Russell Pearce may deride the U.S. government, saying that "states' rights" supercede any central authority, but he doesn't hold the same for Arizona's cities and towns in their dealings with the central authority of the Arizona state government.
First, his SB1070 would have shanghaied municipal police officers into his anti-immigrant purging force, no matter what the elected leaders of those municipalities thought their employees should be doing (you know, like preventing or investigating crimes in their jurisdictions). It may still do so, but the law is winding its way through the courts.
Then, perhaps feeling that the City of Glendale is lax in fighting against the encroachment of Native Americans upon the Valley (yes, that's sarcasm. Native Americans of one tribe or another were here long before the first settler with European roots. Pearce is a small "n" nativist, not a capital "N" one.), Pearce has tried to interject himself into Glendale's legal conflict with the Tohono O'odham over a proposed tribal casino next to that city.
Pearce doesn't represent any part of Glendale (of course, that's a minor detail, considering that he doesn't actually work to represent his "official" constituents in West Mesa), nor is the legislature or the state government involved in the fight, but he still wants to meddle in the affairs of Glendale and the Tohono O'odham.
Finally, this past spring, he pushed through a bill, SB1108, that allows people to carry concealed firearms without a permit or even training. Beside that, it included a provision requiring that legitimately confiscated weapons be sold to gun dealers, unless such action would violate "FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL LAW."
He thought he had ensured a steady supply of low-cost product for local gun dealers.
Until a number of municipalities started passing ordinances requiring that confiscated weapons be destroyed (the "local law" segment of the above provision).
Now, he decries the "loophole" in the law (a law that he wrote and was the sole sponsor of) that allows cities and towns to determine their own procedures and governance, and has promised to "fix" the law so that cities and towns have no option but to put forfeited weapons back into public circulation.
So the man who doesn't help Mesa, even though he has been elected to represent part of it, wants to interfere in the local affairs of *other* cities?
It's time for the voters of LD18 to make a change and elect somebody who will actually represent them.
Vote for Andrew Sherwood for State Senate.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Lies, more lies, and the truth...
My friend and fellow blogger, Texan Jobsanger, has been citing and complimenting some of my posts recently. It's time to return the favor.
His post, "8 Lies Republicans Want Us To Believe" is worth of a look, so worthy in fact that it rises to the level of being worthy ofstealing reposting. :)
Here it is:
Later...
His post, "8 Lies Republicans Want Us To Believe" is worth of a look, so worthy in fact that it rises to the level of being worthy of
Here it is:
During this election campaign the American public has been inundated with lies from the Republican Party. Some of these lies have been told and repeated for so long that they have assumed the proportions of myth, and are accepted by a great many Americans. But they are still just Republican lies.
I have been trying to attack these lies one at a time, and have written several posts about them. But Dave Johnson over at Campaign for America's Future has combined them into one very good post. He cuts through all the BS and exposes these mythic lies, and then tells the truth about them. Here are those 8 lies:
1) President Obama tripled the deficit.
Reality: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first budget reduced that to $1.29 trillion.
2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.
Reality: Obama cut taxes. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt, which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been.
3) President Obama bailed out the banks.
Reality: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.
4) The stimulus didn't work.
Reality: The stimulus worked, but was not enough. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.
5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.
Reality: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.
6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.
Reality: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion.
7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.
Reality: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to.
8) Government spending takes money out of the economy.
Reality: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget.
Don't believe the lies being told by Republicans. They just want to return to power, and they'll say anything to do that. If the American people fall for this nonsense and return them to power, the recession will continue unabated and the country will be damaged for many more years. Remember when you go to the polls this November, it was the Republican policies that put the American economy in the mess it is in right now and those policies have not changed.
Later...
Latest adventures of Schweikert and the voter
This is a parody of David Schweikert and the tea party platform (Obama/Pelosi BAD! Corporate tax cuts GOOD!)
New Brewer video...
...and it's definitely scary enough for pre-Halloween viewing...
Hat tip to Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times for the heads-up on this...
Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman has put together a video compilation of some of Jan Brewer's creepiest utterances as a sort of independent Get Out The Vote effort.
Hat tip to Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times for the heads-up on this...
Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman has put together a video compilation of some of Jan Brewer's creepiest utterances as a sort of independent Get Out The Vote effort.
CD5: All Politics Isn't Just Local, It's People
Nearly two decades ago, former House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill published a followup to his best-selling autobiography (Man of the House) titled "All Politics Is Local."
That's a truism that all successful elected officials, before and since, have taken to heart. Taking care of the district that elected them and understanding its needs is paramount for any elected looking to be a "re-elected."
Even more important than that, though, is people.
Specific artificially-created land areas on a map like political districts don't have needs, the people who live in those districts do.
Districts don't vote for candidates, people do.
And most importantly for the point of this post, districts don't form the backbones of political campaigns, people do.
The ground game of any campaign, particularly in a close race like CD5, is what makes the difference on Election Day.
An effective ground game that connects with voters can turn back a high-powered and heavily-funded aerial attack.
All of the TV ads and mailers funded by secretive corporate front groups and bungee campaign appearances by national figures employed by Fox News mean nothing next to volunteers talking to their neighbors.
In this, Harry Mitchell's lifetime of service to Tempe, Scottsdale, and Arizona is standing him in good stead.
People are turning out in droves to help defend the man who has worked for them for decades, from teaching their children in school to advocating for them in the halls of Congress.
His ground game, hundreds of volunteers dialing or knocking and talking, is thumping the Schweikert campaign's.
Over Columbus Day weekend, the Schweikert campaign bragged about making 5000 calls to voters.
By comparison, the Mitchell campaign made over 50,000 calls that same weekend.
It's not just on the holiday weekends that the respect and affection for Mitchell is showing through.
Anecdotally, this past weekend, I was at the Mitchell campaign office to make some calls. I put down my stuff to go get some water before getting on the phones. By the time I returned to that particular phone just a couple of minutes later, somebody else had already moved in to that seat and was making calls. I had to wait a little while (~15 minutes) before another station opened up.
More than the volunteers in the office and out walking in neighborhoods, thousands of voters across the district have turned out for dozens of house parties for Mitchell.
By contrast, the Schweikert campaign's ground game seems to be floundering.
Just this past weekend, they sent out a "desperate" call for volunteers (their word, not mine) to do the things that the Mitchell campaign's volunteers have been doing for months - walk and talk to their neighbors.
Early last week, they sent out an equally desperate email, calling for "volunteers" to make their campaign office look busy during a visit from a reporter from the national political news site, Politico.
From the email from the Schweikert campaign's volunteer director, forwarded to me (misspellings theirs, not mine) -
There's no need for it - -the only times when I haven't seen the office busy is when most volunteers were out walking neighborhoods.
The sad thing is, in a close race in a Republican-leaning swing district, money can make a difference, and David Schweikert has access to a LOT of out-of-state corporate cash. Just during the writing of this post, I've seen at least three Schweikert spots on TV, none actually paid for by Schweikert. (My favorite: the perfectly-timed for Halloween spot paid for by John McCain with McCain and Jon Kyl touting Schweikert while wearing dark suits in front of a black background. They look like disembodied heads floating in the air from a cheesy grade-Z horror movie from the 1950s. Seriously spooky.)
He may not be *earning* the seat, but we are in danger of he and his allies *buying* the seat.
There are eight days left before the election, and Harry Mitchell needs our support, votes, and time more than ever. Keeping the phones staffed and neighborhoods covered is what will put Harry over the top.
Sign up here to volunteer to walk or call voters between now and Election Day.
That's a truism that all successful elected officials, before and since, have taken to heart. Taking care of the district that elected them and understanding its needs is paramount for any elected looking to be a "re-elected."
Even more important than that, though, is people.
Specific artificially-created land areas on a map like political districts don't have needs, the people who live in those districts do.
Districts don't vote for candidates, people do.
And most importantly for the point of this post, districts don't form the backbones of political campaigns, people do.
The ground game of any campaign, particularly in a close race like CD5, is what makes the difference on Election Day.
An effective ground game that connects with voters can turn back a high-powered and heavily-funded aerial attack.
All of the TV ads and mailers funded by secretive corporate front groups and bungee campaign appearances by national figures employed by Fox News mean nothing next to volunteers talking to their neighbors.
In this, Harry Mitchell's lifetime of service to Tempe, Scottsdale, and Arizona is standing him in good stead.
People are turning out in droves to help defend the man who has worked for them for decades, from teaching their children in school to advocating for them in the halls of Congress.
His ground game, hundreds of volunteers dialing or knocking and talking, is thumping the Schweikert campaign's.
Over Columbus Day weekend, the Schweikert campaign bragged about making 5000 calls to voters.
By comparison, the Mitchell campaign made over 50,000 calls that same weekend.
It's not just on the holiday weekends that the respect and affection for Mitchell is showing through.
Anecdotally, this past weekend, I was at the Mitchell campaign office to make some calls. I put down my stuff to go get some water before getting on the phones. By the time I returned to that particular phone just a couple of minutes later, somebody else had already moved in to that seat and was making calls. I had to wait a little while (~15 minutes) before another station opened up.
More than the volunteers in the office and out walking in neighborhoods, thousands of voters across the district have turned out for dozens of house parties for Mitchell.
By contrast, the Schweikert campaign's ground game seems to be floundering.
Just this past weekend, they sent out a "desperate" call for volunteers (their word, not mine) to do the things that the Mitchell campaign's volunteers have been doing for months - walk and talk to their neighbors.
Early last week, they sent out an equally desperate email, calling for "volunteers" to make their campaign office look busy during a visit from a reporter from the national political news site, Politico.
From the email from the Schweikert campaign's volunteer director, forwarded to me (misspellings theirs, not mine) -
I am in urgent need of your help. I need a ton of phone callers in the office tomorrow from 1:30pm until 3:30pm.. Here is why-- We have reporters coming in from one of the biggest political sites in the nation. We need to look like the best run, well staffed campaign in the natin..I've never seen such an email from the Mitchell campaign, even though they also received a visit from a Politico reporter.
There's no need for it - -the only times when I haven't seen the office busy is when most volunteers were out walking neighborhoods.
The sad thing is, in a close race in a Republican-leaning swing district, money can make a difference, and David Schweikert has access to a LOT of out-of-state corporate cash. Just during the writing of this post, I've seen at least three Schweikert spots on TV, none actually paid for by Schweikert. (My favorite: the perfectly-timed for Halloween spot paid for by John McCain with McCain and Jon Kyl touting Schweikert while wearing dark suits in front of a black background. They look like disembodied heads floating in the air from a cheesy grade-Z horror movie from the 1950s. Seriously spooky.)
He may not be *earning* the seat, but we are in danger of he and his allies *buying* the seat.
There are eight days left before the election, and Harry Mitchell needs our support, votes, and time more than ever. Keeping the phones staffed and neighborhoods covered is what will put Harry over the top.
Sign up here to volunteer to walk or call voters between now and Election Day.
Chris Deschene on KNXV-TV
Video courtesy Phoenix's channel 15.
The campaign website of Chris Deschene, Democratic candidate for Arizona Secretary of State, is here.
The campaign website of Chris Deschene, Democratic candidate for Arizona Secretary of State, is here.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Pic of the cycle...
Just in time for both Halloween and next Tuesday's election.
Emailed from a friend in Tempe...
Emailed from a friend in Tempe...
Sunday good thoughts from Rose Mofford
Simple and direct...
Pic of the artwork courtesy an email from the Goddard campaign, original artwork courtesy former Governor Rose Mofford...
Pic of the artwork courtesy an email from the Goddard campaign, original artwork courtesy former Governor Rose Mofford...
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Entering the home stretch in Arizona...
and something tells me that Jan, her clan, and the rest of the Rs are happy that the election cycle comes to an end on November 2, not December 2.
From the East Valley Tribune -
It's getting closer, but to put Terry, and Chris, Felecia, Andrei, Penny, and Manny. over the top, sign up here to volunteer with the Arizona Democratic Party or your local county or coordinated campaign office.
Being exhausted from a day of canvassing or phone banking will suck, but a single night's sleep will recharge your batteries.
Years of Republicans holding statewide office will suck worse, and it will take years, even generations, to fix the damage.
Nine days of campaigning left. Nine days for the future of Arizona.
Note on 10/24: something goofy happened with the formatting of this post. It's been corrected.
From the East Valley Tribune -
Goddard catching up with Brewer in final weeks of gubernatorial campaign
Gov. Jan Brewer's large lead over Democrat Terry Goddard is eroding in the final weeks of a campaign that once looked like a runaway victory for the Republican incumbent
{snip}
While Brewer led Goddard by 20 points in July, she's supported by 38 percent of likely voters compared with Goddard's 35 percent, according to a Behavior Research poll conducted the first 10 days of October. The gap between the candidates narrowed as support for Goddard rose during the survey.
Libertarian Barry Hess and the Green Party's Larry Gist had 6 percent between the two of them.
It's getting closer, but to put Terry, and Chris, Felecia, Andrei, Penny, and Manny. over the top, sign up here to volunteer with the Arizona Democratic Party or your local county or coordinated campaign office.
Being exhausted from a day of canvassing or phone banking will suck, but a single night's sleep will recharge your batteries.
Years of Republicans holding statewide office will suck worse, and it will take years, even generations, to fix the damage.
Nine days of campaigning left. Nine days for the future of Arizona.
Note on 10/24: something goofy happened with the formatting of this post. It's been corrected.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Congratulations to the Texas Rangers!
They have defeated the loathsome New York Yankees (gee, can ya might think I'm a Red Sox fan or something :) ) and are advancing to their first World Series appearance ever.
As much as I don't like mixing baseball and politics, their victory brings to mind a question (pointed out by a FB friend) -
George W. Bush ran the Texas Rangers for 5 years, from 1989 until 1994, and it's taken the Rangers 16 years to right their ship. And after that 16 years, people all over Texas and the country are rejoicing.
Yet Bush ran the entire country for *8* years (60% longer) and messed up everything, and people are livid that Barack Obama hasn't fixed everything in less than 2 years (87% less time).
What's up with that?
As much as I don't like mixing baseball and politics, their victory brings to mind a question (pointed out by a FB friend) -
George W. Bush ran the Texas Rangers for 5 years, from 1989 until 1994, and it's taken the Rangers 16 years to right their ship. And after that 16 years, people all over Texas and the country are rejoicing.
Yet Bush ran the entire country for *8* years (60% longer) and messed up everything, and people are livid that Barack Obama hasn't fixed everything in less than 2 years (87% less time).
What's up with that?
What is it with Arizona and its treasurers?
It seems that a certain segment of Arizona's politicians don't seem to understand that there is a difference between "representing" Arizonans, and "preying" on Arizonans...
Exhibit A: Former State Treasurer David Petersen. A former state legislator who resigned in disgrace from the state treasurer's job after an investigation into his improper use of public monies to fund his private business activities (ironically, the business was as a "character education" provider).
Exhibit B: Current and soon-to-be former State Treasurer Dean Martin. A former state legislator who should (but won't) resign in disgrace from the state treasurer's job after proudly proclaiming on a national radio program his status as a vulture investor who is profiting from the scandal-plagued foreclosure crisis that is wracking families across Arizona and the country.
Exhibit C: Former Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert. A former state legislator who has been outed as a predatory vulture foreclosure investor, like Martin above. He's been at it longer than Martin, and so is more accomplished at it - there have been illegal evictions (one served on a 12-year-old child, according to a court filing) and citations and fines for letting the properties he has acquired fall into disrepair, scarring the surrounding neighborhoods.
So let's see - they've got legislative experience in common, they've all been publicly-elected treasurers, and they aren't overly encumbered by ethics in their financial dealings.
What else could PeteRsen, MaRtin, and SchweikeRt have in common? I wondeRRRRR...
Anyway, while he has never been a legislator, Doug Ducey, R candidate for Arizona State Treasurer, is arguably already more accomplished at predatory and corrupt financial dealings than any of the others.
May he never get the chance to add "publicly-elected treasurer" to the list of things that he has in common with Schweikert, Martin, and Petersen, and may Schweikert not get the chance to take his brand of vulturism to D.C.
We need more public servants in public office, not more predators using public office for their private gain.
Vote for Andrei Cherny and Harry Mitchell.
Exhibit A: Former State Treasurer David Petersen. A former state legislator who resigned in disgrace from the state treasurer's job after an investigation into his improper use of public monies to fund his private business activities (ironically, the business was as a "character education" provider).
Exhibit B: Current and soon-to-be former State Treasurer Dean Martin. A former state legislator who should (but won't) resign in disgrace from the state treasurer's job after proudly proclaiming on a national radio program his status as a vulture investor who is profiting from the scandal-plagued foreclosure crisis that is wracking families across Arizona and the country.
Exhibit C: Former Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert. A former state legislator who has been outed as a predatory vulture foreclosure investor, like Martin above. He's been at it longer than Martin, and so is more accomplished at it - there have been illegal evictions (one served on a 12-year-old child, according to a court filing) and citations and fines for letting the properties he has acquired fall into disrepair, scarring the surrounding neighborhoods.
So let's see - they've got legislative experience in common, they've all been publicly-elected treasurers, and they aren't overly encumbered by ethics in their financial dealings.
What else could PeteRsen, MaRtin, and SchweikeRt have in common? I wondeRRRRR...
Anyway, while he has never been a legislator, Doug Ducey, R candidate for Arizona State Treasurer, is arguably already more accomplished at predatory and corrupt financial dealings than any of the others.
May he never get the chance to add "publicly-elected treasurer" to the list of things that he has in common with Schweikert, Martin, and Petersen, and may Schweikert not get the chance to take his brand of vulturism to D.C.
We need more public servants in public office, not more predators using public office for their private gain.
Vote for Andrei Cherny and Harry Mitchell.
Funny, but painfully true, video parody of David Schweikert and the Tea Party platform
A new video is up on YouTube. It's definitely worth a chuckle, especially if you're watching the CD5 race.
Or have to deal with another tea party candidate ("Obama, Obama, Obama! Pelosi, Pelosi, Pelosi!" - priceless! :) )
Or have to deal with another tea party candidate ("Obama, Obama, Obama! Pelosi, Pelosi, Pelosi!" - priceless! :) )
It's getting Ugly out there...
As we approach Election Day, any Republican facade of civility is sloughing off in the heat of the races.
Witness recent developments:
- A conservative astroturf group, "Latinos for Reform" released a Spanish-language TV spot that attempted to suppress Latino voter turnout...
- GOP/tea party operatives are running voter suppression efforts in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, and elsewhere that are specifically targeted at Democratic-leaning minority communities...
- Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) has announced his latest effort to inflict his vision of ethnic purity on America - he's targeting the 14th Amendment and its provision that grants citizenship to children born in the USA.
It won't succeed, and I suspect Pearce knows that, but it keeps the conversation on a topic that the Rs think they can win on - demonization of the "other" - and may provide the fading Jan Brewer an SB1070-like bump at the polls.
- A Pearce clone in Florida, State Rep. William Snyder, has proposed a version of the infamous SB1070, one that carves out an exemption for white people in the form of a presumption that anyone from Canada or a "visa waiver" country is in the U.S. legally.
The vast majority of the countries that are part of the visa waiver program are European; none are Latin American.
- Then just yesterday, Congressman Raul Grijalva's Tucson office was shut down and evacuated after someone sent it a swastika-covered package containing a toxic substance.
Lies, hatred, threats of violence - the Rs are pulling out all the stops this year, and the only way to stop them is to urge your family, friends, and neighbors to stand strong for their community against the Republicans, their contempt for civility, and their fear-mongering.
Everybody who can vote, *should,* and they should be able to exercise their rights free from intimidation and fraudulent attempts to stifle their participation America's political process.
Note: The Arizona Humanities Council will present a screening of the documentary 9500 Liberty on Tuesday evening at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe. 9500 Liberty covers the effects (and failure) of an SB1070-like law in Prince William County, Virginia.
Details:
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
6:00-8:00 pm
Arizona Historical Society Museum
1300 N. College Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85281
Later...
Witness recent developments:
- A conservative astroturf group, "Latinos for Reform" released a Spanish-language TV spot that attempted to suppress Latino voter turnout...
- GOP/tea party operatives are running voter suppression efforts in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, and elsewhere that are specifically targeted at Democratic-leaning minority communities...
- Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) has announced his latest effort to inflict his vision of ethnic purity on America - he's targeting the 14th Amendment and its provision that grants citizenship to children born in the USA.
It won't succeed, and I suspect Pearce knows that, but it keeps the conversation on a topic that the Rs think they can win on - demonization of the "other" - and may provide the fading Jan Brewer an SB1070-like bump at the polls.
- A Pearce clone in Florida, State Rep. William Snyder, has proposed a version of the infamous SB1070, one that carves out an exemption for white people in the form of a presumption that anyone from Canada or a "visa waiver" country is in the U.S. legally.
The vast majority of the countries that are part of the visa waiver program are European; none are Latin American.
- Then just yesterday, Congressman Raul Grijalva's Tucson office was shut down and evacuated after someone sent it a swastika-covered package containing a toxic substance.
Lies, hatred, threats of violence - the Rs are pulling out all the stops this year, and the only way to stop them is to urge your family, friends, and neighbors to stand strong for their community against the Republicans, their contempt for civility, and their fear-mongering.
Everybody who can vote, *should,* and they should be able to exercise their rights free from intimidation and fraudulent attempts to stifle their participation America's political process.
Note: The Arizona Humanities Council will present a screening of the documentary 9500 Liberty on Tuesday evening at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe. 9500 Liberty covers the effects (and failure) of an SB1070-like law in Prince William County, Virginia.
Details:
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
6:00-8:00 pm
Arizona Historical Society Museum
1300 N. College Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85281
Later...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
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