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Arizona and National Politics and Policy from a Liberal Perspective Home February 27, 2014 The New BlogForArizona is Live By Michael Bryan Tonight we updated the DNS servers to point all our domains to the new Word Press hosted site. BlogForArizona.com , BlogForArizona.net (until the DNS are all updated this is link for new site), and .org will all point to the new site, at which all new content will appear. The Typepad site ( arizona.typepad.com ) on which you are reading this post, will become an archive site. Eventually, all comments will be disabled. If you are arriving at this site via a search engine or a referring link, please consider joining us in discussing Arizona politics at: www.BlogForArizona.com Thanks for your patience and patronage during this transisition Feb 27, 2014 9:17:33 PM | Announcement , Blog News , Michael Bryan Comment 0 Reblog It 0 Oh look, they're blaming Clean Elections again Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com Fresh on the heels of the SB1062 veto, and with national columnists hungry to meet deadlines with something “insightful” about Arizona, the Chamber of Commerce crowd is really pushing the “Clean Elections done it!” myth hard. Here’s New York Times liberal Gail Collins repeating the narrative : “I remember having a meeting with some folks I’d call country-club Republicans, and listening to them bemoan the fact that they have no more influence because of the Clean Elections law,” said Rodolfo Espino, a professor at Arizona State University. We will come to a screeching halt here and re-examine that thought. Yes! Part of the super-weirdness of Arizona politics appears to be the result of the state’s 1998 public financing law, which provided tons of matching funds to unwealthy-but-energetic candidates from the social right at the expense of the pragmatic upper class. The Supreme Court took the teeth out of the law in 2011, but, by then, the traditional Republican elite had lost its place at the head of the political table. Continue reading "Oh look, they're blaming Clean Elections again" » By Donna Gratehouse Feb 27, 2014 6:46:10 PM | Arizona State Legislature , Campaigns , Commentary , Donna Gratehouse , Editorial , Elections , GOP War On... , Legislation , Party Politics Comment 0 Reblog It 0 We really dodged a bullet there Crossposted from Democratic Diva 2/26/2014 So Brewer vetoed the very bad no good Center for Arizona Policy bill, with the attention of the world on her, and of course we must all contact her and thank her, for Republicans must be praised effusively like good doggies who haven’t soiled the rug on those rare occasions they do the right thing. Personally, I’d be embarrassed if people’s expectations of me were that low but, then again, I’m just one of those adults in the room. We really did dodge a bullet and at risk of sounding cynical, I’m glad the focus was on LGBT discrimination from a purely tactical standpoint in addition to the moral and human rights ones. Having it framed as targeting LGBT citizens was what brought the fiercely negative reaction in the media and the organized business community around to kill it. But make no mistake, this was also very much an anti-choice bill. CAP spokesman Aaron Baer cited Hobby Lobby in a TV interview as an example for why SB1062 was needed. Had contraception access been the main public focus – and I bet CAP wishes like hell it had – there’s a good chance the bill would have been quietly signed into law with nary a peep from the Chamber of Commerce crowd because sluts. The obvious, and only, way to put the brakes on all this dumb shit is to elect more pro-choice Democrats. By Donna Gratehouse Feb 27, 2014 6:43:45 PM | Abortion , Arizona State Legislature , Campaigns , Commentary , Convention , Donna Gratehouse , Elections , GOP War On... , Governor , Healthcare , Legislation , Religion Comment 0 Reblog It 0 GOP war on voting: Gov. Brewer signs bill voiding citizens referendum on HB 2305 Posted by AzBliueMeanie: More than 140,000 Arizona citizens signed the petitions for a referendum of the GOP Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305 , exercising their constitutional right under the Arizona Constitution to refer HB 2305 to the voters of Arizona to decide the issue. The repeal legislation passed by our Tea-Publican legislature would void the referendum and once again deprive the voters of Arizona of their constitutional right to vote to decide this issue. Today Governor Jan Brewer completed the skullduggery of the Tea-Publicans in the legislature, depriving the voters of Arizona of their constitutional right to vote to decide this issue. Gov. Brewer signs elections-overhaul repeal : Governor Jan Brewer signed House Bill 2196 Thursday. The action cancels a November election where voters would have had the final say. Remember in November! By AZ BlueMeanie Feb 27, 2014 1:36:53 PM | Arizona State Legislature , AZBlueMeanie , Ballot Referendas and Initiatives , Civil Rights , Constitution , Corruption , Election Integrity , Elections , Governor , Legislation , Party Politics , Scandals Comment 0 Reblog It 0 Action Alert: CAP abortion bill in the House today Posted by AzBlueMeranie: Your work is not done now that Governor Jan Brewer has vetoed the Religious Bigotry bill from Cathi Herrod and the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP). The Committee of the Whole (COW) in the House is debating the CAP bill for surprise inspections of abortion clinics, HB 2284 (.pdf) TODAY . This bill is really about harassing and intimidating abortion services providers and invading the constitutional medical privacy rights of their clients. The bill is sponsored by a CAP water carrier, Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria. Democrats and Planned Parenthood oppose the bill. The federal courts have previously ruled that snap inspections of abortion clinics are unlawful because women’s medical privacy rights are at risk. Once again our Tea-Publican lawless legislature is pursuing the radical exremist agenda of Cathi Herrod and the CAP. Should this bill ever be signed into law, it will result in another losing lawsuit that pisses away taxpayer money in pursuit of the radical extremist agenda of the CAP. Contact your legislators now to oppose this unlawful bill. UPDATE: The bill was approved on a voice vote and will be scheduled for a Third Read roll call vote. Will any of the "mythical moderate Republicans" stand up to say no to this unconstitutional and unlawful bill from Cathi Herrod and CAP? By AZ BlueMeanie Feb 27, 2014 1:24:56 PM | Abortion , Activism , Arizona State Legislature , AZBlueMeanie , Civil Rights , Constitution , Corruption , Courts , Healthcare , Legislation , Lobbying , Party Politics , Scandals Comment 0 Reblog It 0 Healthcare enrollment for AAPI (Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders) Posted by Carolyn Sugiyama Classen As an Asian American born in raised in the State of Hawaii, this is important to me and my community here in Tucson. Press release info: "Get your health insurance questions answered and help with enrollment during Enroll AAPI (Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders) on Saturday, March 1st from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center (1288 W River Rd). Certified Navigators will be on hand to help people enroll in a healthcare plan. Information on the new healthcare laws and how to sign up to get healthcare coverage will be presented in English and selected Asian languages (Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese). Representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will also be on hand. Free health screenings for asthma, cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, and osteoporosis will also be available. The diabetes test requires fasting 8 hours prior to the screening. This event is made possible thanks to a coalition of partners that includes the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, College of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, the Southern Arizona & Pacific Islander Health ...