2014 Gubernatorial Candidate Forum Next Friday

Save the date -

Bob Stump, chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, getting his "snippy*" on...

...* = read "snippy", think "dismissive asshole".  However, since I didn't want to use that word** in the title of the post, I went with "snippy".

** = "dismissive", of course.  :)

It's easy to tell when a Republican elected isn't running for office in a particular year - they don't bother even pretending to have any regard for people who dare to disagree with them.

Case in point:  Bob Stump, chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Over the last few weeks, Stump has engaged in some Twitter conversations regarding topics of interest to many Arizonans.

That part, engaging with average people (OK, people who aren't industry lobbyists) is a good thing.

However, the part where he became contemptuous and dismissive of people is most assuredly NOT a good thing.

First up, a conversation with LD26 state representative Andrew Sherwood.  The basic conversation regarded the shrinking solar industry in AZ, shrinking as a result of policies from the Stump-led ACC.

The rest of the conversation, which doesn't exactly put Stump in a positive light -

"Impolitic"?  Nice word,

I think "snippy" is more appropos, but "impolitic" is a pretty good description of Stump's demeanor, too.

On the other hand, it doesn't even come close to describing Stump's attitude toward Nancy LaPlaca, a former staffer at the ACC and an expert on sustainable energy and policies -

Meditation to diminish worries about Arizona's future?  Pretend that the pollution from coal stacks is *incense*?

That attitude, beside being utterly insulting toward LaPlaca, goes a long way toward explaining the actions and policies of the Stump-led ACC.


Note: Stump is term-limited and his seat is up for election in 2016.  If he intends to run for another (higher profile) office in 2016, his outward demeanor will improve; if not, it won't.

Tom Horne should NOT withdraw from the AG's race

Tom Horne, Arizona's Attorney General, is a transcendentally unethical man -

- Before becoming a lawyer, the SEC permanently banned Horne from securities trading for many reasons, not least of which was fraud

- Failed to report a bankruptcy when required

- After becoming AZAG, hired an alleged girlfriend to a taxpayer-funded position for which she was considered, ummm..."underqualified"

- During his campaign for AZAG in 2010, allegedly violated campaign finance laws by coordinating activities with an independent PAC; he denied wrongdoing, but after becoming AZAG, he hired the head of the PAC to a taxpayer-funded job with his office (the case is still ongoing)

- Committed a hit-and-run accident while leaving an alleged nooner at his alleged girlfriend's home.  We know this because the FBI had him under surveillance at the time as part of the investigation into his alleged campaign violations

- Per a complaint, and a lawsuit, from a now-former staffer, has required employees of the AG's office to work on his reelection campaign while on state time


In short, he's the most ethically-challenged attorney general in Arizona's history (so far as I can find).


In 2010, I thought that Democratic nominee Felecia Rotellini was far more qualified for the job, and Horne has done absolutely nothing in the years since to alter that opinion.

IMO, he wasn't qualified for the job to begin with, should have resigned when his bad behavior brought disgrace to the office, and shouldn't have sought reelection even if he adamantly refused to resign.


Now, some big-name Republicans are on board with the "should not run for reelection" part.

- Congressman Matt Salmon personally asked Horne to drop his reelection bid.

- US Senator Jeff Flake has publicly called on Horne to withdraw from the race.

- Even former state legislator Frank "Don't Make Me Mad" Antenori, not exactly the epitome of professionalism when he was in office, is calling on Horne to step aside -

Of course, these Rs (and others) aren't bothered by cheating to win an office, or by the misuse and corruption of the office once in it.

Nope, their problem with Horne is that they believe that if he wins the Republican nomination, he probably will lose to Felecia Rotellini in the general election.

In that regard they are correct, of course. 

In 2010, a horrible year for Democratic candidates, no matter how well-qualified, Rotellini stood out.

Intelligent, accomplished, dedicated, and with a long and documented history of public service; more than one voter, including some Republicans, told me that while they voted for Horne in the end, Rotellini thoroughly impressed them.

In spite of the Republican tidal wave in 2010, Rotellini nearly defeated Horne, and 2014 isn't shaping up to be a "wave" year, for either major party.

Now, my first response when the big-name Rs started calling for Horne to step aside "Finally!  Even the Rs have had enough of Tom Horne!".

Then I started thinking about it.

People like Flake, Salmon, and Antenori are always wrong on any significant issue.

The facts that they are always wrong and yet agree with me suggest that perhaps I should reevaluate my position.

So I have.

Horne should NOT withdraw from the race, but his opponent in the Republican primary, Mark Brnovich, should.

The reasons for this are simple.

1.  Horne has thoroughly "poisoned the waters" in the race for Republican candidates.  While he has rendered himself all but un-reelectable, his presence casts a deep shadow over any other R who might win the nomination.  While another R will have a better chance of defeating Rotellini, he/she will still face some major electoral headwinds.

2.  If Brnovich stays in the race and loses the general election, or worse, the primary, he will be seen as "damaged goods".  If he withdraws now, he can come back in 2018 as a stronger candidate

The reality in AZ politics is that a Democrat can lose a significant race and come back stronger (witness: Rotellini).

A Republican?  Not so much (witness: JD Hayworth).

Just a few thoughts...

Special session on tap for the legislature

From KVOA (Tucson channel 4), written by Faye DeHoff - 

The Arizona Legislature has been called into Special Session on Tuesday, May 27 by Governor Jan Brewer, who today signed a Proclamation.

Governor Brewer called the Special Session to pass her critical child safety reform proposal to fundamentally overhaul the state's child safety system.

Addressing the top priority highlighted in Governor Brewer's 2014 State of the State policy agenda, this reform proposal statutorily creates and funds the Department of Child Safety - a new, stand-alone agency whose sole focus is the safety of Arizona's children.

Actually, using the word "written" may be problematical - other than the first sentence, the story is the governor's press release.

And that first sentence was just reworded.

However, I digress... :)

The expectation, based on conversations with a couple of Capitol denizens, is that the outcome will be funding of a bare bones agency with few, if any, real changes.  Mostly, the new agency will be the old agency with a new name but the same old culture and procedures.

Anything substantive will be left to the new governor and legislature in 2015 to craft and enact...or not.

The Arizona Attorney General's office is already on record as opposed to at least one provision in the legislation that will be considered during the special session.  Apparently, part of the proposal would grant authority to the "new" agency to seek legal advice from sources independent of the AZAG's office.

From a letter sent to Charles Flanagan, director of the new agency, by Eric Bistrow, Chief Deputy -

A few days ago, this office received proposed legislation relating to the new agency that
you are to lead. Specifically, I reviewed proposed A.R.S. §8-454(G). You and I previously discussed the matter covered in the statute. The AGO strongly opposes the statute as written.

The AGO opposes this piece of legislation because it is harmful to the State and
undercuts the traditional role of the Attorney General to act as an independent legal advisor for all state agencies and departments. Though the AGO understands that some agencies employ administrative counsel, this proposed statute strikes at the authority of the AGO.

More updates as they become available...

Election 2014 - Dominoes: Gallardo out of CD7 race, into Maricopa County SD5 race

From the Arizona Republic, written by Rebekah L. Sanders -

Democratic state Sen. Steve Gallardo announced Tuesday that he will drop out of the race for Congress in the 7th District, leaving only two major candidates competing for the heavily Hispanic seat -- Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and former state Rep. Ruben Gallego.

He also announced that he will be running for the seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors currently held by Wilcox.

This all started when Congressman Ed Pastor announced that he would retire after this term in Congress, opening up that race.

Wilcox, Gallego, and Gallardo announced their intentions to run for the CD7 seat. 

That, in turn, led to Marie Lopez Rogers, mayor of Avondale, and Anna Tovar, Democratic leader in the state senate, announcing their intents to run for Wilcox' seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Gallardo is a good senator and a good candidate, but the CD7 race quickly became a two horse race, with Gallego and Wilcox garnering most of the big-name endorsements and almost all of the campaign contributions.

Last week, Tovar announced that she was withdrawing from that race and not seeking any any office this year. opening up that race for another entry.

This close to the filing deadline, there probably won't be any more serious dominoes falling in these races, but I've been wrong before.

In other words, keep paying attention.

Election 2014: Dropping off sigs and dropping the gloves

...It's getting on toward the filing deadline for candidates, the date when they have to file their signed nominating petitions.

Felecia Rotellini, Democratic candidate for Attorney General, filing more than 13000 signatures.  Picture courtesy her campaign Facebook page.

This week will see most campaigns file their signatures, mostly so that they can use Memorial Day weekend as the last bit of "down" time available to them before the August primary elections (except for the candidates, most of whom will be at Memorial Day events).

The full list of candidates who have submitted their sigs to the AZ SOS is here.  The list will be updated daily.

The Maricopa County list can be found here (click on "2014 Primary Candidate Listing").


 ...Just about the time sigs are dropped off, gloves are dropped (that's a hockey reference for you folks who grew up in the desert :) ).

In the CD1 Republican primary, one candidate, Andy Tobin, has called on another candidate, Gary Kiehne, to withdraw from the race.  Kiehne made some comments at a debate, blaming Democrats for 99% of mass shootings.

Tobin says that Kiehne isn't "level-headed" enough to represent Arizona. 

Which is kind of ironic, given that Tobin led the legislature in passing SB1062 during this past session of the lege.  It was their attempt to legalize discrimination based on religious "beliefs".

Kiehne didn't take it well, calling Tobin "scandal plagued" and a "carpetbagger"

Expect this just to be the first salvo; this race is going to be entertaining one.

GOPer candidate for Congress politicizes mass shootings

...Not in a "let's examine gun laws and the culture of violence in the U.S." sort of way, but in a "let's blame the Democrats" sort of way...

From the Arizona Star, written by Becky Pallack (emphasis added) -

Congressional District 1 candidate Gary Kiehne made extreme comments about gun rights at a Republican primary debate Saturday.

Asked how he would protect gun rights, Kiehne said he owns more guns and ammunition than the other candidates and said everyone should own a gun.

When it comes to mass shootings, “if you look at all the fiascos that have occurred, 99 percent of them have been by Democrats pulling their guns out and shooting people,” Kiehne said to an audience of about 60 people. “So I don’t think you have a problem with the Republicans.”

Audio of his comments is here.

It would be easy to dismiss the rantings of Kienhe as just that, rantings.

Of someone who doesn't have a snowball's chance in Phoenix...in July...of winning.

Except for two points:

1.  He's a Republican, and this guff appeals to a large part of their base.

2.  His opponents, just as extreme as him, have a major detail working against their success - they are sitting Republican legislators.  I can think of only two such sitting R legislators who have moved on to higher office* during a year in which they were members of the lege -

John Huppenthal, former state senator and current State Superintendent of Public Instruction (no observer can figure out how someone as nearly-universally disliked can keep winning elections, but he does)

Matt Salmon, who moved from the lege to the US House, but did it during the 1990s when the lege wasn't as much a punchline as it is today.

Of course, out of fairness to Kiehne, I should point out that at least he is consistent.


* - For purposes of this post, "higher office" refers to federal or statewide (line of succession) office.  Many legislators have moved on to other offices - county BOS, mayor/city council, even Arizona Corporation Commission.  However, I cannot find any more recent examples of Republican legislators moving directly from the lege to higher profile federal or state office.

Manny Cruz and Bob Drye: RIP

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been taking an unscheduled hiatus from blogging due to the fact that it's an even-numbered year (meaning that campaign-related activities have eaten up a lot of my time recently).

The hiatus is coming to an end because of two pieces of sad news - the passings of Manny Cruz on May 12 and Bob Drye on April 29.

Cruz was the 2010 Democratic nominee for State Mine Inspector and was planning a second run for the office when he was diagnosed with cancer.  He withdrew from the race late in 2013 in order to focus on fighting the disease.

While he gained notice as a candidate in 2010, he was far more than that.

More importantly, he was an advocate for improving the safety of Arizona by closing abandoned mines.

Most importantly, he was a beloved husband and son (and one of the warmest, most genuine people that folks who knew him had ever met).

His funeral services are tomorrow, Friday, May 16.

The funeral (both service and burial) will be at noon at Greenwood Memory Lawn, 719 N 27th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009.

There will be a reception after at Bitzee Mama's, 7023 N 58th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85301.

I didn't know Manny as well as some, so here are some words about him from Terry Goddard (via Facebook) - 

"Very early this morning, Arizona lost Manny Cruz -- a big man in soul and heart, a champion for mine safety and for more responsive, responsible government. Manny, a fighter to the end, is at rest after a courageous battle with cancer. In politics and in the field closing abandoned mines, Manny made things happen. He liked to do things with a bang. But most of us will remember his great smile and gentle persistence. Truly, a happy warrior. He lived a remarkable life. We miss him already. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Valerie, and his mother, Sally, and all his family whose love surrounded him through the hard months. They are heroes."

The other tragic loss that hit our community recently was the passing of Bob Drye.

 
Most of us knew him as a dedicated and ever-present activist in Tempe, volunteering his wisdom, time, and energy to support Democratic candidates, the Democratic Party, and the community in any way he could. 

Long before he came to Arizona he was a family man (seven children, 18 grandchildren, and five [and counting] great-grandchildren) and an accomplished psychiatrist.

A service will he held Saturday at 10 a.m. at University Presbyterian Church, 139 E Alameda Drive, Tempe, AZ 85282.

Via email, from Phil Amorosi, one of Bob's many friends and someone that Bob mentored:

"Long time PC Robert Drye passed away on Tuesday, April 29. He was 86. Dr. Drye was one of the people that believed in me when I became chair and was instrumental in turning Dist. 27 (at the time) blue. He was the district secretary for many years, got signatures, always canvassed, a State Committeeman. He did whatever was asked. He was a life long Democrat from Vermont. He was very smart, started MIT when he was 16! He was a military man and as a psychiatrist helped set up the evaluation forms to recognize mental illness in troops. In his younger day he was a featured speaker at many forums."

My deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of both Manny and Bob.

Mocking victims of violence? That's low, even for Constantin Querard and other Republican "opinion makers"

Edit: I've received responses from both the original tweeter mentioned in the post and the retweeter, responses that include a threat of a lawsuit if I don't take the post down.  Not going to happen.

However, out of fairness, I will post those responses and my reply at the bottom of this post.

End edit.

Once in a while, something comes along that reminds me (and I hope, all of us), of the profound difference between the "opinion makers" in the GOP and the members of civil society (aka - the rest of us)...

On Tuesday night, EMILY's List, an organization dedicated to helping Democratic women win elections, held its annual awards dinner.  The highlight of the event was an appearance by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords of Arizona.

In 2011, she was a victim in a mass shooting in Tucson, one that killed six people and injured nearly 20 more (including Giffords).

The shooting occurred at a supermarket where she had just begun a "Congress On Your Corner" event, meeting and talking with her constituents.

While she did survive the shooting, she suffered a severe head wound, and has spent the last three years working to recover from the damage to her brain and body.

Her appearance Tuesday illustrated just how far she has progressed in that recovery.

Giffords (center) with AZ congresswomen Ann Kirkpatrick (left) and Kyrsten Sinema (right).  Picture courtesy CNN

It was a triumphant moment for Giffords and her friends, family, and everyone else who has followed her incredible efforts.

Many of the event's attendees tweeted during the festivities, so many that I almost missed this one -

At first, I didn't understand the reference - Tuesday was the night of the botched execution in Oklahoma, and most of my attention was focused on news coverage of that.

While at work Wednesday. the tweet popped into my head, with the realization that it was a mocking reference to the events of the Tucson shooting, when the Congress On Your Corner event ended so abruptly, and tragically.

My next thought:

That is seriously fucked up.

Before writing this, I ran the tweet by someone who has a cooler head than me, and even that person saw the reference right away, and agreed with my evaluation of the situation ("That is seriously f-ed up").

The originator of the tweet, Mr. Wurtzel, is someone I do not know personally, nor do I follow him on Twitter.

My guess, and it is only a guess at this point, is that he is one of the myriad mean people who use the relative anonymity of the internet to spew the most repugnant rhetoric.

Still, he's relatively small time and not especially influential (and, if by chance he should read this, that's not an insult - I'm relatively small time too; I'm just so wordy it takes me more than 140 characters to spout off :) ).

On the other hand, the person who I follow on Twitter who retweeted the posting (hence its appearance in my feed), is most definitely *not* small time.

He's Constantin Querard, a "player", so to speak, in Arizona politics.  He's a political consultant who has advised many candidates through the years.  He specializes in fringy, tea party-type candidates, but he'll take a retainer from any pretty much any Republican.

He should know better, and unless he advises his clients to mock victims of violence, he shouldn't do so either.

And if he's still tempted to do so, he should consider this question first:

Are you brave enough to look the families of Christina Taylor-Green, John Roll, Gabe Zimmerman, Dorothy Morris, Phyllis Schneck, and Dorwin Stoddard in the eyes and mock their loved ones?  If not, don't do it in a cowardly way either.


Please note:  I am not tarring all Republicans with the same brush here.  I know many Republicans, and am even related to a few, and most are fine human beings.

...Fine human beings who have absolutely no chance of winning a Republican primary; they are not, nor do they kiss up to, GOP "opinion makers".

Edit to add responses from Mr. Wurtzel and Mr. Querard:

 Quoted as text:

Wurtzel - @cpmaz It's an abortion joke, you fucking idiot. What is Davis known for? Take down your post or I sue your ass. You have one hour.

Querard2 - @cpmaz Irony? You laud Emily's List whose purpose is 2 ensure that babies can legally continue 2b victims of violence. Real #WarOnWomen

Querard1 - @cpmaz Fail! The author was referencing the 1st Trimester abortions that Emily's List is so very very fond of. Better luck next smear.

My response to the responses:

They claim that the original tweet was about abortion, and I have no evidence that they are lying when they state that.  However, there are two issues with their assertion, not definitive evidence of falseness, but that undercut their credibility IMO.

1.  In the original tweet, there was no indication that the tweet referenced abortion; usually hashtags or something similar are used.

2. The tweet went up shortly after Giffords took the stage, making her the most likely object of the tweeter's (and retweeter's) derision.

3.  My original post was, and remains, critical of the tweet.  However, there is no threat in it, not even an implied one.  Mr. Wurtzel's threat in response to the further undermines his credibility, IMO.

The post is staying up.

Rich Crandall: Out of a job in Wyoming, coming back to Arizona

Hey, I'm impressed that he lasted an entire winter in WY...

From the Arizona Republic - 

A former Arizona state senator who headed Wyoming's education department before a court reinstated that state's school superintendent as head of the agency says he's returning home to Arizona.

Rich Crandall was chosen for the Wyoming job by Gov. Matt Mead last summer, but he left last week after the state's superintendent reclaimed her responsibilities.

{snip}

Crandall says he's using up vacation days and officially leaves Wyoming state service May 1. He plans to return to Arizona in June and focus on running his family companies, possibly teaching and eventually looking for another job in education.

Crandall, a Republican from the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, said he has no plans to run again for a seat in Arizona's Legislature.

"Definitely not the Legislature, the time commitment's too much," Crandall said. "But maybe a school board. I love the community college system. Who knows?"

Amazingly, Crandall was the *better* option compared to Cindy Hill, the person he replaced in Wyoming (and who, in turn, replaced him).

According to this report from the Huffington Post, when she was previously in charge of the Wyoming state education department, she created an environment of physical fear and mismanaged the department so badly that even her fellow Rs felt she had to go.

Based on the article, he's not interested in becoming a state legislator again, but he *has* been a member of a school board in the past.  It may be too late in the cycle for him to seek a seat on one this time around (especially with logistics of moving from WY), but a 2016 run could be within his sights.

If he doesn't do something else before then (like go to work on an R presidential campaign - he is noted for having ties to the Jeb Bush camp).

Cliven Bundy: Albatross Around The Necks Of GOPers Everywhere, or The Gift That Keeps On Giving To Wiseass Bloggers?

Or both?

When Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy forced an armed standoff with  U.S. Bureau of Land Management employees over his refusal to pay fees for grazing his cattle on public lands, a contingent of Arizona's Republican legislators traveled to the site of the standoff.

They went to aid and abet "show their solidarity with" Bundy.

When they got back to AZ, and even before they left, the legislators involved took to the floor of the state legislature to praise Bundy and his crimes, using their positions of public trust to support the misuse of public resources.

After Bundy started spouting off on race, essentially saying that slavery was better for black Americans than freedom, his accomplices in the AZ lege went silent, but did not criticize Bundy.

They have finally come around to decreasing their public support for him.

From KTVK (Phoenix channel 3), written by Jared Dillingham (emphasis added) -

Arizona-based allies of controversial Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy are distancing themselves from him, following what many consider to be racist comments.

The rancher was caught on camera sharing his thoughts about driving past a Las Vegas housing project.

"They didn't have nothin' to do. They didn't have nothin' for their kids to do," Bundy said of the black families he saw.

"They were basically on government subsidy. So now what do they do? They abort their young children. They put their young men in jail because they never learned how to pick cotton," Bundy continued. "I've often wondered, 'Were they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things? Or are they better off as government subsidy?' "

Several Arizona lawmakers recently drove up to the Bundy ranch in Nevada to stand in solidarity with crowds protesting the government's seizure of cattle. The Bureau of Land Management says Bundy owes $1 million in past grazing fees, which he has refused to pay.

Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, said she went to the ranch hoping to keep the situation from turning violent.

Rep. Townsend may be mouthing the right words, but her actions say something else, and as the old saying goes - "Actions speak louder than words".

A picture tweeted by the contingent, taken during their visit with Bundy -

Townsend is second from the left.  Her appearance gives lie to her professed desire for a non-violent resolution to the confrontation.

Focusing on her -

Ummm...there is *nothing* about a gun that is non-violent.

Absolutely nothing.

Committees and candidate update

I didn't expect to do another one of these updates until after nominating petitions are turned in and we know who is actually going to be on the ballot.  However, there are a few significant items to update...
 

...State Sen. Kimberly Yee (R-LD20) used her power as a committee chair to kill a bill that would have provided funding for a study to see if marijuana can be used to alleviate the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  PTSD affects veterans (and others, too) and there was a lot of support for the study among veterans, veterans' groups, and those who support veterans.

So now Yee, who was basically unopposed, is now facing a primary challenge from a candidate who has switched from running for the AZ House to running for the AZ Senate, Justin Henry.

Henry is, you guessed it, a veteran.


...Casey Forese, married to Republican legislator Rep. Tom Forese, has filed to run for the governing board of the Chandler Unified School District.  If she wins election and is seriously interested in working to support and improve the Chandler schools, it could lead to some interesting dinner table conversations with her husband, a member of the anti-education Republican caucus running the AZ lege.  Of course, given the track record of Republican school board members across the state, working *for* the betterment of public education may not be part of the plan.

Note: In 2014, Tom Forese is running for a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission.  Regardless of how that election turns out, he won't be part of the legislature in 2015.

...Mike Johnson, former member of the Phoenix City Council, has filed to run for the seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors held by Mary Rose Wilcox, who is running for the Congressional seat held by Ed Pastor.  His committee chair?  Art Hamilton, a legendary former legislator.  His committee treasurer?  Tony Motola, a long-time figure, and fixer, in Phoenix politics.

Johnson joins Marie Rogers, mayor of Avondale,  and Anna Tovar, Democratic leader in the Arizona State Senate, in the race.

...Ron Bellus has filed to run for a seat on the governing board of the Gilbert Public School District.  Not a widely-known name, he was hired at the state lege for the start up of Arizona Capitol Television.  He was part of the inner circle of Jim Weiers, former speaker of the AZ House.  Bellus was let go when Weiers finished his time at the lege.  The Gilbert School Board has become notoriously dysfunctional as tea party types have taken over there, but I have no idea if Bellus is looking to help "right the ship", or looking to help finish sinking that ship.

...Alfredo Gutierrez, long-time legislator and community activist, and an author, has filed to run for the seat on the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) that he was appointed to earlier this year.


Note: Because local school board races are officially non-partisan, they will only be on the general election ballot.  As such, candidates have until August 6th to turn in their nominating sigs.  This page from the Maricopa County Education Service Agency (yes, it's run by Republicans, so no mention of public education in the name is allowed.  However,it is the office of the superintendent of Maricopa County schools) contains information about running for a local school board in Maricopa County.


This should be the last post of its type until after candidates turn in sigs and we know who will be on the ballot, but if there are any other major developments before then, I'll update...

Cliven Bundy and AZ GOPers: Still BFFs?

Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who became a Republican hero and cause celebre for using public resources illegally (grazing his cattle on public land and refusing to pay grazing fees), has become less celebrated after some bigoted remarks of his came to light.

From the New York Times, written by Adam Nagourney -

But if the federal government has moved on, Mr. Bundy — a father of 14 and a registered Republican — has not.

He said he would continue holding a daily news conference; on Saturday, it drew one reporter and one photographer, so Mr. Bundy used the time to officiate at what was in effect a town meeting with supporters, discussing, in a long, loping discourse, the prevalence of abortion, the abuses of welfare and his views on race.

“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,” he said. Mr. Bundy recalled driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas, “and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids — and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch — they didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do.

“And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he asked. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”

Now, Mr. Bundy and his ilk have the right to express their opinions, even those that are ignorant and virulently bigoted.

That's within his rights.

However, people who disagree with him have the same rights.

We have the right to disagree with him, to express that disagreement, and even to criticize him and his supporters.

We also have the right to cast the bright light of scrutiny on him and his fellow travelers.

From the twitter feeds of some of the Republican elected officials from AZ who went to Nevada to aid and abet show their solidarity with Bundy -

(L-R) US Rep. Paul Gosar, Bundy, State Sen. Kelli Ward

State Rep. David Livingston (center) and three of his fellow travelers

(L-R) State Rep Bob Thorpe, State Rep. Kelly Townsend, State Sen. Judy Burges, State Rep. David Livingston, unknown, unknown, unknown

I haven't found any comments about Bundy's latest spoutings (positive or negative) from the AZ types who visited him.  Given the track record of at least one of them (Thorpe), I don't expect that they will be denouncing their hero anytime soon.

Al Melvin and the Twitter version of verbal diarrhea

Somebody in the Melvin campaign should change his Twitter password.  Really.

After his infamous flameout in a CNN interview supporting SB1062, the bigotry legalization act, many people thought his IQ may be on the room temperature side of average (average IQ = 100; average room temperature = less than 100, significantly <).

A string of his tweets from yesterday and today -

No word on if he will be wearing a Kevlar campaign t-shirt at the gun show, or if show attendees will understand that "could I have your sig?" is not a request for them to disarm.

Legislative lineup card: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Note: During the writing of this post, the "Farley Report" , a weekly rundown of goings-on at the Capitol from State Sen. Steve Farley hit my email inbox; per his report, Wednesday may be the last day of the session.

Because things are so fluid at the Capital this week, expected to be the final week of the session, I'll post on a daily basis regarding the legislative calendars posted for the following day.

Be aware, however, that things may move very quickly at the lege and all calendars are subject to change without notice.

Some of the more colorful measures up for consideration on Wednesday:

On the Senate Third Read calendar -

HB2663, a back-door way of enacting permanent restrictions on the state's budget by requiring that budget proposals use revenue forecasts designed to low-ball revenue estimates.


On the House COW calendar - 

SB1237 (yet again; it keeps being "retained" on the COW calendar, which is lege-speak for they aren't bringing to a vote until they are sure they have the votes to pass it), expanding school vouchers "empowerment scholarship accounts".


On the House Third Read calendar (here, here, and here) - Amazingly, looks quiet so far.  Emphasis on "so far".


Three Senate committees are meeting to consider a slew of executive nominations:

Education, SHR1, 9:45 a.m.
Government and Environment, SHR3, 10 a.m.
Judiciary, SHR1, 10 a.m.