Jack Harper wants a promotion

...He's leaving, but he's not leaving soon enough, and he's not going far enough, to benefit the state.

State Rep. Jack Harper (R-Surprise) today announced that he will not seek reelection in November.  He sent out an email to supporters stating his desire to run for Arizona Secretary of State and then, perhaps, be an ambassador to a foreign country.

Not exactly being one of his supporters, I wasn't included on the email distribution list. (Shocking, that.  :)) )

However, our Jack is a dedicated user of Twitter.  From his Twitter feed -

Zeroing in -

For once, I'll leave the wiseass comments to you the reader.  Mostly.

Realistically, Harper has almost no chance to get through a Republican primary, and for the second-highest elected office in the state, there surely will be one (he won't be challenging the current AZSOS, Ken Bennett.  Bennett is term-limited and will be running for governor in 2014.)

For an open seat that is a heartbeat away from the 9th floor, Republicans of all stripes will be going for that office (that means that the SOS is next in line for the governorship, and given that it has been a quarter-century since Arizona had a governor who both entered and exited office as the result of an election, most recent AZSOS' have ascended to the governor's office.  Which is on the ninth floor of the state capitol's Executive Tower.)

In fact, Harper has a better chance at becoming an ambassador.  So long as he doesn't get too picky about his assignment.

Currently, the US has only a "Virtual Presence Post" in Somalia, but for someone of Harper's caliber,
I'm sure that the State Department will find the money in their budget to put up a new facility in Somalia.

If one considers a lean-to against the back of a broken-down Winnebago to be a "facility."

Note:  I went with pics of the tweets in question instead of simply quoting them because if/when Harper's SOS campaign fails, those tweets could disappear.

Bundgaard's out, but the fun at the lege never ends...

...It just reboots...

...The coda to the 2011 session of the Arizona legislature took place just three days before the convening of the 2012 session.  The Senate Ethics Committee held its inquiry into the actions of Scott "Fists of Fury" Bundgaard relating to his February assault of his then-girlfriend.

After witness after witness gave damning testimony against him, Bundgaard chose to resign from the Arizona State Senate rather than take the stand himself.  The resignation effectively ends any further inquiry into the events in February as the worst punishment that the Ethics Committee could have recommended was Bundgaard's expulsion from the Senate.

It should have happened months ago, but Bundgaard spent those months trying to blame everyone but himself for his actions when he had no one to blame but himself.

He never should have assaulted his girlfriend, and once he did, he should have stood up, 'fessed up, and then shut up.

He didn't.

Good riddance.

...On Monday, or "today" as many people will be reading this,  the legislature will open its 2012 session to great pomp and circumstance...ok, a lot of handshaking and picture taking.  And the Governor's annual state of the state address.

They won't get much work done this week, which may be a good thing, as Bundgaard's resignation leaves the Senate down two members, as Kyrsten Sinema submitted her resignation shortly after the beginning of the year.  She left the Senate so the work there doesn't distract from her campaign for a seat in Congress.

Others who may join Bundgaard and Sinema in resigning in the near future include Sens. Frank Antenori and Ron Gould (likely, as both are "exploring" runs for Congress) and Paula Aboud and Rep. Matt Heinz (less likely, but they have been the subject of speculation regarding possible candidates if Gabrielle Giffords passes on running for reelection).

Of course, if Giffords doesn't run, *every* southern AZ legislator, past and present, will be the subject of rumors surrounding that seat.

And then there's northern AZ where incumbent Congressman Paul Gosar has chosen to move to Prescott to run for a different district than the one he currently represents.  His current home of Flagstaff is now in a more competitive district and rather than face a stiff general election fight from Ann Kirkpatrick or Wenona Benally Baldenegro or any other Democrat, he has decided to move to a district that is safer for Rs.  There he will face the above-mentioned Gould and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu (and possibly others, but those look to be the three big names in the race).

Gosar's relocation of his carpetbags to the south opens up that district's Republican race for legislators from northern and rural AZ, as well as perennial candidates like mining lobbyist Sydney Hay.  Others, like Gary Pierce, current chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, and Bill Konopnicki, a former legislator, are also rumored to be interested in the seat.

It's safe to expect more resignations before the session is done, perhaps even before the month is done.

Aside from the conjecture about which people who are members of the lege right now but won't be around when the session ends, there is also speculation about possible bill proposals this year.

Gould has already vowed to bring back "guns in schools" legislation, plus the Arizona Citizens Defense League is pushing a proposal to allow hunters to use silencers.  More in this Arizona Republic story from Alia Beard Rau and Mary Jo Pitzl.

Bills that have already been filed for the 2012 session can be found here.

Russell Pearce trying for a political comeback

...and in at least this observer's opinion, that's a good thing...for Arizona's Democrats and Independents.

In November, former state senate president Russell Pearce became the first sitting legislator in Arizona history to be successfully recalled.  Now, he is planning for a political comeback.

Donna at Democratic Diva has a report quoted from The Yellow Sheet, the Arizona Capitol Times' pricey political gossip rag, and other outlets (R blogs mostly) have copies of an email that support the Cap Times' story, Russell Pearce's next political move.

He's running for 1st Vice Chair of the Arizona Republican Party.

Now some will say that Pearce should just stay gone, and I understand that position.  However, I respectfully disagree with it.

One of the down sides, perhaps the ONLY down side, of Pearce's recall was that Democratic candidates all over the state could run by making Pearce and his arrogance, abuse of office, and divisiveness the poster child of the AZGOP and all of its candidates.  His ouster took that away, because politics is definitely an "out of sight, out of mind" enterprise.

His possible...ok, *probable*...return will serve to keep him in the public eye, and cause some of the contempt the voters have for him and his misdeeds to wash over onto all AZ Republican candidates.

As Donna speculated before me, this may just be a move to put himself in line for the chair of the AZGOP after this cycle, but that's only speculation on my part. 

For some reason, I'm not on the "good Republican" email distribution lists.  :)

To Russell Pearce:  Please don't out of this race like you did when you (almost) ran against Jeff Flake in 2007/2008.  The sane and reasonable majority in Arizona needs you...to serve as a negative example.

To AZGOP state committee members:  Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease be blindly loyal to one of your past electeds, no matter how craven his misdeeds.  We need you (and him) to remind voters of the true face of the GOP.

Candidate and campaign committees update

As expected, with the calendar turning to the new year, campaign season is heating up.

...As expected, Democratic state senator Kyrsten Sinema resigned her office and announced that she is running for Congress, most likely in the new 9th Congressional District.  She doesn't live in the district, but under federal law, she only has to live in the state, not the district. 

As of right now, she is the only official candidate in the race, though State Senator David Schapira is exploring a run, and AZ Dem chair Andrei Cherny and others are rumored to be considering a run for the seat also.  Republicans who are rumored to be eyeing the seat include Hugh Hallman, the outgoing mayor of Tempe, and Steve Moak, who lost to Ben Quayle in the CD3 R primary last year.

...Also as expected, Republican Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu officially announced that he is running for Congress, probably in the new CD4.  State Sen. Ron Gould is still officially exploring a run and will announce his decision soon.

Other potential candidates are expected to announce their intentions in the coming days and weeks.

On the legislative front, new candidates/committees include:

Scott Prior of Apache Junction, Libertarian

Matthew Cerra of Mesa, Democrat

Reginald Bolding of Laveen, Democrat

Ed Bunch of Scottsdale, Republican

Ken Cheuvront of Phoenix, Democrat (a former state senator, looking for a return to the Senate)

Douglas Coleman of Apache Junction, Republican

Jean Cheuvront McDermott of Phoenix, Democrat (between her middle/maiden name and the fact that Ken is the chair of her election committee, it's probably a safe guess that she is related to Ken Cheuvront)

Scott Morris of Peoria, Republican

Judy Novalsky of Apache Junction, Republican

Kelly Townsend of Gilbert, Republican (a tea party type, who went to many meetings of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission to berate the commissioners for not producing Republican-friendly maps)

More to come...

The Tucson shooting, one year later: memorials, dedications, and celebrations

It's been almost a year since the mass shooting in Tucson, when Jared Loughner shattered the peace of a quiet Saturday by taking a pistol with an extended ammo clip and shooting as many people as he was able to before he was tackled by bystanders while he reloaded.

When the smoke cleared, six of his victims lay dead or dying while 13 others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded.

As the anniversary approaches, different folks and organization are commemorating the anniversary in different ways.

...Tonight (Wednesday, January 4) at 7, Channel 12 (Phoenix) will be airing a program that includes retired Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor and a group of students discussing ways that the next generation can bring civility to public discourse.  Inspired by and in honor of Christina Taylor Green, the youngest victim of the Tucson shooting.

...Earlier today, a trailhead east of Tucson was dedicated in honor of Gabe Zimmerman, one of the fatalities in Tucson and a staffer for Congresswoman Giffords.  On a related note, on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. there will be hikes up South Mountain in Phoenix in honor of Zimmerman, a noted hiker.  The event in Phoenix will also be a food drive for St. Mary's Food Bank.

...Saturday, there will be a candlelight vigil at the state capitol on West Washington in Phoenix, starting at 7 p.m.

...Sunday at 1 p.m., there will be an interfaith memorial service at St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave., Tucson.  The service will include Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Baha'i and Sikh prayers and rituals.

...Sunday at 3 p.m. at University of Arizona's Centennial Hall, The Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding will sponsor REFLECTIONS: Honoring the Lives of the January 8 Shooting Victims.  A series of speakers, mostly colleagues or friends of the victims, will speak about the lives of the victims and survivors.

...Sunday at 6:30 p.m., there will be a vigil on the University of Arizona Mall.  Hosted by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and The University of Arizona Medical Center, the vigil will feature a number of speakers, including Ron Barber, a survivor of the shooting, Jonathan Rothschild, mayor of Tucson, and Mark Kelly, husband of Gabrielle Giffords.

...and last, and certainly least appropriate, the gun-toters crowd is celebrating ignoring (Really!  The date is just a coincidence!  Just ask the organizers!) the deaths and shattered lives by holding a gun show on the anniversary.

From KVOA -

With the anniversary of the January 8th tragedy less than a week away, we've learned a gun show is coming to Tucson that very day.

"I don't understand why they would do it that day. Not the day that Gabrielle Giffords was shot," said Casandra Ridlinghafer.

Wonder if they will have a special on Glocks with extended clips at the show?

The website Remembering January 8th has a more complete list of events here.  Reports are that Congresswoman Giffords will attend some events, but her schedule has not been announced.

2011: The year in review in Arizona politics

2011 was a memorable year in Arizona politics, beginning with a horrific January Saturday in Tucson and culminating on a historic November Tuesday, with all sort of goings-on in between and after.

...The biggest story of the year was also the first major story of the year, the most shocking, and easily the most tragic.

On a quiet Saturday morning in early January, Tucsonans were going about their business, shopping at a Safeway and stopping to talk to their hometown Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

That quiet was shattered when a gunman opened fire, killing six people and wounding 13 others. 

Among the wounded:  Congresswoman Giffords, who was shot through the brain.  She is still recovering from her wound, though she is making remarkable progress.

The fatalities (courtesy KVOA):

-John Roll, 63, a federal district court judge.
-Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, Giffords' director of community outreach
-Dorwan Stoddard, 76, a pastor at Mountain Ave. Church of Christ.
-Christina Green, 9, a student at Mesa Verde Elementary
-Dorothy Morris, 76
-Phyllis Schneck, 79

...In any other year, the most surprising story would also have been the biggest political story. 

Russell Pearce, the (in)famous state senator from west Mesa, became the first sitting state legislator in Arizona history (and so far as anyone has found, the first sitting state senate president in US history) to be recalled.  The recall effort was lead by Randy Parraz and powered by the energy of hundreds of volunteers.  While its success was a surprise to many observers (including me), it shocked and infuriated Pearce, his friends, and his allies.

...Arizona's redistricting process was particularly acrimonious.  When the voters created the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) in 2000, we actually wanted an *independent* and impartial commission to lay out the lines for Congressional and legislative districts.  Ten years ago, the Republicans were able hijack the process by successfully planting a Republican into the position of chair of the commission, who is supposed to be independent (as in neither a D nor an R).  They were able to get the maps that they wanted, ensuring control of Arizona's legislature and Congressional delegation all out of proportion to their actual voter registration percentage.

This time around, they were less prepared and an actual independent slipped through and on to the AIRC.

And the Republicans FREAKED.

They spent the summer sending out panicked calls to their tea party wing, and the TP'ers responded by haranguing the AIRC at most of the dozens of public meetings and hearings held by the Commission.  When that didn't intimidate the AIRC into crafting maps that were lopsided in favor of Republican incumbents, they convinced Governor Jan Brewer to remove that independent, Colleen Mathis.

That removal was overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court.  The AIRC then continued its work.  Now, individual legislators are threatening lawsuits because they don't like their individual districts.

This one will definitely trickle over into 2012, and may make next year's "year in review" post.

...Another one that will trickle over into 2012 is the ongoing saga of State Sen. Scott "Fists of Fury" Bundgaard.  He was involved in a February "domestic violence incident".  That is a euphemism for "he beat up his girlfriend by the side of a Phoenix freeway."

Since that February Friday, Bundgaard and his supporters (amazingly enough, he still has a few), he has done everything he can to avoid being held accountable for his actions.

He's invoked legislative privilege against arrest to get out of being arrested, blamed his victim for his violent acts, sued the Senate Ethics committee twice to keep it from looking into his behavior, and pled no contest to a lesser charge.

The Ethics Committee investigation is scheduled to begin on January 5, 2012, so the next chapter of the Bundgaard saga will be written next year.

...In June, the lege held a special session, ostensibly to correct a couple of words in Arizona law so that the Arizona's long-term unemployed could collect some extended unemployment benefits.  The Republicans in the lege ultimately refused to help their constituents, even though doing so would not have cost the state a dime.  That wasn't surprising news.

What was surprising (though maybe it shouldn't have been) was the brazen contempt for the people of Arizona that many of the Rs displayed.  The worst may have been Sen. Don Shooter (R-Yuma).  He show up for the session dressed in a serape and sombrero and swigging from a bottle of tequila.

It was his idea of a joke.

...In yet another development that will continue over into 2012, the disciplinary proceeding against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is continuing.  A final decision is due in February, but the State Bar of Arizona is pushing for Thomas' disbarment.

...On the Joe Arpaio front, after one of his biggest allies and closest friends Russell Pearce lost his job in November, Arpaio saw the change energy that had been directed at Pearce refocused on him.  First came withering criticism of his department's sacrificing of sex crimes investigations and the victims of those crimes in order to move MCSO resources into his camera-friendly anti-immigrant sweeps.  Then came a report from the US Department of Justice that detailed the mismanagement of MCSO and the mistreatment of Latinos by Arpaio and his underlings at MCSO.  That has fueled widespread calls for Arpaio's resignation.

One of 2012's biggest stories will be the outcome of this - resignation, retirement (i.e. - not running for reelection), an electoral loss, or an outright win to salvage his political career.

Best guess at this point: Retirement, but it's only a guess.

If  you have anything you think should be added, feel free to do so in a comment.

Have a great new year everybody!

Some legislators are going district shopping

From the Arizona Republic, written by Mary Jo Pitzl -

The new legislative district map is living up to its promise of promoting competition, but perhaps not in the way some lawmakers envisioned.

With its redrawn political boundaries, the map pits numerous incumbents against each other in potential party primaries. The speaker of the House and the president-elect of the Senate are among those facing likely primary challenges this year.

Because of the changes, lawmakers are checking real-estate listings, moving into a second residence and even threatening lawsuits as they try to figure out how to keep a seat in the Arizona Legislature after the 2012 elections.

Among the legislators listed as considering a move to another district, or just simply whining about not liking the voters that they'd have to deal with in their new districts:

Jerry Weiers (R-Glendale) - move and whine
Lori Klein (R-Anthem) - whine
Debbie Lesko (R-Glendale) - move and whine
David Smith (R-Cave Creek) - whine
Oliva Cajero Bedford (D-Tucson) - move
Matt Heinz (D-Tucson) - move

At least the Ds weren't whining, but I have to ask all of the legislators named in the article, as well as those with similar plans and thoughts but who weren't mentioned by name:

Given that the average citizen doesn't have the option of owning two homes or picking up everything and moving for a job, how can people who do own two homes or are in a position to move for a job that pays all of $24K (officially, anyway) per year claim to be "representative" of the voters in *any* district?

Also, even more to the point, Arizona's government is ideally supposed to be overseen by "citizen legislators" performing a temp job, and not "career politicians."  The average person will consider moving for a career, but not for a temp job.  Anybody have an explanation of the apparent disconnect here?

Personally, I find the whining the most unseemly.  These people who are supposed to look out for the best interests of the Arizonans in their districts and neighborhoods (yes, I'm just a wild-eyed idealist) are showing that they place a higher priority on their own convenience than on their constituents' interests.

They also seem to have forgotten that the voters get to pick their representatives, not the other way around.

Early bill filings for the 2012 session of the legislature

It's early, but a number of bills have been pre-filed for the 2012 session of the Arizona legislature.

A large number are "technical correction" bills, or bills that exist mostly to serve as shells for strike-everything amendments late in the legislative session.

Some are head scratchers, meaning that either I don't really understand what they do, or do understand but don't see the point.  Most of those have names like Harper, Allen, or Seel attached as sponsors and so are presumed to be bad.  Very bad.

With the other bills, there's no doubt.  They're just plain ugly.

A few of the high/lowlights -

HB2022, Rep. Jack Harper's annual proposal to repeal the one year waiting period on former legislators coming back as paid lobbyists

HB2024, one of the head scratchers relating "waste of finite resource; repeal".  I think it has to do with a specific kind of speeding violation, which doesn't sound too bad.  However, it is sponsored by Sylvia Allen, Chester Crandell, Brenda Barton, Michelle Ugenti, and John Fillmore.  There are a few leaders of the lege's tin foil hat brigade on that list, so the bill is probably a bad one.

HB2035, Kimberly Yee's attempt to undermine the voter-approved medical marijuana law by punishing health care providers who prescribe medical marijuana for other than "an accepted therapeutic purpose."  That doesn't seem too unreasonable, until you realize she doesn't actually specify the definition of "accepted therapeutic purpose".  While the AMA concedes that medical marijuana has benefits, the federal government adamantly disagrees.

HCR2004, a not-quite-a-proclamation of secession in the form of a declaration of Arizona's sovereignty over the federal government, courtesy of Allen, Barton, and Crandell.

HCR2005, a proposed amendment to the AZ constitution to require periodic reauthorization of any voter-approved initiatives that affect state spending by requiring that certain things are funded.  Call this "the Legislature really hates having its hands tied by the voters" measure.

HCR2006, a proposed amendment to the AZ constitution from Jack Harper, Judy Burges, and Carl Seel.  It's yet another attempt to create school vouchers, this one geared to "helping" students in public schools with an average class size of 35 or more pupils. 

Interesting.  They force class sizes to balloon by making massive cuts to education funding to pay for tax cuts for corporations, and then turn around and try to use the large class sizes that they foisted off on public schools to justify taking more money from those schools and funnelling that money to private schools.

David Safier at Blog for Arizona has a write-up on the Rs plans to gut "reform" public education here.  This measure looks to be just one salvo in their ongoing war against public education.

And last (for now), but certainly not least is a bill that hasn't been filed yet.  Ron Gould is promising to bring back a "guns in schools" bill.  It passed the lege last session, but Governor Jan Brewer vetoed it (it may be her only wise act during her term as governor, but I'll give credit where it is due.  She was on the right side on that one.)

This is just the beginning, so this much is clear:  Russell Pearce may be gone, but the wild and insane ride that is the Arizona legislature at work will still be running at full speed...

Russell Pearce, martyr? Not so much...

...though to listen to the whining among the Republicans, you'd think they were Al-Quaeda and Pearce was a suicide bomber...

As soon as it became clear that Russell Pearce had lost his November recall, the whispers started.  And when it became clear that Pearce didn't just lose but was thoroughly thumped, the whispers became shouts (whiny, wheedling shouts, but shouts nonetheless).

Tuesday, the Republican blog/press release site Sonoran Alliance posted a long and rather revisionist paean to Pearce that effectively sums up what most of the Rs have been saying.

Their main spin has been to claim that Pearce was the subject of a recall because of his anti-immigrant policies, positions and speeches and particularly because of his SB1070.

Now, I cannot deny the fact that Pearce's bigotry makes him much easier to dislike.  However, if the recall effort was based on that, why has only one other supporter of SB1070 faced a recall effort?  And that effort actually pre-dated SB1070 and was pushed by Republicans who fell the legislator in question (Sen. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa) isn't conservative enough.


Another R talking point is to claim that the recall process was abused and was never intended to an unpopular legislator.

Ummm...the recall law was followed to the letter, and it's been used once in a century.

Pearce wasn't just unpopular.  He misused and abused his office.

...He ordered the arrest of people who criticized him when those critics peacefully entered the Senate building for a scheduled appointment...

...He proclaimed that legislators could ignore the laws barring possession of weapons in public buildings...

...When the other legislators caught up in the Fiesta Bowl gift scandal shut up and paid up, Pearce refused to repay the Fiesta Bowl and still denies wrongdoing...

...When his friend and close political ally Sen. Scott Bundgaard was involved in a "domestic violence incident" (i.e. - he assaulted his girlfriend by the side of a Phoenix freeway), Pearce declared that Bundgaard was the victim...

It should be pointed out here that the GOP's whiners and spinners are expressing criticism only of the fact that Pearce was held accountable for his bad conduct in office, but have said nothing about the conduct itself.

Apparently, they believe if someone is stridently nativist, they should be forgiven "minor" foibles like corruption in office, abuse of power, and si\nple unbridled arrogance (not a crime in itself, but the attitude that he and the rest of his caucus were and are above the laws that govern the rest of society was the root of his downfall).

Bottom line:  the recall was legal, proper, and most importantly, deserved.

Sylvia Allen, keeping the "AZ" in crazy

State Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-LD5) is a conservative legislator from northeastern Arizona.  During her career in politics, she's been best known for two things - she's a close friend and ally of Russell Pearce, the recently recalled former president of the state senate, and she's prone to uttering some of the whackiest things ever to pass the lips of an elected official in AZ (and that's saying something in a state that boasts among its past and present electeds folks like Evan Mecham, Karen Johnson, and Jack Harper).

Whether it was claiming that it is OK to strip mine uranium because the Earth is 6000 years old and is doing fine, that people should think of more ways to help the wealthy, that trees in Arizona should be destroyed because they suck water out of Arizona's water supply, or even crazier, she's been embarrassing her district and her state for years.

She's still going for the crazy, as this article from The Payson Roundup from last week illustrates.

From the article, written by Pete Aleshire -

State Sen. Sylvia Allen called for a state struggle against federal authority in a wide-ranging appearance last week before about 50 members of the Payson Tea Party gathered at Tiny’s Restaurant.

{snip}

...she decried the mostly federally funded Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System as “socialized medicine.” AHCCCS provides coverage for about 30 percent of the residents of Gila County.

{snip}

“We need to tighten this program up and have people pay for babies. That’s not life and death. They won’t let you charge (the patients) a penny for that care. That’s the socialized direction we’ve gone in for 50 years.

{snip}

Sen. Allen also decried various efforts to increase voter turnouts, with things like mail-in ballots and online voter registration.

Now to be fair to Senator Allen, I have to leave open the possibility that she isn't crazy.

She may just be someone who revels in pure ignorance while relying on party talking points to get her through contact with actual voters.

Happy Holidays...

To all readers, regular or drive-by, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ashura, Festivus, Chrismukkah, winter solstice, or something (or nothing) else, may you all have a joyous and safe holiday

Time to state the obvious: Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee

...Yes, for months it has seemed likely that Romney would be the nominee in spite of his tepid support (at best) among the tea party/most extreme wing of the GOP.  Every few weeks, a new darling of the screamers arose, only to fall by the wayside as their (metaphorical) warts were exposed by the glare of the light of scrutiny that all front-runners face.

Still, it's a large field, meaning that a candidate could win a state's primary/caucus with 20 - 25% of the vote.

Only now the field is getting smaller, without anyone actually getting out of the race.

From Time Magazine, written by Will Lester -

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have failed to qualify for Virginia's March 6 Republican primary, a setback in their bids for the Republican presidential nomination.

Also not on the ballot, courtesy the Arlington County (VA) GOP - Michelle Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Gary Johnson.

That leaves Romney on the VA ballot alone with Ron Paul. 

Now, Paul has a small but dedicated core group of followers in the far-right reaches of the Republican Party, but his usually extreme (even by the GOP's standards) positions make him all but unelectable in a contested general election.

His party's poo-bahs (insiders and power brokers) won't allow him to get even within sniffing difference of the actual nomination, though he may win a few primaries or caucuses.

In the end, the R nominee will be Romney, with someone like Chris Christie or Tim Pawlenty as the VP candidate.

Next November's election will be about returning Barack Obama to office, perhaps with a Congress that won't be dedicated to keeping the economy cratered for political gain, or returning to the blindly pro-greed and pro-corporate bottom line policies that got the US and world into this mess.

Note: as of this writing, Romney and Paul are the only two "major" candidates on the ballot for Arizona's Republican primary, though the others have another couple of weeks to submit their names.

The maps are in, and other 2012 updates

Just a few quick updates...

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) has submitted its "tentative final" maps for Congressional and legislative districts to its analysts.  Assuming that the analysts don't find any major issues with the maps (and they probably won't), the maps will then be submitted to the US Department of Justice for preclearance under the Voting Rights Act.  If DOJ doesn't find any major issues (the likelihood of that is anybody's guess), those maps will form the basis of elections for the next decade.

Some national media outlets (The Hill and Politico) are calling the maps a victory for Democrats, but they aren't, really.  They guarantee Republican control of the legislature for another 10 years, and all but guarantee a Republican-majority Congressional delegation for the same period.  What they do however, is make it more difficult for the Rs to maintain their outsized domination of the legislature.

As such, the Rs are crying about the maps, but the tears may be mostly of the "crocodile" variety...

Steve at Arizona Eagletarian has more complete coverage of the AIRC here.


...Neil Giuliano, former mayor of Tempe, a rumored candidate for the Democratic nomination in the new 9th Congressional district, has announced that he will not be pursuing that job (subscription required).  State Sen. David Schapira is currently exploring a run at the seat, and State Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Arizona Democratic Party chair Andrei Cherny are rumored to be eyeing the same race.


...Lastly, the list of candidates on the ballot for February's Republican presidential preference primary is now five strong - Ron Paul, Mitt Romney...and Wayne Arnett, Raymond Perkins, and Al "Dick" Perry.

No, I don't know those last three either.  Look for the final ballot to include 20 - 25 names, with seven or eight that people actually know.

...

"Merry Christmas" from the GOP sounds a lot like "up yours"

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the House, the Teapublicans were jostling, each trying to prove that he was the biggest louse..."

Tuesday, the Republicans in the US House of Representatives voted to increase taxes on 160 million Americans when they voted to reject a Senate compromise that would have extended the payroll tax holiday by two months.

They're trying to blame President Obama and the Democrats in Congress for this betrayal of the the vast majority of working Americans, but the bottom line is that the people who oppose any tax increases that affect corporations and wealthy people shamelessly threw average people under the economic bus.

Beside the expected outcry from Democrats and other advocates for middle class and working families, even Republicans as disparate as Sen. Scott Brown (MA) and Sen. John McCain (AZ) have roundly criticized the actions of the House Republicans.

 Brown, as perhaps the most vulnerable R senator up for election next year, is justifiably worried about the impact of the Teapublicans' tantrum on his reelection chances.  With consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren hot on his heels, Wall Street's favorite senator has realized that he'd better look like he has Main Street's back if he wants to return to the Senate in 2013.

McCain on the other hand was just reelected last year and is from an R leaning state.  He has no short-term motivations when he points out that the House Rs' greed (they want what they want and refuse to compromise or even negotiate in good faith) is hurting the entire R brand.  Going into a presidential election year.

Most observers, including me, expect that the payroll tax holiday will be extended eventually.  The only real question is how much damage the House Republicans will wreak upon the middle class and the economy as a whole before they do right thing.

Note:  Of the AZ Congressional delegation, Republicans David Schweikert, Ben Quayle, Paul Gosar, and Trent Franks voted to raise taxes on the middle class while Democrats Raul Grijalva and Ed Pastor and Republican Jeff Flake (running for US Senate) voted against it.  Gabby Giffords didn't vote as she is continuing her recovery from January's shooting in Tucson.

State Sen. Steve Gallardo proposes stricter domestic violence penalties

...and the denizens of the Capitol wait with bated breath for the next lawsuit from State Sen. Scott "Fists of Fury" Bundgaard...

Sen. Steve Gallardo (D-Phoenix) has introduced SB1027.  If passed, it would strengthen the penalties for misdemeanor domestic violence.  Under existing law, people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence can be sentenced to as little as counseling.

Gallardo's measure would mandate that those convicted on or pleading guilty or "no contest" to domestic violence charges face a minimum of mandatory treatment (that the offenders would pay for), supervised probation, two days in jail and a $50 fine.

Which doesn't sound like much, until you remember that it's stronger than current law by, oh, mandatory treatment, supervised probation, two days' jail time, and a $50 fine (at a minimum).

The money collected from the fines will go toward programs to assist victims of domestic violence.

“Right now in Arizona, someone who beats their dog can face harsher punishment than someone who beats their girlfriend. This legislation sends a strong message to those who engage in domestic violence. Arizonans won’t put up with that behavior, but we will help domestic violence victims escape abusive situations," said Gallardo.

For the record, Bundgaard pled "no contest" to the charges stemming from his February assault. 

Look for him to complain, maybe to the Senate Ethics Committee (you know, the people he is suing to stop them from looking into his actions), that he is personally attacked by this bill and that Gallardo should be disciplined for his lack of decorum (or some such BS.)