Ducey goes full-throated in his embrace of his inner partisan hack

Not that his "inner partisan hack" was buried too deeply.

From Jeremy Duda at the AZ Mirror -

Ducey: A GOP senator with white nationalist ties is ‘still better than’ a Democrat

Gov. Doug Ducey said he has no regrets about spending $500,000 to elect a Republican state senator with open ties to the white nationalist movement because it’s still better than having a Democrat in her seat.

“I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. And she’s still better than her opponent, Felicia French,” he said Thursday.

Ducey’s political action committee, Arizonans for Strong Leadership, spent millions in 2020 to help the GOP maintain control of the legislature, including nearly $500,000 to help Republican Wendy Rogers win the race for the District 6 Senate seat in northern Arizona. Rogers won nearly 55% of the vote against Democrat Felicia French, a victory that kept the Senate in GOP hands by a single vote.

Rogers in action, also from the AZ Mirror.

From one of the reports filed by Ducey's PAC -

Ducey supports a bigoted white nationalist like Rogers over her 2020 opponent, Felicia French, a nurse and veteran.

Really?

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott is a lot like Cheeto - he wants to pardon criminals for political purposes

From The Texas Tribune -

Gov. Greg Abbott floats pardons for Austin police officers charged with excessive force in 2020 protests

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday blasted the indictment of 19 Austin police officers on assault charges stemming from the May 2020 racial justice protests — and dangled the possibility of potential pardons for them.

“Those officers should be praised for their efforts, not prosecuted,” Abbott said in a statement. “Time will tell whether the accusations against the courageous Austin police officers is a political sham. Time will also tell whether I, as Governor, must take action to exonerate any police officer unjustly prosecuted."

[snip]

The indictments accuse the 19 officers — including Texas House candidate Justin Berry — of using deadly weapons to injure nearly a dozen demonstrators and threatening them with serious bodily harm during the May 2020 protests against police brutality that followed the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Michael Ramos in Austin.

Normally, Arizona politicos are the most craven in the U.S. (Arizona legislature notwithstanding), but Texas looks to be taking that title away from us.

We have Paul Petersen, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, and Mark Finchem (and more!) but they have Abbott, Dan Goeb Patrick, Ken Paxton, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, and, of course, Louie Gohmert (and more!)

Still, Cheeto may be the best example of using pardons for political/criminal gain - Joe Arpaio, Scooter Libby, Dinesh D'Souza, Michael Milken, Bernie Kerik, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, Duncan Hunter, Paul Manafort, Charles Kushner, Steve Bannon, Rick Renzi, Roger Stone, and more - all criminals and all pardoned by Cheeto.

And Cheeto's example is the one that Abbott is following.

Arizona Poll Day: Governor's race

Pointed to this by fivethirtyeight.com.

From Data Orbital -

Breaking: Kari Lake besting other Republican challengers in race against Democrat Katie Hobbs

Data Orbital is pleased to announce the results of its latest statewide, live-caller survey of likely general election voters. The survey was conducted from February 11th to February 13th. 

With little data publicly available, the survey focused on the upcoming, hotly contested race for Governor in Arizona. The survey tested all four Republican candidates against likely Democrat nominee Katie Hobbs.

[snip]

From Data Orbital's toplines document -

This is interesting, but that's all.

There are two problems with the poll:

1. They ignored the candidates' respective primaries.  While Hobbs and Lake are the favorites in their primaries, there's no guarantee that they'll win.  Some primary polling would be nice.

2. They oversampled Republican voters and to a lesser extent, Democratic ones, too, and undersampled Independent/Unaffiliated ones.

From the most recent AZ voter registration report -

Creative accounting: is it taught to legislators or do they already know about it when they get to the Capitol?

First, from the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Nathan Brown, dated September 1, 2021 (behind a paywall) -

Cobb quits treasurer race to lead dental group

Rep. Regina Cobb is bowing out of the race for state treasurer to take a job as executive director of the Arizona Dental Association.

That was 9/1.

On 9/13, she gave herself a LOT of money, and termed it as a "reimbursement"

Hmmm....

Treason may not be enough for Mark Finchem. Just follow the money.

 From Rick Hasen at Election Law Blog -

“GOP lawmakers are pushing high-tech ‘fraud-proof’ ballots. A Texas company could be the only supplier.”

WaPo:

Holographic foil. Special ink designed to be sensitive to temperature changes. Nearly invisible “stealth numbers” that can be located only using special ultraviolet or infrared lights.

Those are among the high-tech security features that would be required to be embedded on ballots under measures proposed in at least four states by Republican lawmakers — all promoters of false claims that the 2020 election was marred by mass fraud — in an attempt to make the ballots as hard to counterfeit as passports or currency.

But the specialized inks and watermarks also would limit the number of companies capable of selling ballot paper — potentially to just one Texas firm with no previous experience in elections that consulted with the lawmakers proposing the measures.

Mark Finchem, an Arizona state representative spearheading the , said in an interview that he developed ideas for the proposals after discussions with executives of Authentix, a company in Addison, Tex. The firm has since hosted other GOP lawmakers at its office and given presentations about the idea to legislators in two states, according to participants and social media posts.

Finchem is a cosponsor of two of the bills floating through the Arizona with this language

legislature - HB2041 (held in committee) and SB1120 (amended to include an appropriation of $12,000,000).

House Appropriations is scheduled to consider a striker (with this language) to HB2726 with an appropriation of $6,000,000 in it.  Offered by Rep. Regina Cobb.

A similar bill, SB1028, sponsored by state Sen. Wendy Rogers, but without any appropriations language, was held in committee in January.

Ducey being indecisive gets Brnovich burned

From Politico, dated 2/17/2022 (emphasis added by me) -

Ducey looms as last big question on 2022 Senate map

Arizona Statehood Day came and went on Monday. Those hoping GOP Gov. Doug Ducey might use the opportunity to announce he’s running for the Senate — as then-Rep. Jeff Flake did in 2011 — were disappointed when Ducey instead appeared at an event in Los Angeles.

The weekend before, at the Phoenix Open — a massive annual golf tournament where Ducey has announced major initiatives in previous years — the governor had also dashed the hopes of supporters. Ducey gave a brief, generic talk — disheartening some in the audience of big donors and tech executives who had heard word of a possible big reveal.

[snip]

The GOP’s chances of flipping the seat held by Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly — a key contest in the party’s fight for the Senate majority — are viewed by many in both parties as even better with Ducey, who has been elected statewide three times, than the current cast of MAGA Republicans in the race.

Being lumped with the crowd?

That's gotta sting...Mark Brnovich.  

He's actually won a (relatively) high profile statewide race as Attorney General (so has Justin Olson, but that was for a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission, and I'm betting that most R primary voters can't name even one member).  Not a particularly good AG, IMO, but he's still in office.

The Rs who have filed statements of interest in running for the seat -

Brnovich, Lamon, Olson, Masters, Paveza and McGuire have formed committees with the FEC.

Also forming a committee but not on the list of statements of intent:

Frank Bertone.

Legislative schedule - week starting 2/20/2022

 Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to propagate propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority.  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4 at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language into the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one.

I was going to call this week "strikers gone wild", but I'm pretty sure it'll get worse before the lege ends its session.

Far worse.

From the website of the Arizona Legislature:

On Monday, 2/21 -

House Appropriations meets at 8:30 a.m. in HHR1.  23 bills on the agenda, including 7 strikers.  There's one for HB2001 that seeks to override local ordinances/rules concerning worker productivity.  Most safety precautions affect employee productivity.  This one looks like it was written by an industry lobbyist.

There's also one for HB2552 to take $20 million from the state's general fund to build a prison in Cochise County.  There's already a prison in Douglas that looks to be at well below capacity.

Lastly, there's also a striker being offered for HB2726, related to "ballot fraud countermeasures; ink; paper".  This anti-democracy language has been floating around the lege for a while now.  The original House bill, HB2041, was held in committee.

Senate Health and Human Services will meet at 9:30a.m. in SHR1.  Same agenda as last Wednesday, where I wrote " 30 bills on the agenda, including strikers for 6 of them where the language of the proposed amendment isn't yet available.  A couple of bad bills here, and a few of the strikers look bad, plus one that looks "sneaky bad". "

A partial hearing was already held and some of the bills were already considered; I'm not sure where they left off..

On Tuesday, 2/22 -

Senate Appropriations meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109. 37 bills on the agenda, including 20 strikers.

There's one for SB1001 that would make it extortion for someone to threaten to expose a secret in a social media message or in "any other manner".

There's another for SB1003 that would compel counties and municipalities to reduce their property taxes by the amount of money they receive under the American Rescue Plan.

There's yet another for SB1180, imposing reporting requirement for certain expenditures related to the American Rescue Plan.

There's one for SB1458, barring the counting of early ballots until election day.

Lastly, there's one for SCR1018 that's confusing.  The agenda says one thing -

However, the striker, when opened, seems more innocuous -

Given that the author of both the bill and the striker is someone who despises Arizona and its people, like other GQPers, don't be shocked if this one ends up being really bad.

The House is scheduled to enter COW, or Committee of the Whole, 3 non-controversial bills on Monday. COW sessions are where bills are officially amended, though committee meetings are the place to support/criticize proposed amendments.  Once bills are amended in committee, COW consideration is usually a pro-forma thing.

COW calendars can and will pop up on no/short notice and future calendars will probably be more controversial.

Arizona's Paul Gosar: renaissance man?

Of course, him being a nut, bigot, and hypocrite may be his idea of "multitasking."

While the nuttiness and bigotry is well-documented with him, the hypocrisy part has not been.  Yet.

From Havasu News -

Preserving freedom, ‘red wave’ hot topics at Lincoln Day Dinner

Mohave County Republicans gathered for the 75th annual Lincoln Day Dinner to hear speeches from Hillsdale College Graduate Dean and Professor Ronald J. Pestritto, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (R-Prescott), and a variety of candidates and elected officials.

The Saturday event at Beale Celebrations at 201 N. 4th St. was “Freedom” themed and echoed messages of the 2022 “Red Wave” to turn the state fully Republican and preserve freedom-based party standards, specifically in education. The message of Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee” lyric “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose” was also sung.

Pretty sure that Gosar isn't the best one to speak at an event to commemorate someone who famously dealt with a civil war.

He believes that insurrectionists should be coddled.

Federal Committee update

From the website of the Federal Elections Commission -

Republican Bertone is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Cheeto's bad week gets worse: judge orders him to testify...under oath

First, his accounting firm fired him.

From CNN -

Trump Organization's accounting firm says 10 years of financial statements are unreliable

Former President Donald Trump's long-time accounting firm informed the Trump Organization last week that it should no longer rely on nearly 10 years' worth of financial statements and that they would no longer be their accountants, citing a conflict of interest.

"We have come to this conclusion based, in part, upon the filings made by the New York Attorney General on January 18, 2022, our own investigation, and information received from internal and external sources," Mazars wrote in a letter to the Trump Organization chief legal officer, advising them to no longer rely on financial statements ending June 2011 through June 2020.

Then, a judge in NY ordered him, Junior, and Vanky to comply with a subpoena (Fredo is probably torn about not being included).

From AP via Yahoo! News -

Trump must testify in New York investigation, judge rules

Former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices, a judge ruled Thursday.

Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., to comply with subpoenas issued in December by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Cheeto responded as Cheeto does to anything he doesn't like.  With bile and anger.  And finger-pointing and all CAPS.

From the same piece -

In a statement, Trump said, “THERE IS NO CASE!” and accused James’ office of “doing everything within their corrupt discretion to interfere with my business relationships, and with the political process.”

Trump called the ruling “a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in history — and remember, I can’t get a fair hearing in New York because of the hatred of me by Judges and the judiciary. It is not possible.”

Apparently, in today's GQP, being prone to violence and betraying the public trust means one is qualified for higher office

First, the "higher office" part.

From Colorado Public Radio -

Mesa Clerk Tina Peters says she’s running for Secretary of State

Mesa County’s embattled Republican Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters is entering the race for Colorado Secretary of State. 

Peters made the announcement on Steve Bannon’s War Room, a podcast hosted by the rightwing political strategist. 

Then the "violence" part.

From The Daily Beast -

‘Don’t Kick!’: Video Shows MAGA Election Clerk Freaking Out During Arrest

The notorious pro-Trump Mesa County elections clerk Tina Peters was detained at a bagel shop on Tuesday—and a video of the incident shows her resisting arrest and apparently attempting to kick a cop. Peters became one of Colorado’s most renowned elections officials last year after she was accused of aiding a QAnon-linked leak of voting-machine logins. The Denver Post reported that Tuesday’s arrest wasn’t linked to investigations of that possible election-security breach, but was related to Peters allegedly filming court proceedings on her iPad. Investigators were reportedly looking for that iPad when they detained Peters. In a video shared by 9News, Peters can be seen jostling with a cop and yelling “Let go of me!” She appears to attempt to kick an officer, who shouts: “Don’t kick!” Peters’ legal defense fund said she complied by handing over the iPad, but resisted when officers started trying to seize other items.

Lastly, the "betraying the public trust" part.

From CNN -

Colorado secretary of state accuses county clerk's office of assisting QAnon-affiliated leak of voting machine logins

In announcing the revoking of some Mesa County voting machines -- their logins appeared in a video by an individual affiliated with QAnon -- Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Thursday also accused the county's clerk, Tina Peters, of assisting in the election system security breach.

During a news conference detailing her order, Griswold said her staff had inspected the county's voting machines and video surveillance system on Tuesday, but could not "establish a verifiable chain of custody for any of the voting systems components in Mesa County and cannot establish confidence in the integrity or security of those components."

Griswold went further and accused Peters of having a hand in facilitating the leak.

With those as qualifications, how long before Paul Gosar and/or Andy Biggs seek higher office?

Cheeto update: even his accountants are jumping ship at this point

From CNN -

Trump Organization's accounting firm says 10 years of financial statements are unreliable

Former President Donald Trump's long-time accounting firm informed the Trump Organization last week that it should no longer rely on nearly 10 years' worth of financial statements and that they would no longer be their accountants, citing a conflict of interest.

"We have come to this conclusion based, in part, upon the filings made by the New York Attorney General on January 18, 2022, our own investigation, and information received from internal and external sources," Mazars wrote in a letter to the Trump Organization chief legal officer, advising them to no longer rely on financial statements ending June 2011 through June 2020.

Paul Gosar does AZ proud. Again.

The folks who witnessed, dealt with, or are investigating the January 6th insurrection may have a different opinion.

Catherine Miranda is back. Sort of.

I went to E-Qual to see if there were any new candidate petitions for me to sign, and, lo and behold, there were some new ones, and one of those has a familiar name.

I didn't actually sign any of them - it may have shown up on my list. but while I haven't moved, since redistricting, I no longer live in LD27.

Having said that, Miranda is an infamous name in AZ Democratic politics.

She endorses Republicans.

She's anti-choice.

When she has run for office, it seemed like most of her money came from PACs, lobbyists, CEO/executive types, and lawyers.

{edit on 2/14 to add (I'm not sure what happened here, but I DID type/upload this stuff originally)] -

I couldn't find an open committee for her, but she tends to file her reports late anyway:

[/end edit]

There WAS a pattern to the lateness - the reports that filed on time tended to have few, if any, individual contributions.

Of course, she hasn't been completely out of politics since 2017 - she was thoroughly trounced in the 2018 Congressional primary by Ruben Gallego.

More on her from Planned Parenthood AZ here.

In case you missed it: AZ GOPer fined $125,000 for misusing campaign funds

From The Daily Beast -

GOP Congressman Fined $125,000 For Financial Violations

The other shoe has dropped for Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ).

His campaign committee has agreed to pay a $125,000 federal fine for misusing donor money and associated reporting violations, according to new Federal Election Commission disclosures.

The investigation, which found “reason to believe” that the violations were “knowing and willful,” was the FEC twin of a separate congressional ethics probe that fined the Arizona Republican $50,000 in 2020 for nearly a dozen violations. The inquiries centered around Schweikert’s dealings with his former chief of staff, political consultant Oliver Schwab, specifically payments to Schwab’s personal credit card and firm.

The agreement was signed on Jan. 12, and the FEC released the documents almost a month later on Friday. As part of the agreement, the Schweikert campaign admitted to breaking three federal laws—all related to expenses.

Sounds like a Friday newsdump to me.

Schwab, mentioned in the third paragraph, has a long history of ethical issues.  He also has a history of supporting some R extremists in their primaries -

I have little doubt that Schweikert will face a primary challenge from the right.

So far as I can see from the allegations against him and this fine, he's only conventionally corrupt and not treasonous enough for today's GQP.

Of course, the result of the R primary in his district will be irrelevant; in the general election, support Jevin Hodge for Congress.