a plot to begin confiscating firearms and doing away with religion.

The last time I checked, vaccines and Covid have nothing to do with guns or religion, but GOPers aren't going to let facts get in the way of a talking point..

GOP mantra, apparently: If at first you don't succeed, hide it all from the public

Maybe we should just demand that our ballots be returned, and returned undamaged.

After all, they're ours, and the AZLege and its contractors/employees are supposed to represent us, right?

Apparently, my idealism is running wild tonight. :)

From KJZZ - 

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann's Attorney: The Public Has No Right To Know Who's Paying For The Maricopa County Ballot Audit

On Wednesday, the attorney for Senate President Karen Fann told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Kemp that the public has no right to know who is paying for the audit of the 2020 election the Senate is conducting.

However, Kemp questioned the attorney’s arguments. 

"Isn't the public entitled to know who is paying for this, what President Fann referred to as [a] constitutional and legislative function, this important constitutional duty? Isn't the public entitled to know who's paying for this?" Kemp said.

The attorney for Fann is Kory Langhofer, an R fixer of long standing, and he's the kind of lawyer that gives other lawyers a bad name.

GOP gameplan: When the truth doesn't work for you, go with a lie

 And the bigger the lie, the better.

And *no*, I'm not talking about Cheeto and the lie about the 2020 election told by him and his enablers.

I could be, though.

One of them, Doug Ducey (as well as most other Arizona Rs) likes to repeat the R talking point that folks are leaving California in droves for states like Arizona.

One problem with that.

It ain't so.

From a UC San Diego survey -

Some people have a great attachment to California, while others don’t like it at all. Taking everything into account, how would you describe California as a place to live? 

One of the best places to live 42.4% 

Nice but not an outstanding place 35.5% 

About an average place to live 14.3% 

Rather poor place to live 7.8% 

[Source: September 2019 Berkeley IGS Poll and prior Field Polls]

[snip]

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “The California Dream still works for people like me and my family”? 

Completely/Somewhat Agree 64.1% 

Completely/Somewhat Disagree 35.9%

[snip]

Thinking ahead to one year from now, how likely do you think it is that you will be moved out of California and living in another state? 

Very likely to move out of California 13.6% 

Somewhat likely 25.1% 

Not likely 33.8% 

Definitely will not move out of California 27.5%

From a UCLA study on immigration to and from California -

What?!? Is anyone really surprised that old people like to move here or that less educated Californians like it here?

Balance time - 

Read the entire studies.

Also, read UC press release regarding the studies.

Katie Hobbs wants Mark Brnovich to do his job.

 IMO, she shouldn't expect that to happen.

Ever.

Hobbs

From CBSNews -  

Arizona secretary of state asks for investigation into possible election interference by Trump, Giuliani

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Wednesday called for the state's attorney general to investigate possible efforts by former President Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others to pressure Maricopa County election officials during vote-counting in November.

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Citing a report in the Arizona Republic, Hobbs said in a letter to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich that the alleged conduct by Mr. Trump, Giuliani, conservative lawyer Sidney Powell and Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward may have violated a state law that prohibits interfering with election officials. 

"Arizona law protects election officials from those who would seek to interfere with their sacred duties to ascertain and certify the will of the voters," Hobbs said. "At the polling place, this law protects the right to vote. At the counting center, it protects the accuracy of results, free from political interference. But what protection exists for officials who fulfill their duties despite threats of political retribution if the person empowered to enforce the law is unwilling to do the same?"

More here.

When did anti-intellectualism become a political stance?

Coming soon to a BOLO near you...

And yes, it's obvious Cheeto still runs things on the conservative side of the political aisle.

From CPAC (their list of speakers, and not a Nobel prize winner among them):

Donald Trump

Matt Schlapp

Ben Carson

Kristi Noem

Rick Perry

Autry Pruitt

Scott Walker

Gordon Chang

Maj Toure

Jim McLaughlin

Chad Wolf

David Bernhardt

Candace Owens

Richard Grenell

Donald Trump Jr.

Matthew Whitaker

Robert O'Brien

Sara Carter

Pam Bondi

Bill Lee (the governor of TN, not the pot-smoking former Red Sox pitcher)

Mercedes Schlapp

Ben Ferguson

Stephen Miller

Mike Berry

Jeff Landry

Josh Hammer

Eva Guzman

Dan Patrick

Charlie Gerow

Marsha Blackburn

Bill Hagerty

Rick Scott

Brian Babin

Jim Banks

Andy Biggs (yes, one of Arizona's great shames)

Lauren Boebert

Ken Buck

Ted Budd

Markwayne Mullin

Michael Burgess

Michael Cloud

Mo Brooks

Madison Cawthorn

Doug Collins

Ben Cline

Byron Donalds

Russ Fulchers

Lance Gooden

Yvette Herrell

Jody Hice

Ronny Jackson

Tracey Mann

Devin Nunes

Gary Palmer

Greg Steube

Mark Walker

Roger Williams

Jason Chaffetz

Ken Paxton

Alex Berenson

Dana Loesch

Jack Brewer

James O'Keefe

Glenn Beck

Lawrence Jones

Veronica Birkenstock

Jason Rantz

Kurt Schlichter

Hiroaki Aeba

Jesse Kelly

Brooke Rollins

Tammy Bruce

Todd Starnes

Julio Rosas

Amanda Milius

Terry Schilling

T.W. Shannon

Jenny Beth Martin

Andrew Wheeler

Whew!  The list would have been easier to write, and still be true, if it was summed up as -

Trump

Trump enablers

Trump apologists

Women Trump wants to boink

Also there - Debbie Lesko (another of AZ's great shames) and Jim Lamon (a candidate for US Senate from AZ).  My guess is that some of the "special guest" people on the agenda will include Paul Gosar and/or one of the leaders of the pro-Trump insurrection on January 6th.

And that's the conservative "A" team; 76+ names, cumulative EQ probably somewhere around 140.

The "B" team may have an EQ that goes into negative numbers.

Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law in Washington, DC

Couldn't, and probably wouldn't, happen to a nicer guy. 

Gotta love it when Chemtrail Kelli is in a pic with TFG and the Farter-in-Chief.

From CNN - 

Rudy Giuliani's law license has been suspended in Washington, DC, after he temporarily lost his license in New York for pushing election lies and that state court system looks further into his case.

The appeals court in DC said Giuliani would be suspended from working as an attorney in the city "pending outcome" of his situation in New York, according to disciplinary court records.

 

The rats are deserting the sinking ship

 Wonder if Cheeto is feeling the walls of Mar A Lago closing in?

From Salon - 

Mo Brooks throws Trump under the bus in response to lawsuit accusing him of inciting MAGA mob

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) claims in a new court filing that he was asked by a White House official to speak at former president Donald Trump's infamous "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Alabama Republican was given Trump's endorsement for the U.S. Senate after making the speech, which a lawsuit alleges helped incite the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol, but Brooks' attorneys responded by insisting he only took part because the former president wanted him there.

Maybe he's already selected the interior design for his cell.

Spoiler alert: the COs there won't care.

From The Hill -

Mary Trump: Ivanka 'much less likely to stay loyal' to father than Weisselberg

Mary Trump, former President Trump’s niece and vocal critic, says that his daughter Ivanka Trump is “much less likely to stay loyal” to her father than Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who is facing more than a dozen fraud and conspiracy charges.

Weisselberg pleaded not guilty last Thursday to 15 charges against him, including tax fraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records. He and the Trump Organization have denied wrongdoing, though prosecutors have indicated that their investigation is ongoing and more charges could be coming

If people die as a result of your "celebration", you're celebrating wrong.

 From CNN - 

At least 150 people fatally shot in more than 400 shootings over the Fourth of July weekend

At least 150 people were killed by gun violence in more than 400 shootings across the country during the Fourth of July weekend as major cities nationwide confront a surge in violent crime, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive.

The data, which includes the number of shooting incidents and gun violence victims nationally over a 72-hour period from Friday through Sunday, is still evolving and will be updated.

Apparently Philly has enough homegrown rectums with two legs, they aren't interested in importing any new ones

From Yahoo! News - 

White supremacist marchers 'ran away' from Philly residents, police say

Members of a white supremacist group marching through Philadelphia on Saturday evening "ran away" from city residents who confronted them, according to police.

Demonstrators, who police said were from out of town and were reportedly members of the Texas-based Patriots Front, chanted while holding American flags and shields, according to WPVI, an ABC affiliate.

So...how long before Fox News/OAN/Breitbart/etc. start whining about "cancel culture"?

And Philly, while this doesn't make up for throwing snowballs at Santa, good job on this one.

Fauci: 'Go the extra mile' and wear mask in places with low vaccination rates

Dear Arizona: Regardless of your age, political leanings, or financial status, GET VACCINATED. 

From The Hill -

The nation's top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday that people should “go the extra mile” and wear masks in areas with low vaccination rates even if they’re fully vaccinated.

“If you put yourself in an environment in which you have a high level of viral dynamics and a very low level of vaccine, you might want to go the extra step and say, 'When I'm in that area where there's a considerable degree of viral circulation, I might want to go the extra mile to be cautious enough to make sure that I get the extra added level of protection even though the vaccines themselves are highly effective,'" Fauci told anchor Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Not sure if his suggestion applies to AZ (really don't know); per the Mayo Clinic's vaccine tracker, AZ is ranked 21st in terms of the percentage of the population that is fully vaccinated.

Note: I'm fully vaccinated but wear a mask when I'm out, not because of this but so the folks around me have one less thing to worry about.

Statewide candidate update

No new Democratic candidates at this time, and one R that I missed in a earlier post (apologies to readers for that omission),

Beau Lane is an R ad agency exec (candidate for AZSOS) and David Livingston (candidate for AZ Treasurer) is, well, "colorful".

Pic from an April 24, 2014 blog post, and pic courtesy the Twitter feeds of the AZGOPers who journeyed to the Bundy insurrection in NV.

Changes

 Due to a conflict, I will no longer cross-post Arizona-specific material at Blog for Arizona.

Any such material will be posted here and tagged with "Arizona".

I learned a few things during my time as one of their writers and I hope they and their readers benefited from my voice, but things happen.

The US' first lady cares more about Arizonans than does AZ's governor

 From KJZZ -

'Do It For Your Children': Jill Biden Calls On Arizonans To Get Vaccinated

First lady Jill Biden is asking Arizonans to get vaccinated. She stopped in Phoenix on Wednesday to highlight the need for higher COVID-19 immunization rates in the state.

Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff visited a vaccination event at a west Phoenix middle school. After greeting teenagers who were there to receive the Pfizer vaccine, Biden and Emhoff spoke to an audience that included several Arizona lawmakers and tribal leaders. Biden pointed out Arizona’s vaccination rate is behind the national average.

Yet, while someone from DC wants Arizonans to get vaccinated, Doug Ducey is bragging about letting up on Covid.  From the governor's own website - 

Governor Doug Ducey Rescinds 25 Pandemic-Related Executive Orders

Governor Doug Ducey today is rescinding 25 Executive Orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic following action by the Arizona Legislature to codify into law many of the policies enacted by the Executive Orders to protect against excessive mandates, including mask usage in schools and prohibiting vaccine passports.

Yup, he's running for something in 2024; I don't yet know if he'll be running for POTUS/VPOTUS or against Kyrsten Sinema for Senate.

Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, announces his intent for a 2024 run for president

Not in so many words, of course, but witness these headlines/stories from OH over the last couple of days -

From MSN -

Ohio governor signs budget that includes provision allowing medical providers to deny services to LGBTQ people

From The Hill -

Ohio governor deploys nearly 200 National Guard members to US-Mexico border

From WJW, a Fox affiliate in Ohio -

Gov. DeWine: The Delta variant advances in Ohio, ‘I’m worried’

People in OH are getting infected and even dying, and he claims to be "worried" but that worry won't interfere with his full on embrace of his (and the Republican base's) unmitigated embrace of the "fear of the other".

P.S - the last time I looked (which was during the composition of this post), Ohio shared borders with Kentucky, Michigan, Canada (across Lake Erie), Pennsylvania, Indiana, and West Virginia,

Know what it doesn't share a border with?

Mexico.

Yet he's sending members of the OH National Guard to the border with Mexico.

Do the math.